Henry Coventry
Encyclopedia
The Honourable Henry Coventry (1619–1686) was an English politician, who was Secretary of State for the Northern Department
between 1672 and 1674 and the Southern Department
between 1674 and 1680.
, brother of Sir William Coventry
, uncle of Sir John Coventry
, and brother-in-law of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury. He matriculated from Queen's College, Oxford in 1632 aged 14, and graduated then following year. Within a year he was a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford
, continuing such until 1648. He graduated in both arts and law. He may have become Chancellor of the diocese of Llandaff as early as 1638. In 1640, he obtained leave to travel, and was abroad until just before the Restoration
. He was thus absent from England during the civil wars
.
in his exile. During part his time abroad, he was employed as royalist agent in Germany and Denmark, in company with Lord Wentworth
, until the concert was dissolved by a violent quarrel, leading apparently to a duel. The notices of him at this date are very confused; Henry, his elder brother Francis, and his younger brother William
being all attached to the exiled court and all commonly spoken of as Mr. Coventry. Before the Restoration
Francis had ceased to take any active part in public affairs, and William had devoted himself more especially to the service of the Duke of York
, whose secretary he continued to be while the duke held the office of Lord High Admiral
.
In 1660, he returned to England with letters for Presbyterian leaders including Sir Anthony Ashley-Cooper, who had been married to Henry's sister. In 1661, Henry became Member of Parliament
(MP) for Droitwich
. He remained in the service of the crown, and in September 1664 was sent as ambassador to Sweden, where he remained for the next two years, “accustoming himself to the northern ways of entertainment, and this grew upon him with age”. In 1667 he was sent, jointly with Lord Holles
, as plenipotentiary to negotiate the treaty of peace with the Dutch, which, after the disgraceful summer, was finally concluded at Breda
. In 1671 he was again sent on an embassy to Sweden, and in 1672 he was appointed Secretary of State for the Northern Department
, transferring to the Southern Department
in 1674. In this office he continued till 1680, when his health, which was shattered by frequent attacks of gout
, compelled him to retire from public life. During the Popish Plot while his colleague Williamson's nerve cracked under the strain, Coventry generally maintained his calm, although he was concerned at the public hysteria " the nation and the city are in as great a consternation as can be imagined." He was one of the first to warn that any attempt to exclude the Duke of York might lead to civil war: "if that prince go into another place, it must cost you a standing army to bring him back."
, “he was a man of wit and heat, of spirit and candour. He never gave bad advices; but when the king followed the ill advices which others gave, he thought himself bound to excuse if not to justify them. For this the Duke of York commended him much. He said in that he was a pattern to all good subjects, since he defended all the king's counsels in public, even when he had blamed them most in private with the king himself”. It is to his credit that after holding public office for nearly twenty years he had not accumulated any large fortune; and though no doubt in easy circumstances, he wrote of himself as feeling straitened by the loss of his official salary on 31 December 1680. He died in London on 7 December 1686. He was never married. Writing to Sir Robert Carr on 12 September 1676, and regretting his inability to fulfil some promise relative to a vacant post, he said: “Promises are like marriages; what we tie with our tongues we cannot untie with our teeth. I have been discreet enough as to the last, but frequently a fool as to the first.”
Secretary of State for the Northern Department
The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782. Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of State's responsibilities were in relation to the English government, not the British. Even after the Union, there was...
between 1672 and 1674 and the Southern Department
Secretary of State for the Southern Department
The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782.Before 1782, the responsibilities of the two British Secretaries of State were divided not based on the principles of modern ministerial divisions, but...
between 1674 and 1680.
Origins and education
Coventry was the third son by the second marriage of Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron CoventryThomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry
Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry was a prominent English lawyer, politician and judge during the early 17th century.-Education and early legal career:...
, brother of Sir William Coventry
William Coventry
-Early life and Civil War:William was the son of the lord keeper Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry, by his second wife Elizabeth Aldersley. Coventry matriculated at Queens College, Oxford, at the age of fourteen...
, uncle of Sir John Coventry
John Coventry
Sir John Coventry was son of John Coventry , the second son of lord keeper Thomas Coventry.Between 1655 and 1659, he travelled in the continent with his tutor the poet Edward Sherburne...
, and brother-in-law of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury. He matriculated from Queen's College, Oxford in 1632 aged 14, and graduated then following year. Within a year he was a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College, Oxford
The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
, continuing such until 1648. He graduated in both arts and law. He may have become Chancellor of the diocese of Llandaff as early as 1638. In 1640, he obtained leave to travel, and was abroad until just before the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
. He was thus absent from England during the civil wars
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
.
Career
By 1654, he was a captain in the Dutch army, but in contact with 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...
in his exile. During part his time abroad, he was employed as royalist agent in Germany and Denmark, in company with Lord Wentworth
William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford
William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford was a member of England's House of Lords.He was a son of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford and his second wife Arabella Holles. When his father, Thomas, was executed in 1641, William left the Kingdom of England for several years. In 1652 he was...
, until the concert was dissolved by a violent quarrel, leading apparently to a duel. The notices of him at this date are very confused; Henry, his elder brother Francis, and his younger brother William
William Coventry
-Early life and Civil War:William was the son of the lord keeper Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry, by his second wife Elizabeth Aldersley. Coventry matriculated at Queens College, Oxford, at the age of fourteen...
being all attached to the exiled court and all commonly spoken of as Mr. Coventry. Before the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
Francis had ceased to take any active part in public affairs, and William had devoted himself more especially to the service of the Duke of York
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, whose secretary he continued to be while the duke held the office of Lord High Admiral
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
.
In 1660, he returned to England with letters for Presbyterian leaders including Sir Anthony Ashley-Cooper, who had been married to Henry's sister. In 1661, Henry became 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,...
(MP) for Droitwich
Droitwich (UK Parliament constituency)
Droitwich was the name of a constituency of the House of Commons of England in 1295, and again from 1554, then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918...
. He remained in the service of the crown, and in September 1664 was sent as ambassador to Sweden, where he remained for the next two years, “accustoming himself to the northern ways of entertainment, and this grew upon him with age”. In 1667 he was sent, jointly with Lord Holles
Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles
Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles PC was an English statesman and writer, best known as one of the five members of parliament whom King Charles I of England attempted to arrest in 1642.-Early life:...
, as plenipotentiary to negotiate the treaty of peace with the Dutch, which, after the disgraceful summer, was finally concluded at Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
. In 1671 he was again sent on an embassy to Sweden, and in 1672 he was appointed Secretary of State for the Northern Department
Secretary of State for the Northern Department
The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782. Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of State's responsibilities were in relation to the English government, not the British. Even after the Union, there was...
, transferring to the Southern Department
Secretary of State for the Southern Department
The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782.Before 1782, the responsibilities of the two British Secretaries of State were divided not based on the principles of modern ministerial divisions, but...
in 1674. In this office he continued till 1680, when his health, which was shattered by frequent attacks of gout
Gout
Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...
, compelled him to retire from public life. During the Popish Plot while his colleague Williamson's nerve cracked under the strain, Coventry generally maintained his calm, although he was concerned at the public hysteria " the nation and the city are in as great a consternation as can be imagined." He was one of the first to warn that any attempt to exclude the Duke of York might lead to civil war: "if that prince go into another place, it must cost you a standing army to bring him back."
Reputation
According to Gilbert BurnetGilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet was a Scottish theologian and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was respected as a cleric, a preacher, and an academic, as well as a writer and historian...
, “he was a man of wit and heat, of spirit and candour. He never gave bad advices; but when the king followed the ill advices which others gave, he thought himself bound to excuse if not to justify them. For this the Duke of York commended him much. He said in that he was a pattern to all good subjects, since he defended all the king's counsels in public, even when he had blamed them most in private with the king himself”. It is to his credit that after holding public office for nearly twenty years he had not accumulated any large fortune; and though no doubt in easy circumstances, he wrote of himself as feeling straitened by the loss of his official salary on 31 December 1680. He died in London on 7 December 1686. He was never married. Writing to Sir Robert Carr on 12 September 1676, and regretting his inability to fulfil some promise relative to a vacant post, he said: “Promises are like marriages; what we tie with our tongues we cannot untie with our teeth. I have been discreet enough as to the last, but frequently a fool as to the first.”