445 



CROMWELL, HENRY. 



CROMWELL, THOMAS. 



446 



respect waa paid to tbe new Protector at home by his subjects, and 

 abroad by all foreign states. Thurloe, \\ hitelock, and Broghill were 

 his chief counsellors, and in ordinary circumstances they would have 

 made judicious advisers. But they were, in the face of so many 

 opposing elements, incompetent to their task : and Richard Cromwell 

 was wholly devoid of the energy which his affairs demanded. In 

 such hands tranquillity could not long be maintained : the aspect of 

 affairs very soon began to change. Discontents prevailed ; the want 

 of resources was felt; it became necessary to call a parliament (1659), 

 for there was in the treasury no mouey with which to fulfil the en- 

 gagements with foreign princes, that had been entered into by the 

 late Protector. It was feared that the elections would go against the 

 court ; and every means were therefore taken to bias them. Oliver 

 Cromwell's reformed model of representation was abandoned, and tbe 

 right of returning members was restored to small boroughs, which, 

 from gratitude, it was thought would be favourable to the court : but 

 notwithstanding this, and all the other efforts of the government, the 

 number of presbyterian and republican members nearly equalled that 

 of the ministerial party. In the parliament, then, the weakness of 

 the Protector's government waa most apparent. Still it was to this 

 body that be must trust ; for in the army he had scarce any friends 

 at all ; the whole republican party were combining against his 

 authority ; Lambert was intriguing tor his overthrow : even Fleet- 

 wood, his own brother-in-law, joined the discontented officers, whose 

 faction, from the name of Fleetwood's house, in which they met, was 

 called the ' Cabal of Wallingford House.' Richard, who possessed 

 neither penetration nor resolution, took no step to subdue these 

 rebels; the pailiament, more alarmed, took the case in their own 

 hands. A vote was passed that no council of officers should assemble 

 without the Protector's consent : this brought tbe rupture to a crisis. 

 The army demanded the dissolution of the parliament, which tbe 

 Protector wanted resolution to deny. The dissolution was equivalent 

 to his dethronement, and he soon afterwards signed his demission 

 in form (22nd April 1659). His brief reign ended, Richard Crom- 

 well descended into humble life, to the enjoyment of which his 

 feeble unambitious character was better adapted than to the posses- 

 sion of power. He had no qualities which fitted him to rule. He 

 was burdened with debts, arieing partly from the pompous funeral 

 of his father, the cost of which, amounting to 28,0001., the state 

 unworthily suffered to descend upon him. To assist him in these 

 difficulties, the parliament voted him 20,0001., annexing a condition 

 that he should leave the palace of Whitehall. In consequence of 

 this grant, he retired to Hampton Court, but so small a portion of the 

 money wat paid, that he waa still in danger of being arrested by his 

 creditors. To leave England was his only method of escape from 

 them, and accordingly he resided sometimes in Geneva and sometimes 

 at Paris. At length he ventured to return to this country : a house 

 was hired for him at Cheshunt, near London, where at first he con- 

 cealed himself under a feigned name, and continued to live in strict 

 privacy, until the year 1712, when he died in his eighty-sixth year. 



Richard Cromwell was the father of two sons and seven daughters : 

 four of his children died young, and two only survived him. 



(Hallam, Const, lliit. ; Noble's Memoirs; Guizot, History of Richard 

 Cromwell and the Restoration especially the valuable documents in 

 the Appendix ; and the various Jlittoriei.) 



CROMWELL, HENRY, the fourth son of Oliver Cromwell, Lord 

 Protector, but the second and youngest that survived him, was born 

 at Huntingdon in January 1627-28. He was educated at Felstead in 

 Essex, and early enrolled in the parliamentary army. In 1649, having 

 become a colonel, he went with his father to Ireland, where he behaved 

 witli considerable gallantry. He was one of the members for that 

 kingdom in the Bare-Bones Parliament. He married in 1653 a 

 daughter of Sir Francis Russell of Chippenham in Cambridgeshire, 

 and resided at Whitehall until he was appointed Lord Deputy of 

 Ireland, being at tbe time (1654) a member for the University of 

 Cambridge. During the following year he was again sent to Ireland. 

 It had become absolutely necessary that the estates and property of 

 the natives should be protected from the rapacity of the republican 

 leaders, who were aggrandising themselves at their expense; and 

 Henry Cromwell waa considered a fit person to undcrtaka this task, 

 both on account of bis general abilities and the great esteem in which 

 he was held in that country. The expectations of his friends were 

 not disappointed, for the state received considerable benefit from his 

 service* as soon as ho succeeded Fleetwood in his office. The impossi- 

 bility of procuring money from England, and the limitations of hu 

 rower, materially diminished his usefulness. At length, from these 

 causes, bin government became so irksome to him that his letters are 

 one series of complaints, interspersed with offers to resign. Still 

 furthtr mortification however was in store for him. When bis 

 brother Richard became Protector, tho council, over which he had 

 little or no control, contracted still further the power of Henry Crom- 

 well, who, in exchange for the title of Lord Deputy, received that of 

 Lord Lieutenant a miserable recompense for his lost authority. 



After the deposition of his brother, Henry Cromwell was desirous 

 of keeping Ireland for the king, and it was not until his submission 

 was forcibly required by tho parliament, that his object was finally 

 relinquished. Henry now retired to Cbippenham, whence in five or 

 six years he removed to his estate at Soham in Cambridgeshire, where 



he spent the remainder of his days, and died at the age of forty-six 

 (1G73-74). Henry Cromwell bad five sous and two daughters : one of 

 his children died young; the rest survived him. 



CROMWELL, THOMAS, was born at Putney, near London, where, 

 as is said, his father was a blacksmith, and afterwards a brewer. The 

 date of his birth is not recorded, but it was probably about 1490. 

 He was taught reading, writing, and a little Latin ; and as soon as he 

 grew up went to the continent, where he learned several foreign 

 languages. He became clerk in an extensive factory at Antwerp, 

 whence he was taken to Rome (1510) by some citizens of Boston in 

 Lincolnshire, who thought that he would be of assistance to them in 

 some business that they had with the pope. During this journey he 

 learned by heart Erasmus's translation of the New Testament, and he 

 continued to improve himself during his residence in Italy. Foxe 

 states that Cromwell was present at the sack of Rome by the Duke of 

 Bourbon, but this must be erroneous, as that event did not occur till 

 1527, whereas it is almost certain that he was in the service of Wolsey 

 as early as 1525. Dr. Lingard says that " in his early youth Cromwell 

 served as a trooper in the wars of Italy, and from the army passed to 

 the service of a Venetian merchant," on quitting whom he returned 

 to England. It is in fact highly probable that he returned to England 

 in or about 1517, as somewhere about that time he married the 

 daughter and heiress of Sir John Prior, knight, and widow of a Welsh 

 gentleman named Williams. On his return to England Cromwell was 

 received into Cardinal Wolsey's house, became his solicitor, and the 

 chief agent in the foundation of his colleges at Oxford and Ipswich. 

 He was also chosen a member of the House of Commons, where he 

 increased his fame by his defence of Wolsey, who hail there been 

 indicted for treason. After the cardinal's disgrace, Cromwell was 

 taken into the service of the king ; in 1531 he was knighted, and made 

 privy-councillor and master of the jewel-house. It is said that about 

 this time Cromwell first suggested to Henry the project of throwing 

 off the supremacy of the pope in ecclesiastical affairs. Certain it is 

 that from this time he became the close confidant and adviser of the 

 king, and that he rapidly rose to the most important offices in the 

 state. In 1532 ho became clerk of the hanaper in the Court of 

 Chancery, and afterwards chancellor of the exchequer; in 1534 he 

 was principal secretary of state, master of the rolls, and chancellor of 

 the university of Cambridge; in 1535, visitor-general of English 

 monasteries ; and in 1536 keeper of the privy seal. He now resigned 

 the mastership of tho rolls, and was created Baron Cromwell of Okeham 

 in Rutlandshire, and appointed vicar-general and vicegerent, in all 

 religious matters the next in authority to the king, who was now the 

 supreme head of the English church. His friendship with Cranmer 

 was intimate, and their views respecting the Reformation very similar. 

 It being Cromwell's object to destroy the pope's authority, he circu- 

 lated new articles of faith, and enjoined the clergy to preach the king's 

 supremacy, to remove images from their altars, and to promote the 

 religious education of all young persons, teaching them the Creed, tho 

 Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. He commanded English 

 Bibles to be placed in the churches, and took active meaus for the 

 dissolution of the monasteries. These alterations, together with the 

 great increase of his wealth, some of which it was suspected that he 

 obtained by dishonest means, rendered him extremely unpopular, so 

 that there were not wanting many enemies who endeavoured to pre- 

 judice the king against him. The king's esteem for him could not 

 however be shaken : in 1537 he was appointed chief justice of all 

 forests beyond Trent, and in August in the same year was elected 

 knight of the garter, and nominated dean of Wells. The long list of 

 Cromwell's titles and official appointments is still far from completed. 

 In 1538 he was made constable of Carisbrook castle, and obtained a 

 grant ->l the castle and lordship of Okeham. About this time he issued 

 various injunctions [CnANMEKj to the clergy, by one of which parish- 

 registers were established ; and in 1539, after having received from the 

 king some thirty monastic manors and valuable estates, he was created 

 Earl of Essex, and named lord chamberlain of England ; at the same 

 time Gregory, his sou, obtained tho barony of Okeham. 



Hitherto there had been little check to the career of Cromwell's 

 prosperity : his favour at Court had always been sufficient to stifle 

 any popular complaints, but ho now became aware that both Craumcr 

 and himself were declining in the royal estimation. Gardiner (bishop 

 of Winchester) and his party had gained some ascendancy over the 

 king, and in proportion as the power of these advocates of the Roman 

 Catholic faith increased, the influence of the reformers declined, and 

 both they and their doctrines became unacceptable at court. In 

 order to regain his former ground, or at least to intrench himself 

 firmly in the powerful position which he still retained, Cromwell lost 

 no opportunity ot promoting Henry's marriage with Anne of Cloves, 

 taking care to set before the king, as often as circumstances permitted, 

 the many advantages which would arise from such a union. Tho 

 cause of Cromwell's great zeal was this : Anne and all her friends 

 were Lutherans, and Cromwell counted upon great support from a 

 queen of his own choice, whoae religious opinions were iu direct oppo- 

 sition to the Roman Catholics. The complete failure of this scheme 

 became the ruin of its contriver. An aversion to the promoter of 

 the marriage quickly followed the king's disgust and disappointment 

 at his ugly bride, and Henry now willingly opened his cars to the 

 flood of complaints which were poured into them from every quarter 



