John Trevor (1596 - 1673)
Encyclopedia
Sir John Trevor of Trevalyn Hall
in Denbighshire
, was a Welsh Puritan
Member of Parliament
during the reigns of James I
and Charles I
, and a member of the Council of State
during the Commonwealth
. He inherited Trevalyn on the death of his uncle Richard Trevor
in 1638.
Trevor, whose father Sir John Trevor
was Surveyor of the Queen's Ships under Elizabeth I
, was knighted in 1619. He entered Parliament in 1621 as member for Denbighshire
, and represented Flintshire
in the Parliaments of 1624 and 1625, Great Bedwyn
in 1628-9. During the Personal Rule
of Charles I
, he was a member of several Royal Commissions, and amassed a substantial income: he had inherited from his father a share in the duties levied on coal
from Newcastle
, said to bring in £1,500 a year, and held the keepership of several Royal forests, all lucrative sinecures. (At one period he was Surveyor of Windsor Great Park
.)
Trevor represented the Cornish
borough of Grampound
in the Long Parliament
, having connections with Cornwall through his mother, a Trevanion. Taking the parliamentary side during the Civil War
, he was sufficiently supportive of the trial of the King
to survive Pride's Purge
and sit in the Rump
. He seems to have been accepted as the spokesman for North Wales
in many of the administrative committees that took over the country after the overthrow of the Monarchy, being twice elected to the Council of State
, and also serving on the Committee of Both Kingdoms
from 1648. However, he was not a member of the smaller council established after Cromwell
assumed the Protectorate in 1653. In the Second Protectorate Parliament
, Trevor was MP for Arundel
, and was one of those advocating the offer of the Crown to Cromwell
(to whom he was related by his son's marriage to John Hampden's
daughter, Ruth). He sat in the Third
for Steyning
.
Although he resumed his seat in the restored Rump after Richard Cromwell's
fall, he was an early supporter of the Restoration
of Charles II
, which ensured that he suffered no penalties for his earlier political loyalties after the King returned, being granted a royal pardon on 24 July 1660. However, he had invested much of his fortune during the Commonwealth in buying up lands confiscated from convicted Royalists, and suffered considerable loss as a result.
Trevor's son, also called Sir John Trevor
(1626–1672), was an MP with his father during the Commonwealth, and after the Restoration
rose to become Secretary of State
in 1668.
Trevalyn Hall
Trevalyn Hall in Rossett, a Grade II listed building, is one of the most important Elizabethan manor houses in the county of Wrexham in Wales. It was built by John Trevor in 1576....
in Denbighshire
Denbighshire
Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...
, was a Welsh Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
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,...
during the reigns of James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
and 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...
, and a member of the Council of State
English Council of State
The English Council of State, later also known as the Protector's Privy Council, was first appointed by the Rump Parliament on 14 February 1649 after the execution of King Charles I....
during the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
. He inherited Trevalyn on the death of his uncle Richard Trevor
Richard Trevor (politician)
Sir Richard Trevor was a Welsh landowner, soldier and politician.He was the eldest son of John Trevor of Trevalyn Hall, Denbighshire. He was the elder brother of Sir John Trevor, Sir Thomas Trevor and Sir Sackville Trevor...
in 1638.
Trevor, whose father Sir John Trevor
John Trevor (1563-1630)
Sir John Trevor was a Welsh politician.He was the second son of John Trevor of Trevalyn, Denbighshire, and the younger brother of Richard Trevor and older brother of Thomas Trevor and Sackville Trevor.He served Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, as did his brothers Richard and...
was Surveyor of the Queen's Ships under Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, was knighted in 1619. He entered Parliament in 1621 as member for Denbighshire
Denbighshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Denbighshire was a county constituency in Denbighshire, in north Wales, from 1542 to 1885.- History :From 1542, it returned one Member of Parliament , traditionally known as the knight of the shire, to the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until 1707, then to the Parliament of Great...
, and represented Flintshire
Flintshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Flintshire was a parliamentary constituency in North-East Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1542 until it was abolished for the 1950 general election.- Boundaries :...
in the Parliaments of 1624 and 1625, Great Bedwyn
Great Bedwyn (UK Parliament constituency)
Great Bedwyn was a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-1295–1640:-1640–1832:Notes...
in 1628-9. During the Personal Rule
Personal Rule
The Personal Rule was the period from 1629 to 1640, when King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland ruled without recourse to Parliament...
of 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 a member of several Royal Commissions, and amassed a substantial income: he had inherited from his father a share in the duties levied on coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
from Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, said to bring in £1,500 a year, and held the keepership of several Royal forests, all lucrative sinecures. (At one period he was Surveyor of Windsor Great Park
Windsor Great Park
Windsor Great Park is a large deer park of , to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. The park was, for many centuries, the private hunting ground of Windsor Castle and dates primarily from the mid-13th century...
.)
Trevor represented the Cornish
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
borough of Grampound
Grampound (UK Parliament constituency)
Grampound in Cornwall, was a borough constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1821. It was represented by two Members of Parliament.-History:Grampound's...
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...
, having connections with Cornwall through his mother, a Trevanion. Taking the parliamentary side during the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, he was sufficiently supportive of the trial of the King
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...
to survive Pride's Purge
Pride's Purge
Pride’s Purge is an event in December 1648, during the Second English Civil War, when troops under the command of Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed from the Long Parliament all those who were not supporters of the Grandees in the New Model Army and the Independents...
and sit in the Rump
Rump Parliament
The Rump Parliament is the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride purged the Long Parliament on 6 December 1648 of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason....
. He seems to have been accepted as the spokesman for North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
in many of the administrative committees that took over the country after the overthrow of the Monarchy, being twice elected to the Council of State
English Council of State
The English Council of State, later also known as the Protector's Privy Council, was first appointed by the Rump Parliament on 14 February 1649 after the execution of King Charles I....
, and also serving on the Committee of Both Kingdoms
Committee of Both Kingdoms
The Committee of Both Kingdoms, , was a committee set up during the English Civil War by the Parliamentarian faction in association with representatives from the Scottish Covenanters, to oversee the conduct of the War and Foreign Policy...
from 1648. However, he was not a member of the smaller council established after Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
assumed the Protectorate in 1653. In the Second Protectorate Parliament
Second Protectorate Parliament
The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons...
, Trevor was MP for Arundel
Arundel (UK Parliament constituency)
Arundel was twice a parliamentary constituency in the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The first incarnation strictly comprised the town centre of Arundel and was a borough constituency first enfranchised in 1332 and disfranchised in 1868 under the Reform...
, and was one of those advocating the offer of the Crown to Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
(to whom he was related by his son's marriage to John Hampden's
John Hampden
John Hampden was an English politician, the eldest son of William Hampden, of Hampden House, Great Hampden in Buckinghamshire, John Hampden (ca. 15951643) was an English politician, the eldest son of William Hampden, of Hampden House, Great Hampden in Buckinghamshire, John Hampden (ca. 15951643)...
daughter, Ruth). He sat in the Third
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...
for Steyning
Steyning (UK Parliament constituency)
Steyning was a parliamentary borough in Sussex, England, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons sporadically from 1298 and continuously from 1467 until 1832...
.
Although he resumed his seat in the restored Rump after Richard Cromwell's
Richard Cromwell
At the same time, the officers of the New Model Army became increasingly wary about the government's commitment to the military cause. The fact that Richard Cromwell lacked military credentials grated with men who had fought on the battlefields of the English Civil War to secure their nation's...
fall, he was an early supporter of 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...
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...
, which ensured that he suffered no penalties for his earlier political loyalties after the King returned, being granted a royal pardon on 24 July 1660. However, he had invested much of his fortune during the Commonwealth in buying up lands confiscated from convicted Royalists, and suffered considerable loss as a result.
Trevor's son, also called Sir John Trevor
John Trevor (1626-1672)
Sir John Trevor was a Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1646 and 1672.Trevor was a son of Sir John Trevor of Trevalyn Hall, Denbighshire...
(1626–1672), was an MP with his father during the Commonwealth, and after 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...
rose to become Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
in 1668.