Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
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Wikipedia
John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor PC (1606 – 17 July 1685), known as The Lord Robartes between 1634 and 1679, was an English politician.
Born in Truro, where his father was a successful merchant, and educated at Exeter College, Oxford, John Robartes fought on the side of the Parliament during the Civil War, being present at the Battle of Edgehill and at the First Battle of Newbury, and was a member of the committee of both kingdoms. He succeeded his father, Richard Robartes, as Baron Robartes in May 1634. The barony was purchased under compulsion for £10,000 in 1625. The family had amassed great wealth by trading in tin and wool, and in 1620 bought and began extending Lanhydrock House near Bodmin as the family seat.
He is said to have persuaded the Earl of Essex to make his ill-fated march into Cornwall in 1644; he escaped with the earl from Lostwithiel and was afterwards governor of Plymouth. He, like many other Lords who had sided with Parliament, was marginalised by the Independents who saw no future in continuing negotiations with King Charles. The execution of the King would have appalled him.
Between the execution of Charles I and the restoration of Charles II he retired to Lanhydrock with his family and took practically no part in public life. After 1660 he became a prominent public man, owing his prominence partly to his influence among the Presbyterians, and ranged himself among Lord Clarendon’s enemies. He was Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1660–1661 and was Lord Lieutenant in 1669–1670; from 1661 to 1673 he was Lord Privy Seal although he did not exercise his office after his return from Ireland. He once again retired to Lanhydrock where he spent much time hunting deer and hare in his parks. In 1679 Charles II recalled him to public office to counteract the growing power of the faction opposed to the succession of Charles' brother, the Catholic James. He was Lord President of the Council until 1684. In 1679 he was created Viscount Bodmin and Earl of Radnor, and he died at Chelsea on 17 July 1685. He was buried in the family crypt in Lanhydrock Church with little ceremony as he had stipulated in his will.
| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Earl of Pembroke | Custos Rotulorum of Cornwall 1642 – 1685 With: The Earl of Bath 1642–1654 | Succeeded by The Earl of Bath |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Earl of Bath | Lord Privy Seal 1661 – 1673 | Succeeded by The Earl of Anglesey |
| Preceded by Earl of Ossory as Lord Deputy | Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1669 – 1670 | Succeeded by The Lord Berkeley of Stratton |
| Preceded by The Earl of Shaftesbury | Lord President of the Council 1679 – 1684 | Succeeded by The Earl of Rochester |
| Peerage of England | ||
| New creation | Earl of Radnor 1679 – 1685 | Succeeded by Charles Bodville Robartes |
| Preceded by Richard Robartes | Baron Robartes 1634 – 1685 | |
Annotations
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Interesting Character: Certainly a diplomat being on both sides of the fence.
Robartes, Sir John\ [Danvers House] “… was let from 1660 to 1685 to John Lord Robartes, later Earl of Radnor, who despite having fought for Cromwell was able to entertain Charles II within months of the restoration. Samuel Pepys was also a visitor and ‘found it to be the prettiest contrived house that I ever saw in my life’….” fromhttp://www.old-father-thames.co.uk/Sector03/0603html/fc065020.html
more of his history : still has supporters at: and a history
http://www.reenacting.co.uk/home.shtmlCornwall and its part in the interregum and the after effects: and Robartes involvement with Cromwell
http://www.patpnyc.com/par-cwcw.shtmlThe army connection at:
http://www.ecwsa.org/sealedknotlinks.html
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The Robartes referred to was Lord and not Sir John Robartes. He did not fight for Cromwell although his son Robert was page-boy at the Protector’s Inauguration in 1657.
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from L&M Companion
Sir John Robartes, 2nd Baron Robartes, cr. Earl of Radnor 1679
(1606-85). Pepys’s chief as Lord Privy Seal, an office he held from 1661-73. A wealthy and influential West-country figure, he had founght on the parliamentary side as a Presbyterian in the Civil War but had withdrawn from politics in the 1650s, and like Sandwich and Crew formed one of the group of moderates who supported the cause of restoration in 1659-60. He was rewarded by a place on the Treasury commission and the post of Lord-Deputy of Ireland, but resigned the latter out of pique at not being made Lord-lieutenant. At the Privy Seal, to which he was appointed in compensation, he was slow and obstructive. In 1669-70 he had a disastrous year as Ormond’s successor as Lord-Lieutenant, and later served as Lord President of the Council 1679-84 and on the Tangier Committee. He was a morose and unsociable man, unpopular not only with Pepys but with almost everyone who knew him. He ceased to be a Presbyterian after 1660, but supported the cause of toleration of nonconformists. His London house was in Chelsea, opposite Crosby Hall.His eldest son, Robert, styled Viscount Bodmin from 1679, whose marriage to Sara Bodville drew Pepy’s attention, died before his father in 1682. He had been appointed ambassador to Denmark in 1681.
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Lord Robartes, Earl of Radnor , was painted by his enemies as a morose and unsociable man. Those who knew him better, or who had enjoyed his patronage, praised him as a man of principle, a lover of learning and a friend to foreigners (mainly Huguenots). He sponsored, for example, the research of John Graunt who was the first to analyse tables of mortality and population growth in London. Is it surprising that a man who had fathered nineteen children and, by 1682, had survived all but five of them, should be rather solemn? His problem was being too Calvinistic and high minded in an age of lax morality. And yet, he served Charles II loyally and did not oppose the catholic James II’s right to the throne. Old images greatly underestimate him.
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this is the roberts family connection from Ireland to england.
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John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor
“John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor (1606-1685) succeeded his father, Richard Robartes, as Baron Robartes of Truro in May 1634….” and more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Robartes,_1st_Earl_of_Radnor