Henry Cary, 4th Viscount Falkland
Encyclopedia
Henry Cary, 4th Viscount Falkland (1634 – 2 April 1663) was a Scottish
nobleman
and Member
of the Parliament
of England
; the son of Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland
.
Cary inherited his title after his brother Lucius Cary died in 1649. Henry Cary like his father and elder brother, had Royalist sympathises and during the early years of the Interregnum his movements were monitored by the Council of State, but after William Lockhart
, the Protector's ambassador in Paris, had assessed him, he was no longer perceived to be a serious threat to the new establishment.
Cary sat as a Member of Parliament
for Oxfordshire in the Third Protectorate Parliament
(1659) where he opposed recognition of the Other House. During the second Commonwealth period he sided against the Officers in charge of the New Model Army
in London and was arrested for involvement in the proposed 1659 Royalist rising and sent to the Tower of London. In February 1660 he threw himself behind General George Monck when with other Oxfordshire gentry signed a declaration calling for a free parliament. The next month he was appointed justice of the peace and a commissioner for the militia for Oxfordshire.
Cary was returned as Member of Parliament for both Oxford and Arundel (Sussex) choosing to sit for the former in the Convention Parliament. He was an active in this parliament supporting Anglican and Royalists cause, and he was selected as one of the twelve members chosen to visit King Charles II
in Holland and crossed the channel with the King. While Charles was in Canterbury, Cary returned to London caring a letter from the King to Parliament.
During the debates over the Indemnity and Oblivion Bill
Cary "took a strong line towards the regicides, and argued that any member who had sat in the high court of justice should be excluded from the house. Regarding individual parliamentarians, he wished to make William Sydenham and John Pyne
liable for any penalty short of death, and he opposed the limited punishment proposed for Francis Lascelles
."
In June 1660, shortly after the Restoration of King Charles II Cary was made a colonel of horse and gentleman of the privy chamber. From then until his sudden death in 1663 he was active at court and Royal service. During this time he was re-elected as Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire the Cavalier Parliament
as well as holding various military commissions. He supported the crown during the debates on the Militia Bill that affirmed the crown's powers over the armed forces, but was in disfavour with some at court over his ardent support for the Act of Uniformity making clear his dislike of both Catholics and dissenters and not accepting the governments line that tolerance should be shown. In 1661 he appointed colonel of foot in the Dunkirk garrison. Some time during 1661 or 1662 he was elected to the Irish parliament and spent some time there, and in October 1662 after his regiment was disbanded in he was appointed captain of a troop of horse in Ireland, the same month he returned to London to resume his work on committees in the Commons. . While in Ireland he
Cary was the author of the play The Marriage Night, set in Castile it had themes of tragedy and revenge, of which Samuel Pepys
wrote in his diary after seeing it "a kind of a tragedy, and some things very good in it, but the whole together, I thought, not so" (Diary of Samuel Pepys, 21 March 1667).
On April 14, 1653, Cary married Rachel Hungerford. They had one son: Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland (1656–1694). Rachel Hungerford twice remarried, one of her husbands being Sir James Hayes
(d.1694). She died at Bedgebury in Kent on 24 February 1718.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
nobleman
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...
and Member
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
of the Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
; the son of Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland
Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland
Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland was an English author and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1642...
.
Cary inherited his title after his brother Lucius Cary died in 1649. Henry Cary like his father and elder brother, had Royalist sympathises and during the early years of the Interregnum his movements were monitored by the Council of State, but after William Lockhart
William Lockhart
William Lockhart was an English Roman Catholic priest; the first of the Tractarian Movement to convert to Roman Catholicism.-Early life:...
, the Protector's ambassador in Paris, had assessed him, he was no longer perceived to be a serious threat to the new establishment.
Cary sat as a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Oxfordshire in the Third Protectorate Parliament
Third Protectorate Parliament
The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons...
(1659) where he opposed recognition of the Other House. During the second Commonwealth period he sided against the Officers in charge of the New Model Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
in London and was arrested for involvement in the proposed 1659 Royalist rising and sent to the Tower of London. In February 1660 he threw himself behind General George Monck when with other Oxfordshire gentry signed a declaration calling for a free parliament. The next month he was appointed justice of the peace and a commissioner for the militia for Oxfordshire.
Cary was returned as Member of Parliament for both Oxford and Arundel (Sussex) choosing to sit for the former in the Convention Parliament. He was an active in this parliament supporting Anglican and Royalists cause, and he was selected as one of the twelve members chosen to visit King 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...
in Holland and crossed the channel with the King. While Charles was in Canterbury, Cary returned to London caring a letter from the King to Parliament.
During the debates over the Indemnity and Oblivion Bill
Indemnity and Oblivion Act
The Indemnity and Oblivion Act 1660 is an Act of the Parliament of England , the long title of which is "An Act of Free and General Pardon, Indemnity, and Oblivion"....
Cary "took a strong line towards the regicides, and argued that any member who had sat in the high court of justice should be excluded from the house. Regarding individual parliamentarians, he wished to make William Sydenham and John Pyne
John Pyne
John Pyne was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1625 and 1653. He supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War, but fell out with Oliver Cromwell during the Interregnum...
liable for any penalty short of death, and he opposed the limited punishment proposed for Francis Lascelles
Francis Lascelles
Francis Lascelles was a member of the landed gentry from an old Yorkshire family whose residence was at Stank Hall near Northallerton. During the English Civil War he fought for the Parliamentarians...
."
In June 1660, shortly after the Restoration of King Charles II Cary was made a colonel of horse and gentleman of the privy chamber. From then until his sudden death in 1663 he was active at court and Royal service. During this time he was re-elected as Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire the Cavalier Parliament
Cavalier Parliament
The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter century reign of Charles II of England...
as well as holding various military commissions. He supported the crown during the debates on the Militia Bill that affirmed the crown's powers over the armed forces, but was in disfavour with some at court over his ardent support for the Act of Uniformity making clear his dislike of both Catholics and dissenters and not accepting the governments line that tolerance should be shown. In 1661 he appointed colonel of foot in the Dunkirk garrison. Some time during 1661 or 1662 he was elected to the Irish parliament and spent some time there, and in October 1662 after his regiment was disbanded in he was appointed captain of a troop of horse in Ireland, the same month he returned to London to resume his work on committees in the Commons. . While in Ireland he
Cary was the author of the play The Marriage Night, set in Castile it had themes of tragedy and revenge, of which Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
wrote in his diary after seeing it "a kind of a tragedy, and some things very good in it, but the whole together, I thought, not so" (Diary of Samuel Pepys, 21 March 1667).
On April 14, 1653, Cary married Rachel Hungerford. They had one son: Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland (1656–1694). Rachel Hungerford twice remarried, one of her husbands being Sir James Hayes
James Hayes (Prince Rupert's secretary)
Sir James Hayes was secretary to Prince Rupert and first Deputy-Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company.He was born the son of James Hayes in Beckington, Somerset. He was educated at St Paul's School and Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he matriculated in 1649...
(d.1694). She died at Bedgebury in Kent on 24 February 1718.