Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans
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Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of Saint Albans KG
(1605-January 1684) was an English politician and courtier
. He sat in the in the House of Commons
at various times between 1625 and 1643 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Jermyn
. He was one of the most influential courtiers of the period, constantly devising and promoting schemes to involve foreign powers in the restoration of the monarchy, both before and after the execution of Charles I.
Jermyn was the fourth but second surviving son of Sir Thomas Jermyn (1572-1645) of Rushbrooke
, Suffolk
, Vice-Chamberlain to Charles I of England
, and his wife Catherine, daughter of Sir William Killigrew of Hanworth, Middlesex. He was baptised at St Margaret’s Lothbury, London on 25 March 1605.
In 1625 Jermyn was elected Member of Parliament
for Bodmin
, and was re-elected MP for the seat in 1626. He was MP for Liverpool
in 1628. He won the favour of Henrietta Maria of France
, Queen consort of Charles I of England
whose vice-chamberlain he became in 1628, and Master of the Horse
in 1639.
In April 1640, Jermyn was elected MP for Corfe Castle
in the Short Parliament
together with his brother Thomas
. The brothers were both elected MPs for Bury St Edmunds in the Long Parliament
in November 1640 and were active and ardent Royalist
s. Jermyn took a prominent part in the army plot of 1641, and on its discovery fled to France
. Returning to the Kingdom of England
in 1643, he resumed his personal attendance on the queen. He was raised to the peerage as Baron Jermyn
of St Edmundsbury on 6 September, ostensibly so that, should he fall into Parliamentarian hands, he would be beheaded, and not hanged, drawn and quartered. He accompanied Henrietta Maria in 1644 to France, where he continued to act as her secretary.
Also in 1643, Jermyn was made governor of Jersey
, whence he conducted the Prince of Wales
to Paris
. When Charles II
went to Breda, Jermyn remained in Paris with Henrietta Maria, who persuaded her son to create him Earl of St Albans
in 1660. Gossip which the historian Hallam
accepted as authentic, but which is supported by no real evidence, asserted that Jermyn was secretly married to the widow of Charles I.
At the Restoration
St Albans became Lord Chamberlain
, and received other appointments. He supported the policy of friendship with France, and he contributed largely to the close secret understanding between Charles II and Louis XIV of France
, arranging the preliminaries of the Treaty of Dover in 1669.
In the early 1660s he obtained a grant of land in London
north of St James's Palace
, building St James's Square
and its surrounding streets, including Jermyn Street
, and also St Albans market, on a site afterwards cleared for the construction of Regent Street
and Waterloo Place. He was a friend and patron of Abraham Cowley
. Although accused of having 'dissolute morals', he was really no more or less 'moral' than most other men of his time. He was much addicted to gambling
, which was a very popular pastime in his era.
St Albans died unmarried in St James Square in January 1684. The earldom became extinct at his death, while the barony of Jermyn of St Edmundsbury passed by special remainder, together with his property, to his nephew Thomas Jermyn
(1633-1703), and after the latter's death to Thomas's brother Henry Baron Dover
.
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
(1605-January 1684) was an English politician and courtier
Courtier
A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
. He sat in the in the House of Commons
House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...
at various times between 1625 and 1643 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Jermyn
Baron Jermyn
Baron Jermyn, of St Edmundsbury, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1643 for Henry Jermyn, with remainder, failing heirs male of his own, to his nephews. In 1660 he was further honoured when he was made Earl of St Albans, with normal remainder to the heirs male of his body...
. He was one of the most influential courtiers of the period, constantly devising and promoting schemes to involve foreign powers in the restoration of the monarchy, both before and after the execution of Charles I.
Jermyn was the fourth but second surviving son of Sir Thomas Jermyn (1572-1645) of Rushbrooke
Rushbrooke
Rushbrooke is an urban area on the western side of Cobh on Great Island in Cork Harbour, Ireland. It is in the townland of Ringacoltig .The townland is Ringacoltig, an anglicised version of the original Irish name....
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, Vice-Chamberlain to Charles I of England
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...
, and his wife Catherine, daughter of Sir William Killigrew of Hanworth, Middlesex. He was baptised at St Margaret’s Lothbury, London on 25 March 1605.
In 1625 Jermyn was elected 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 Bodmin
Bodmin (UK Parliament constituency)
Bodmin was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Cornwall from 1295 until 1983. Initially, it was a parliamentary borough, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England and later the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until the 1868 general...
, and was re-elected MP for the seat in 1626. He was MP for Liverpool
Liverpool (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool was a Borough constituency in the county of Lancashire of the House of Commons for the Parliament of England to 1706 then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Members of Parliament...
in 1628. He won the favour of Henrietta Maria of France
Henrietta Maria of France
Henrietta Maria of France ; was the Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I...
, Queen consort of Charles I of England
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...
whose vice-chamberlain he became in 1628, and Master of the Horse
Master of the Horse
The Master of the Horse was a position of varying importance in several European nations.-Magister Equitum :...
in 1639.
In April 1640, Jermyn was elected MP for Corfe Castle
Corfe Castle (UK Parliament constituency)
Corfe Castle was a parliamentary borough in Dorset, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1572 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
in the Short Parliament
Short Parliament
The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....
together with his brother Thomas
Thomas Jermyn (died 1659)
Thomas Jermyn was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1625 and 1644. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War....
. The brothers were both elected MPs for Bury St Edmunds in the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
in November 1640 and were active and ardent Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
s. Jermyn took a prominent part in the army plot of 1641, and on its discovery fled to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Returning to the Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
in 1643, he resumed his personal attendance on the queen. He was raised to the peerage as Baron Jermyn
Baron Jermyn
Baron Jermyn, of St Edmundsbury, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1643 for Henry Jermyn, with remainder, failing heirs male of his own, to his nephews. In 1660 he was further honoured when he was made Earl of St Albans, with normal remainder to the heirs male of his body...
of St Edmundsbury on 6 September, ostensibly so that, should he fall into Parliamentarian hands, he would be beheaded, and not hanged, drawn and quartered. He accompanied Henrietta Maria in 1644 to France, where he continued to act as her secretary.
Also in 1643, Jermyn was made governor of Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
, whence he conducted 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...
to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. When 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...
went to Breda, Jermyn remained in Paris with Henrietta Maria, who persuaded her son to create him Earl of St Albans
Earl of St Albans
The Earldom of St Albans was created twice in the 17th century, first to Richard Bourke, Earl of Clanricarde then to Henry Jermyn, Baron Jermyn. It became extinct after the latter's death.-Earls of St Albans, First Creation :...
in 1660. Gossip which the historian Hallam
Hallam
-Places:* Hallamshire, an area in South Yorkshire, England; the source of the name for:** Hallam F.C. - a non-league football club in Sheffield.** Hallam FM, a radio station based in Sheffield.** Royal Hallamshire Hospital...
accepted as authentic, but which is supported by no real evidence, asserted that Jermyn was secretly married to the widow of Charles I.
At 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...
St Albans became Lord Chamberlain
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
, and received other appointments. He supported the policy of friendship with France, and he contributed largely to the close secret understanding between Charles II and Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
, arranging the preliminaries of the Treaty of Dover in 1669.
In the early 1660s he obtained a grant of land in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
north of St James's Palace
St. James's Palace
St. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated in Pall Mall, just north of St. James's Park. Although no sovereign has resided there for almost two centuries, it has remained the official residence of the Sovereign and the most senior royal palace in the UK...
, building St James's Square
St. James's Square
St. James's Square is the only square in the exclusive St James's district of the City of Westminster. It has predominantly Georgian and neo-Georgian architecture and a private garden in the centre...
and its surrounding streets, including Jermyn Street
Jermyn Street
Jermyn Street is a street in the City of Westminster, central London, to the south, parallel and adjacent to Piccadilly.It is well known as a street where the shops are almost exclusively aimed at the Gentleman's market and is famous for its resident shirtmakers Jermyn Street is a street in the...
, and also St Albans market, on a site afterwards cleared for the construction of Regent Street
Regent Street
Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London's West End, well known to tourists and Londoners alike, and famous for its Christmas illuminations...
and Waterloo Place. He was a friend and patron of Abraham Cowley
Abraham Cowley
Abraham Cowley was an English poet born in the City of London late in 1618. He was one of the leading English poets of the 17th century, with 14 printings of his Works published between 1668 and 1721.-Early life and career:...
. Although accused of having 'dissolute morals', he was really no more or less 'moral' than most other men of his time. He was much addicted to gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, which was a very popular pastime in his era.
St Albans died unmarried in St James Square in January 1684. The earldom became extinct at his death, while the barony of Jermyn of St Edmundsbury passed by special remainder, together with his property, to his nephew Thomas Jermyn
Thomas Jermyn, 2nd Baron Jermyn
Thomas Jermyn, 2nd Baron Jermyn was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1679 to 1684 when he succeeded to the peerage.Jermyn was the son of Thomas Jermyn of Rushbrooke, Suffolk....
(1633-1703), and after the latter's death to Thomas's brother Henry Baron Dover
Henry Jermyn, Earl of Dover
Henry Jermyn, 3rd Baron Jermyn and 1st Baron Dover PC was the second son of Sir Thomas Jermyn, of Rushbrooke, Suffolk, who died in 1659....
.