Adrian Scrope
Encyclopedia
Colonel
Adrian Scrope (c. 1601 – 17 October 1660) was the twenty seventh of the fifty nine Commissioners who signed the Death Warrant of King Charles I
. He was hanged, drawn and quartered
at Charing Cross
after the restoration of Charles II
.
in 1619. In November 1624 he married Mary, daughter of Robert Waller of Beaconsfield, a cousin of the poet Waller.
. When the army and parliament quarrelled Scrope took part with the soldiers, and possibly helped Joyce to carry off Charles I
from Holdenby to Newmarket. He succeeded to the command of the regiment about July 1647
, Scrope was ordered to join Colonel Whalley in the pursuit of the Earl of Norwich
and the Kentish royalists, and he took part in the siege of Colchester
. At the beginning of July he was detached from Colchester to pursue the Earl of Holland
, whom he defeated and took prisoner at St. Neots on 10 July. He was then sent to suppress some disturbances at Yarmouth; caused by the threatened landing of the Prince of Wales
.
Scrope took part in the deliberations of the council of the army which resulted in the rupture of the treaty of Newport
; was appointed one of the king's judges, and attended the meetings of the court with exemplary regularity. His name appears twenty-seventh among fifty nine judges who signed the death warrant.
Scrope's regiment henceforth disappears from the army lists, and the soldiers composing it were probably drafted into other regiments. Scrope himself was made governor of Bristol (October 1649), a post which he held till 1655. In 1655 Bristol Castle and other forts there were ordered to be demolished, in pursuance of a general scheme for diminishing the number of garrisons in England, though Ludlow asserts that Bristol was selected because Cromwell did not dare to "trust a person of so much honour and worth with a place of that importance".
In May 1655 Scrope was appointed a member of the council established by the Protector for the government of Scotland, at a salary of £600. a year. He did not distinguish himself as an administrator, and appears to have spent as much time as he could out of Scotland. During the political revolutions of 1659–60 he apparently remained neutral.
on 4 June 1660, and on 9 June the House of Commons voted that he should have the benefit of the act of indemnity on payment of a fine of one year's rent of his estates. On 20 June he was accordingly discharged upon parole (ib. viii. 70). The House of Lords, however, ordered all the king's judges to be arrested, and excepted Scrope absolutely from pardon. The commons on 13 August reiterated their vote in Scrope's favour, but, as the lords remained firm, they finally (28 August) yielded the point. This was an inexcusable breach of faith, as Scroope had surrendered in reliance upon the king's proclamation.
At Scrope's trial (12 October 1660) Richard Browne, late major-general for the parliament, and now lord mayor elect of London, deposed that in a private conversation held since the Restoration Scrope had used words apparently justifying the king's execution, and had refused to pronounce it murder. Scrope, who defended himself with dignity and moderation, pleaded that he acted by the authority of parliament, and that he "never went to the work with a malicious heart". Sir Orlando Bridgeman, the presiding judge, treated Scroope with great civility. "Mr. Scrope", he said, "to give him his due, is not such a person as some of the rest"; but Browne's evidence, which had led to Scrope's abandonment by the Commons, sealed his fate, and he was condemned to death.
Scrope was hanged, drawn and quartered
at Charing Cross
on 17 October 1660. An account of his behaviour in prison and at the gallows describes him as "a comely ancient gentleman", and dwells on his cheerfulness and courage.
Scrope's eldest son, Edmund, was made fellow of All Souls' on 4 July 1649 by the parliamentary visitors, was subsequently keeper of the privy seal in Scotland, and died in 1658. His brother Robert was about the same time made fellow of Lincoln College, and created by the visitors B.A. on 19 May 1649. Scroope also left two daughters, Margaret and Anne.
and is displayed in the U.K. National Portrait Gallery
.
Colonel (UK)
Colonel is a rank of the British forces, ranking below Brigadier, and above Lieutenant Colonel. British Colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion and brigade level. The insignia is two diamond shaped pips below a crown...
Adrian Scrope (c. 1601 – 17 October 1660) was the twenty seventh of the fifty nine Commissioners who signed the Death Warrant of King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. He was hanged, drawn and quartered
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
at Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
after the restoration of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
.
Early life
Scrope matriculated at Hart Hall, Oxford, on 7 November 1617, and became a student of the Middle TempleMiddle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
in 1619. In November 1624 he married Mary, daughter of Robert Waller of Beaconsfield, a cousin of the poet Waller.
First Civil War
At the opening of the civil war he raised a troop of horse for the parliament, and in 1646 was major in the regiment of horse commanded by Colonel Richard GravesRichard Graves
Richard Graves was an English minister, poet, and novelist.Born at Mickleton Manor, Mickleton, Gloucestershire, to Richard Graves, gentleman, and his wife, Elizabeth, Graves was a student at Abingdon School and Pembroke College, Oxford...
. When the army and parliament quarrelled Scrope took part with the soldiers, and possibly helped Joyce to carry off Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
from Holdenby to Newmarket. He succeeded to the command of the regiment about July 1647
Second English Civil War
In June 1648, at the outbreak of the Second English Civil WarSecond English Civil War
The Second English Civil War was the second of three wars known as the English Civil War which refers to the series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1652 and also include the First English Civil War and the...
, Scrope was ordered to join Colonel Whalley in the pursuit of the Earl of Norwich
Earl of Norwich
Earl of Norwich was a title that was created four times in British history, three times in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1626 in favour of the courtier and politician Edward Denny, 1st Baron Rose...
and the Kentish royalists, and he took part in the siege of Colchester
Siege of Colchester
The siege of Colchester occurred in the summer of 1648 when the English Civil War reignited in several areas of Britain. Colchester found itself in the thick of the unrest when a Royalist army on its way through East Anglia to raise support for the King, was attacked by Lord-General Thomas Fairfax...
. At the beginning of July he was detached from Colchester to pursue the Earl of Holland
Earl of Holland
Earl of Holland was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1624 for Henry Rich, 1st Baron Kensington. He was the younger son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick. and had already been created Baron Kensington in 1623, also in the Peerage of England. His eldest son, the second Earl,...
, whom he defeated and took prisoner at St. Neots on 10 July. He was then sent to suppress some disturbances at Yarmouth; caused by the threatened landing of the Prince of Wales
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
.
Scrope took part in the deliberations of the council of the army which resulted in the rupture of the treaty of Newport
Treaty of Newport
The Treaty of Newport was a failed treaty between Parliament and King Charles I of England, intended to bring an end to the hostilities of the English Civil War...
; was appointed one of the king's judges, and attended the meetings of the court with exemplary regularity. His name appears twenty-seventh among fifty nine judges who signed the death warrant.
Interregnum
Scrope's regiment was one of those selected by lot for the expedition for the reconquest of Ireland (20 April 1649); but early in May 1649 they mutinied, refused to go to Ireland, and demanded the re-establishment of the representative council of agitators which had existed in 1647. On 15 May Cromwell and Fairfax surprised the mutineers at Burford, and the ringleaders were tried by court-martial and shot.Scrope's regiment henceforth disappears from the army lists, and the soldiers composing it were probably drafted into other regiments. Scrope himself was made governor of Bristol (October 1649), a post which he held till 1655. In 1655 Bristol Castle and other forts there were ordered to be demolished, in pursuance of a general scheme for diminishing the number of garrisons in England, though Ludlow asserts that Bristol was selected because Cromwell did not dare to "trust a person of so much honour and worth with a place of that importance".
In May 1655 Scrope was appointed a member of the council established by the Protector for the government of Scotland, at a salary of £600. a year. He did not distinguish himself as an administrator, and appears to have spent as much time as he could out of Scotland. During the political revolutions of 1659–60 he apparently remained neutral.
Restoration
Because Scrope had not opposed the restoration he had some prospect of escape when the Restoration took place. He surrendered himself in obedience to the proclamation issued by King Charles IICharles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
on 4 June 1660, and on 9 June the House of Commons voted that he should have the benefit of the act of indemnity on payment of a fine of one year's rent of his estates. On 20 June he was accordingly discharged upon parole (ib. viii. 70). The House of Lords, however, ordered all the king's judges to be arrested, and excepted Scrope absolutely from pardon. The commons on 13 August reiterated their vote in Scrope's favour, but, as the lords remained firm, they finally (28 August) yielded the point. This was an inexcusable breach of faith, as Scroope had surrendered in reliance upon the king's proclamation.
At Scrope's trial (12 October 1660) Richard Browne, late major-general for the parliament, and now lord mayor elect of London, deposed that in a private conversation held since the Restoration Scrope had used words apparently justifying the king's execution, and had refused to pronounce it murder. Scrope, who defended himself with dignity and moderation, pleaded that he acted by the authority of parliament, and that he "never went to the work with a malicious heart". Sir Orlando Bridgeman, the presiding judge, treated Scroope with great civility. "Mr. Scrope", he said, "to give him his due, is not such a person as some of the rest"; but Browne's evidence, which had led to Scrope's abandonment by the Commons, sealed his fate, and he was condemned to death.
Scrope was hanged, drawn and quartered
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
at Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
on 17 October 1660. An account of his behaviour in prison and at the gallows describes him as "a comely ancient gentleman", and dwells on his cheerfulness and courage.
Family
Adrian Scrope was born at Wormsley Hall in Oxfordshire and was baptised at Lewknor on 12 January 1601. He was son of Robert Scrope of Wormsley and Margaret, daughter of Richard Cornwall of London. His family were a younger branch of the Scropes of Bolton.Scrope's eldest son, Edmund, was made fellow of All Souls' on 4 July 1649 by the parliamentary visitors, was subsequently keeper of the privy seal in Scotland, and died in 1658. His brother Robert was about the same time made fellow of Lincoln College, and created by the visitors B.A. on 19 May 1649. Scroope also left two daughters, Margaret and Anne.
Portrait
Adrian's portrait was painted by (or after) Robert WalkerRobert Walker (painter)
Robert Walker was an English portrait painter, notable for his portraits of the "Lord Protector" Oliver Cromwell and other distinguished parliamentarians of the period...
and is displayed in the U.K. National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery (England)
The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in London, England, housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was the first portrait gallery in the world when it opened in 1856. The gallery moved in 1896 to its current site at St Martin's Place, off...
.
External links
- Adrian's portrait painted by (or after) Robert Walker, hanging in the U.K. National Portrait Gallery It is item number NPG4435 there.
- Robert Walker's (1599-1658) portraits in the U.K. National Portrait Gallery
- A biography of Adrian with some detail about his trial
- Some details about his extended family can be found at the following links:
- http://www.scroope.net/ancestors/cockerington/scropesofcockerington.htm
- http://www.scroope.net/