Wallingford House party
Encyclopedia
The Wallingford House party were a group of senior officers (Grandees) of the New Model Army
who met at Wallingford House, the London home of Charles Fleetwood
. They overthrew the Protectorate
of the Lord Protector
Richard Cromwell
.
On 23 April 1659 the Wallingford House party ended the Third Protectorate Parliament
by locking the doors of the assembly rooms. On 6 May the Council of Officers meeting in Wallingford House, invited the Rump Parliament
to reassemble which it did the next day appointing a Committee of Safety to form the executive until a new Council of State was appointed on 19 May.
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...
who met at Wallingford House, the London home of Charles Fleetwood
Charles Fleetwood
Charles Fleetwood was an English Parliamentary soldier and politician, Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1652–55, where he enforced the Cromwellian Settlement. At the Restoration he was included in the Act of Indemnity as among the twenty liable to penalties other than capital, and was finally...
. They overthrew the Protectorate
The Protectorate
In British history, the Protectorate was the period 1653–1659 during which the Commonwealth of England was governed by a Lord Protector.-Background:...
of the Lord Protector
Lord Protector
Lord Protector is a title used in British constitutional law for certain heads of state at different periods of history. It is also a particular title for the British Heads of State in respect to the established church...
Richard Cromwell
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...
.
On 23 April 1659 the Wallingford House party ended 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...
by locking the doors of the assembly rooms. On 6 May the Council of Officers meeting in Wallingford House, invited the Rump Parliament
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....
to reassemble which it did the next day appointing a Committee of Safety to form the executive until a new Council of State was appointed on 19 May.