Clement-Jones family 12/22 - Person Sheet
Clement-Jones family 12/22 - Person Sheet
NameSir Oliver CROMWELL, 1860
Birth1563
Death1655
EducationQueen’s College Cambridge
FatherSir Henry CROMWELL , 1794 (1524-1603)
Spouses
Unmarried
ChildrenHenry , 1923 (1586-)
 Thomas , 1924
 John , 1925
 William , 1926
Notes for Sir Oliver CROMWELL
Of Hinchinbrooke.

Sir Oliver Cromwell, the famous Oliver's uncle, was also his godfather.

He was a long-serving MP for Huntingdonshire in the reigns of Elizabeth I, James I and Charles I over at least 36 years and inevitably Sheriff of Hunts and Cambs. He is best remembered for his extraordinarily lavish entertainment of James I at Hinchinbrook House on the King's progress south from Scotland on his accession to the English throne in 1603.

He was rewarded with a gold cup, some choice horses, hounds and hawks and a Knighthood of the Bath. It was to Hinchinbrook that the representatives of Cambridge University came to pay their respects to the new King. James I returned to stay with Sir Oliver on at least three more occasions, as probably did Charles I. Sir Oliver was briefly Attorney to Queen Anne of Denmark, a Commissioner for draining the Fens and also subscribed to the Virginia venture. However, his extravagance was his undoing. In 1627 he was forced to sell Hinchinbrook House to Sir Sidney Montagu. He withdrew from public service, sold most of the rest of his estates and retired to Ramsey. At the outbreak of the Civil War he supported the Royalist cause with all the resources at his disposal.

He raised men, gave money, obliged his sons to take up arms and incurred the ire of Parliament. They sent his nephew, Oliver, with a troop of horse to remonstrate. Oliver disarmed the old knight, seized his plate, but also asked for his godfatherly blessing.

Nevertheless, old Sir Oliver persisted in his support of the Royalists, even as their cause waned. This time, the younger Oliver threatened to burn down Ramsey. He parleyed with his uncle on the town bridge and extracted a fine of £1,000 and 40 saddle horses. Sir Oliver was unrepentant, supporting the Royalist cause to the end. Parliament voted to sequester all his estates, but, through the intervention of his nephew, by now Lieutenant-General of Ireland, the order was reversed. The old man made no attempt to court favour with the Protector and insisted that the flags taken by his sons from Parliamentary forces remain hanging in Ramsey church. He died oppressed with his debts in August 1655 aged 92. He was remembered for his prodigious hospitality, his loyalty to the Crown, his upright dealings and his vivacity, but also for dissipating his property and impoverishing his family.
Last Modified 21 Jan 2011Created 4 Mar 2023 using Reunion for Macintosh