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
William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven, PC (June 1608 – 9 April 1697) was an English nobleman and soldier.
His father William Craven was born in a poor family in Appletreewick in North Yorkshire but moved to London, became wealthy, and was Lord Mayor of London in 1610.[1][2]
Craven fought for Frederick V on the Continent and fell in love with his wife, Elizabeth of Bohemia. Still being absent during the English Civil War, he supported this lady's brother, Charles I, financially rather than in person and, therefore, had all his lands – largely in Berkshire, but including his main country seat at Caversham Park in Oxfordshire – confiscated. After the Restoration, he set about planning to build a vast palace for Elizabeth at Hamstead Marshall in Berkshire with a hunting lodge at nearby Ashdown (now in Oxfordshire), but she died before construction began.
After the Restoration, he was rewarded with several Court offices and given an earldom. He was granted a share in the Colony of Carolina and served as one of its Lord Proprietors. As a Privy Councillor he seems to have been diligent enough: Pepys in his Diary regularly mentions his attendance at the Committee for Tangier and his chairing the Committee on Fisheries. In the latter role Pepys was rather shocked by his bawdy language which Pepys thought improper in a councillor (though perhaps natural in an old soldier). In 1678 we read of his presence at the historic Council meeting where Titus Oates first publicised, the Popish Plot.
Pepys' attitude to Craven varies in the Diary- on the one hand he calls him a coxcomb and criticises his chairing of the Fisheries Committee; at other times he is glad that Craven is his "very good friend". Whatever Pepys's opinion of him, Craven earned the lasting respect and gratitude of the people of London during the Great Plague when unlike the great majority of noblemen who fled to the country, he remained in London helping to maintain order and donating property for burial grounds.
Craven County, North Carolina is named after William.
[edit] References
- Ford, David Nash (2001). Royal Berkshire History: William Craven, Earl of Craven (1608–1697)
- ^ "Sir William Craven". thePeerage.com. http://www.thepeerage.com/p2054.htm#i20532. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
- ^ "History of Burnsall School". http://www.burnsall.n-yorks.sch.uk/pages/history.htm. Retrieved 20 August 2008. [dead link]
[edit] Further reading
- Smuts, R. Malcolm (2004). "Craven, William, earl of Craven (bap. 1608, d. 1697)" (Online for subscribers, also available in print). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/6636. Retrieved 23 August 2008.
| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Lord Lovelace | Custos Rotulorum of Berkshire 1634–1689 | Succeeded by The Duke of Norfok |
| Preceded by Sir Edward Nicholas | Custos Rotulorum of Middlesex 1669–1689 | Succeeded by The Earl of Clare |
| Preceded by The Duke of Albemarle | Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex 1670–1689 | |
| Peerage of England | ||
| New creation | Earl of Craven 1664–1697 | Extinct |
| Baron Craven 1626–1697 | Succeeded by William Craven | |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Craven, William Craven, 1st Earl of |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 1608 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | 9 April 1697 |
| Place of death | |
_by_Gerrit_van_Honthorst.jpg)
Annotations
-
from L&M Companion
(1608-97). Soldier and courtier. He served abroad with the Dutch in the 1620s, and became the champion of James I’s daughter, Elizabeth, ‘Winter Queen’ of Bohemia, fighting in her cause under Gustavus Adolphus. He established himself as her principal adviser and spent much of his large fortune on her cause….. -
from J.Evelyn p337: 8 june 54 : He had a house at Causam [Reading]”… saw my Lord Cravons house at Causam nowin ruins,his goodly woods felling by the Rebells:
mentioned in the future 3 times. -
Upon the death of Sir George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, in 1670, Lord Craven was commissioned colonel of the Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards.
-
Craven.
In September 1662 a regiment of Foot was raised under the Earl of Craven, and were known as Craven’s Foot. It was disbanded in 1664.