Anthony Nicholl

Anthony Nicholl , also Nicoll, or Nicolls, November 1611 to February 1658, was an English politician, friend and associate of Parliamentary leaders John Pym, and John Hampden.

Anthony Nicholl MP, JP
St Tudy, Nicholl's birthplace
Sheriff of Cornwall
In office 1656 – 1658  †
Member of Parliament for Cornwall
In office 1654 – 1658  †
Master of the Armoury
In office 1648 – 1658  †
Member of Parliament for Bodmin
In office 1640 – 1648 (suspended)
Member of Parliament for Bossiney
In office April 1640 – May 1640
Personal details
Born	(1611-11-14)14 November 1611 Penvose, St Tudy, Cornwall
Died	February 20, 1658(1658-02-20) (aged 46) London
Cause of death	Fever
Resting place	Savoy Chapel[1]
Nationality	English
Spouse(s)	Amey Speckett (1629-1685)
Relations	John Pym
Children	Nine
Parents	Humphrey Nicoll (1577-1643); Philippa Rouse (died 1669)
Occupation	Politician
Military service
Allegiance	England

In the political struggles that followed victory in the 1642 to 1646 First English Civil War, he was one of the Eleven Members accused by senior Army officers in July 1647 of attempting to destabilise the kingdom. Suspended in January 1648, he was restored, then expelled in Pride's Purge of December 1648.

He returned to Parliament in 1654, and was appointed Sheriff of Cornwall in 1656. He died in London in February 1658.

Biography

Anthony Nicholl was born 14 November 1611, one of many children born to Humphrey Nicholl (1577-1643), and Philippa Rouse (died 1669). His father was a member of the Cornish gentry, his mother half-sister to John Pym.[2]

He married Amey Speckett (1609-1685), whose family came from Thornbury, Devon; they had nine children, five sons and four daughters. After his death, she married another member of the local gentry, John Vivian.[3]

Career

Nicholl's uncle, Parliamentary leader John Pym

His father was a close associate of William Coryton, leader of Cornish opposition to the 1627 Forced Loan; a key stage in the struggle between Charles I and Parliament, this led to the institution of Personal Rule in 1629.[4] Both he and Anthony supported the Presbyterian faction in the House of Commons, led by their relative, John Pym.

In April 1640, Nicholl was elected MP for Bossiney, which was dissolved by Charles in May. Following new elections in November 1640, he became MP for Bodmin, in the 1640 to 1660 Long Parliament.[5]

John Pym nominated him as a Parliamentary observer at the trial of Strafford in March 1641.[3] When the First English Civil War began in August 1642, unlike many of the Cornish gentry, the Nicholls backed Parliament.[6] In September 1642, Francis Bassett, the Royalist Sheriff of Cornwall, expelled them and other supporters from the county.[7]

In February 1643, Parliamentarians in Cornwall and Devon agreed a local truce with their Royalist opponents, causing outrage in London. Nicholl was sent to Exeter to warn his colleagues this was unacceptable, and no further agreements should be made. In May, he was present at the Battle of Stratton, a Royalist victory that ensured their control of the West Country. Nicholl's estates were occupied until the end of the war, and in June 1645, he received financial support from Parliament.[8]

His close friend John Hampden died of wounds received at Chalgrove Field in June. Nicholl wrote; ‘Never Kingdom received a greater loss in one subject, never a man a truer and more faithful friend.’[9] His uncle John Pym died in December, while Stamford, Parliamentary commander at Stratton, filed charges against Nicholl, claiming blamed for his defeat. However, Nicholl successfully refuted these, and they were dismissed in May 1644.[10]

In the political struggle that followed the end of the war in June 1646, he was a leader of the Parliamentary opposition to Oliver Cromwell. In July 1647, he was one of the Eleven Members impeached by senior Army officers of attempting to destabilise the kingdom. The Eleven withdrew from Parliament; unlike some of his colleagues, Nicholl received a pass to Cornwall, rather than abroad.[11]

Arrested on 17 August on his way home, he was taken to New Model Army headquarters in Kingston upon Thames, but quietly allowed to escape a few days later. Parliamentary proceedings to impeach the Eleven Members were suspended when the Second English Civil War began in February, then abandoned in June. As a gesture of reconciliation, Nicholl was given the sinecure of Master of the Armoury.[12]

Defeat in the Second English Civil War broke the power of the Presbyterian opposition, and Nicholl was among those expelled by Pride's Purge in 1648. He later reconciled with the new regime; in 1654, he was returned as one of the MPs for Cornwall, then re-elected in 1656. During the Rule of the Major-Generals from 1655 to 1657, he was one of 12 advisors for the South-West.[3] He was appointed High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1657, and provided regular updates to John Thurloe, head of intelligence under the Protectorate.[13]

In February 1658, Nicholl died in London, and buried in the graveyard attached to the Savoy Chapel. In 1681, his wife erected a family memorial in St Uda, parish church of St Tudy in Cornwall; in addition to her husband and herself, it includes four sons who died between 1649 and 1678.[14]

References

1. "Anthony Nicholl". Findagrave. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
2. Thrush, 2010 & ONDB. sfn error: no target: CITEREFThrush2010ONDB (help)
3. Duffin 2008.
4. Cust 1985, pp. 208-209.
5. Willis 1750, pp. 229-239.
6. Thrush, Ferris 2010. sfn error: no target: CITEREFThrush,_Ferris2010 (help)
7. Hutton 2003, p. 157.
8. Fuller-Eliott-Drake 1911, p. 335.
9. Adair 1979, p. 17.
10. Hopper 2008.
11. "Eleven Members". BCW Project. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
12. Fuller-Eliott-Drake 1911, p. 366.
13. Aylmer 1974, p. 181.
14. "Church of St Uda". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 27 March 2020.

Sources

• Adair, John (1979). "The Death of John Hampden". History Today. 29 (10).CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Aylmer, GE (1974). Interregnum: The Quest for Settlement, 1646-60. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0333174739.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Cust, Richard (1985). "Charles I, the Privy Council, and the Forced Loan". British Studies. 24 (2). JSTOR 175703.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Duffin, Anne (2008). "Nicoll, Anthony". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20172.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Fuller-Eliott-Drake, Lady Elizabeth (1911). The family and heirs of Sir Francis Drake. Smith Elder.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Hopper, Andrew (2008). "Grey, Henry, first earl of Stamford". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/11537.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Hutton, Ronald (2003). The Royalist War Effort 1642-1646. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415305402.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Thrush, Andrew (ed); Ferris, John (2010). NICOLL, Humphrey (1577-1643), of Penvose, St. Tudy, Cornw. in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1604-1629. CUP. ISBN 978-1107002258.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link) CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Willis, Browne (1750). Notitia Parliamentaria, Or, An History of the Counties, Cities, and Boroughs in England and Wales; Part II. Willis.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• "Church of St Uda". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
• "Eleven Members". BCW Project. Retrieved 1 April 2020.

Parliament of England
Preceded by Parliament suspended since 1629	Member of Parliament for Bossiney 1640 (April) With: Edward Herle	Succeeded by Sir John Clotworthy Sir Christopher Yelverton, 1st Baronet
Preceded by Richard Prideaux Sir Richard Wynn, 2nd Baronet	Member of Parliament for Bodmin 1640–1648 With: John Arundell 1640 Thomas Waller 1648	Succeeded by Not represented in Barebones parliament
Preceded by Robert Bennet Francis Langdon Anthony Rous John Bawden	Member of Parliament for Cornwall 1654–1656 With: Charles Boscawen 1654 Thomas Gewen 1654 James Launce 1654 Anthony Rous 1654–1656 Thomas Ceely 1654–1656 Richard Carter 1654–166 Walter Moyle 1654–1656 Anthony Rous 1656 John St Aubin 1656	Succeeded by Hugh Boscawen Francis Buller