Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
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Wikipedia
Sir John Lawson (ca. 1615–1665) was an English Naval Officer and Republican.[1]
Lawson was in command of ships in the parliament's service during and after the English Civil War, 1642-6, 1651-3, 1654-6. He was dismissed from the public service, apparently on political grounds in 1656. An anabaptist and republican, he was implicated in the conspiracy of the Fifth Monarchists and arrested in 1657. He was appointed commander-in-chief of the fleet in 1659 and co-operated with General George Monck in the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. A grateful King Charles II of England knighted him in 1660. Commissioned as the vice-admiral of the red squadron for the Second Anglo-Dutch War in 1665, he died of a wound received at the battle of Lowestoft.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ David Plant,John Lawson, c.1615-65 British Civil Wars and Commonwealth website
- ^ Lee, Sidney (1903), Dictionary of National Biography Index and Epitome, p.775 (also main entry xxxii 292)
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1903). "Lawson, Sir John". Dictionary of National Biography Index and Epitome. Cambridge University Press. p. 775].
[edit] Further reading
- http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/lawson.htm Full biography of John Lawson
- http://www.pepysdiary.com/p/110.php#wheatley
- http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1665/03/
- http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23544808-details/Pictured:+Divers+discover+amazingly+preserved+shipwreck+of+HMS+London+on+bottom+of+Thames/article.do
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Lawson, John |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | 1665 |
| Place of death | |
1893 text
Sir John Lawson, the son of a poor man at Hull, entered the navy as a common sailor, rose to the rank of admiral, and distinguished himself during the Protectorate. Though a republican, he readily closed with the design of restoring the King. He was vice-admiral under the Earl of Sandwich, and commanded the “London” in the squadron which conveyed Charles II. to England. He was mortally wounded in the action with the Dutch off Harwich, June, 1665. He must not be confounded with another John Lawson, the Royalist, of Brough Hall, in Yorkshire, who was created a Baronet by Charles II, July 6th, 1665.
Annotations
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Lawson, very early in 1660
“Vice-Admiral Lawson, who is confusingly against the army and in favour of the Rump, has brought the fleet into the Thames and looks as though he might be preparing to blockade London, cutting off the coal and corn on which it depends; he has his own programme of republican reform that he has submitted to the City an had rudely rejected… . Neither Pepys nor anyone else could be sure what Monck or Lawson had in mind, because neither was sure himself yet; both had explicitly repudiated the idea of support for a restored monarchy …”
— Claire Tomalin, “Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self,” p. 88, 89.
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Lawson (Summary from Ollard’s biography of Montagu)
Lawson, the sea officer par excellence, was much liked and admired by the sailors.
(1660 Edward Montagu) “On Feb 23rd Parliament elected him member of Council of State. On March 2nd it appointed him, along with Monck, General at Sea. Since Monck was Commander in Chief of the Army this gave Edward in practice sole command of the fleet. He was also made a Commissioner of the Admiralty and both his regiment of horse and his lodgings in Whitehall were restored to him…
The chief hazard that confronted Montagu in establishing himself as the effective Commander in Chief of the fleet was the presence of Sir John Lawson in that very capacity. Lawson, it will be remembered, had refused to go as Blake’s Vice-Admiral to the Med on grounds that were manifestly political and had resigned his commission. A year later he had been briefly taken into custody on suspicion of being involved in a Fifth Monarchy conspiracy against the Protectorate and had not been subsequently employed by either Oliver or Richard. On Richard’s fall he had at once been recalled by the Rump to command the fleet in the Channel, obviously as a counterweight to Montagu the commanding the fleet that had been sent to the Sound. On Montagu’s return and dismissal he had been confirmed as sole Commander in Chief and demonstrated his loyalty to his Republican employers by bringing the fleet into the Thames and threatening a complete blockade of London when the Army leaders turned the Rump out. On the face of it he had acted in naval terms exactly as Monck had in bringing his troops to the defence of the Government against a military coup. But everyone knew that Lawson was a strong partisan of left-wing opinions in politics and religion and no one knew whether Monck had any opinions at all.
In this way Lawson had provided Montagu with his card of re-entry…elected a member of the new Council of State from which Lawson had been dropped…Lawson was a popular officer, a bred seaman not a government nominee. He had shown that he was ready to risk his position for his beliefs.
…(23rd March Montagu/Pepys on the Swiftsure Lawson came aboard)…This was a great point gained for though Lawson had not concealed his strong Republican sympathies no one thought him devious. He might not like the way things were going but there was no reason why he should not, like many others, accept what he saw he could not alter. In fact he was to prove a loyal and successful flag officer in the navy of the Restoration.
…Montagu can justly claim credit for achieving this delicate transition but it would hardly have been so swift and painless without Lawson’s support. Clearly the two men got on…
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- Phil Gyford
on Mon 16 Jan 2006, 01:50pm. Flag this
Husband of Isabella: http://www.pepysdiary.com/p/5853.php
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Lawson.
For a good write up see…
http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/index_l.htm
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Per L& M Companion:
” … He was particularly concerned with Tangier as one of the contractors for the mole. … He died far from wealthy but not penniless. His pension (L500 p.a.) was continued (since he had died in service.) He had two houses, and an interest in a ballast quay and the Tangier mole. … The Mr. Lawson who was involved in the settling of his affairs after his death was either his cousin John Lawson, grocer, or the grocer’s son James. Both were overseers of his will. The father received under the will a velvet coat and a ‘flea-bitten gelding.’ “
References in the diary
- 1660
-
Jan: 1
Feb: 7, 21
Mar: 6, 23, 27, 29, 31
Apr: 10, 12, 17, 24, 25
May: 7, 11, 22, 25, 26
Jun: 1, 5, 20
Aug: 23
Sep: 20, 25
Dec: 13
- 1661
-
Apr: 5
Jul: 3
- 1662
-
May: 8, 22
Jun: 27
Nov: 22, 30
- 1663
-
Jan: 5, 6, 12, 23, 24, 25, 26
Feb: 2, 6, 21
Mar: 14, 30
Apr: 16
Oct: 6
Nov: 9
Dec: 12
- 1664
-
Jan: 7, 11, 13, 16
May: 3
Oct: 12, 17, 24
Dec: 12
- 1665
-
Jan: 2, 15
Feb: 20
Mar: 8, 20, 30
May: 12, 17
Jun: 8, 16, 17, 19, 23, 25
Jul: 2, 6
Oct: 25
- 1666
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Jul: 4, 30
Aug: 29
- 1667
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Mar: 22