Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
If you would like to write a summary for this topic, email phil [at] gyford [dot] com
Wikipedia
Sir Hardress Waller (c. 1604 – 1666), cousin of Sir William Waller, was an English parliamentarian of note.
[edit] Life
Born in Groombridge, Kent, and descendant of Sir Richard Waller of Groombridge Place, Waller was knighted by Charles I in 1629. That same year he married Elizabeth Dowdall, the daughter of an English landowner in Ireland and acquired a large estate in Castletown, Kilcornan, County Limerick. He gained military experience in serving against the rebels in Ireland, where in 1644 he was made Governor of Cork. During the 1st Civil War his loyalty to Charles 1 was in doubt and he was in Oxford in September 1643 when his loyalty to Charles 1 was confirmed.He held the rank of Colonel at this time.
He returned to Ireland but felt compelled to return to England and offer his military services to the Parliament and took up a Colonelship.
From 1645 to the conclusion of the Civil War he was in England commanding a regiment in the New Model Army.
Waller was Colonel Pride's chief assistant when the latter purged the House of Commons in 1648, and he was one of the king's judges and one of those who signed the death warrant.
Waller was back in Ireland in 1650 as a major-general in Cromwell's invasion force. When Cromwell returned to England in May 1650, Waller stayed in Ireland and assisted Henry Ireton and Edmund Ludlow in completing the subjugation. He captured Carlow Castle in July 1650 and played a major role in the siege of Limerick in 1651, after which he was appointed governor of Limerick. Waller was involved in the settlement of Ireland and remained loyal to Cromwell throughout the 1650s. He supported the establishment of the Protectorate against opposition from fellow officers, and came over to the republicans after Richard Cromwell's resignation in 1659. Waller opposed General Lambert's military coup against Parliament in October 1659 and led the officers who seized Dublin Castle in Parliament's name in December. Early in 1660, however, he became alarmed at moves to reinstate the MPs he had helped to expel during Pride's Purge. Waller seized Dublin Castle again on 15 February 1660 but, finding little support, he was obliged to surrender to Sir Charles Coote three days later. He was imprisoned at Athlone, then returned to England on the intervention of his cousin Sir William Waller.
Waller returned to England in 1660. After the Restoration he fled to France, but soon surrendered himself to the authorities as a regicide.
Samuel Pepys' diary records how his friend Henry Moore visited "... to tell me how Sir Hards. Waller (who only pleads guilty), Scott, Peters, Harrison, &c. were this day arraigned at the bar at the Sessions House", having been indicted before a grand jury of Middlesex on the previous day at Hicks Hall.
Waller was condemned to death but his life was spared owing to the efforts of his friends. He was, however, kept in prison and was still a captive in Mont Orgueil, Jersey, when he died.
Named as Sir Hardresse Waller in the Proclamation for apprehending the late King's Judges (4 June 1660)
[edit] Sources
- Mark Noble, Lives of the Regicides (1798).
- The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Wednesday 10 October 1660
- Note - Pepys was misinformed, as both Waller and George Fleetwood pleaded guilty.
- House of Lords Journal, Volume 11, 4 June 1660
- David Plant, British Civil Wars and Commonwealth website
- (Capture of Carlow) CARLOW TOWN 1836, Old Towns of Ireland
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Waller, Hardress |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | 1666 |
| Place of death | |
1893 text
Sir Hardress Waller, Knt., one of Charles I. judges. His sentence was commuted to imprisonment for life.