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| John
Hampden 1594-1643 |
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| 1594 |
Born in London.
He was a first cousin of Oliver Cromwell.
At the age of 3 his father died and he became heir to large estates in
Buckinghamshire and elsewhere. |
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Educated at the Lord Williams Grammar School in Thame, and
at Magdalen College, Oxford. Entered the Inner Temple in 1613 to study
law. |
| 1619 |
Married his first wife Elizabeth Symeon |
| 1621 |
Entered the House of Commons in Jan 1621. He became an
expert on taxation and associated himself with John Pym and John Eliot. |
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| 1627 |
King Charles I adopted his policy of forced loans to raise
money. John Hampden was called upon to pay and he refused to do so...and
was imprisoned for a year until March 1628. His reason for not paying was
that it went against the principles of the Magna Carta. |
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| 1628 |
Back in Parliament representing Wendover...when the Petition
of Right was put forward. |
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| 1629 |
Parliament upset King Charles I and was dissolved. Hampden
retired to his country estates. |
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| 1634 |
His wife died on 20th August. |
She left 9 children - 3
sons and 6 daughters
He became knows as Patriae
Pater -father of the People. |
| 1637 |
Hampden had refused to pay his ship
money (only 31 shillings and sixpence) and he took a stand against the
legality of the tax. The case was argued for 12 days by 12 judges who came
out (7 votes to 5) in favour of the King...but the case encouraged
widespread resistance to the tax...and Hampden's influence increased
greatly. |
| 1638 |
Hampden, like many others, even tried emigrating to America
but an order from the King (6th April 1638) stopped all ships from
transporting people and goods to America without special licence. |
One
(unsubstantiated) story states that Hampden, Oliver Cromwell and Pym were
all actually embarked on a boat ready to sail to New England when it was
detained. |
| 1640 |
Hampden served in the Short Parliament of April 1640.
He married his second wife Letitia Knollys |
| 1642 |
Hampden had become the principal lieutenant of Parliamentary
leader John Pym, and in the Long Parliament had helped to vigorously
attack the King's policies.
He was appointed to the Committee of
Safety in July.
He with four others (Pym, Haselrige, Holles and Strode) and one peer
(Lord Kimbolton) were accused of treason by the King who unsuccessfully
tried to have them arrested on 6th January 1642.
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Charles I tries to arrest the
five members. |
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Raised an infantry regiment in Buckinghamshire. He was
their colonel. They turned up at the battle of Edgehill but were too late
to see any fighting. He fought at the battle of Brentford. |
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| 1643 |
He was present at the successful siege of Reading. |
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On June 18th 1643 Hampden was leading a small party of
cavalry in an attempt to slow down Prince Rupert's dash up the Thames. At Chalgrove
he received two bullets in the shoulder which shattered the bone and he
had to leave the field of battle. After six agonising days he died in the
Greyhound Inn at Thame in Oxfordshire.
He was buried in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene at Great Hampden.
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The monument which marks the site of the battle at Chalgrove. |
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His last words
were recorded as...
O Lord God of Hosts, great is Thy mercy,
just and holy are thy dealings unto us sinful men. Save me, O Lord, if it
be thy good will, from the jaws of death. Pardon my bleeding country. Have
these realms in thy especial keeping. Confound and level in the dust those
who would rob the people of their liberty and lawful prerogative. Let the
King see his error and turn the hearts of his wicked counsellors from the
malice and wickedness of their designs. Lord Jesu, receive my soul! O
Lord, save my country. O Lord, be merciful to... |
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The statue to John Hampden in the Houses of Parliament. |
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For more information visit the John Hampden
Website at
www.johnhampden.org
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