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William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven, PC (June 1608 – 9 April 1697) was an English nobleman and soldier.
His parents were William Craven, born in a poor family in Appletreewick in North Yorkshire, who moved to London, became wealthy, and was Lord Mayor of London in 1610, and Elizabeth (née Whitmore), sister of George Whitmore, a later Lord Mayor of London. Their other children included John Craven, 1st Baron Craven of Ryton,[1] Mary, who married Thomas Coventry, 2nd Baron Coventry, and Elizabeth, who married Percy Herbert, 2nd Baron Powis.[2]
Craven matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford, in 1623, aged 15, and was created M.A. in 1636.[3]
During the Thirty Years' War Craven fought for Frederick V on the Continent. At the siege of Bad Kreuznach in March 1632, he fought with such courage that King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden patted him on the shoulder;[4] he was also seriously wounded.
At the Battle of Vlotho Bridge in October 1638, he was captured and later ransomed for £20,000. Craven fell in love with the Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, a British princess. 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 of the palace began. Perhaps because of his devotion to Elizabeth, he never married.
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 Lords Proprietors. Craven County, North Carolina, is named for him. As a Privy Councillor, he seems to have been diligent enough: Samuel Pepys in his Diary regularly mentions his attendance at the committee for Tangier and his chairing of 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's 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 of 1665 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.
During the Glorious Revolution, on the evening of December 17, 1688, Craven, as colonel of the Coldstream Guards, was on guard duty with his soldiers, protecting King James II at Whitehall Palace, when Hendrik Trajectinus, Count of Solms, commanding three battalions loyal to the Prince of Orange, came to take military possession of the surroundings of the palace. Craven swore that he would be cut to pieces rather than submit, but James, when he heard what was happening, ordered Craven to withdraw.[5]
Craven died on 9 April 1697 aged 88 in London.
References
- Ford, David Nash (2001). Royal Berkshire History: William Craven, Earl of Craven (1608–1697)
- ^ Shropshire Arch. Transactions 3rd Series Vol 11901 Manor of Ruyton XI Towns by Robert Lloyd Kenyon.
- ^ "History of Burnsall School". Archived from the original on 7 February 2006. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
- ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1500–1714. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
- ^ Macaulay, Thomas Babington, The History of England from the Accession of James II. Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1878, vol. 2, p. 452
- ^ Macaulay, Thomas Babington, The History of England from the Accession of James II. Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1878, vol. 2, p. 452
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. Retrieved 23 August 2008.
- Yorke, Philip Chesney (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). pp. 383–384.
9 Annotations
First Reading
Pauline • Link
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.....
vicente • Link
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.
anonymous • Link
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.
Pedro • Link
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.
Second Reading
Bill • Link
The earl of Craven was colonel of the Coldstream regiment of foot-guards, and one of the privy-council to Charles II. He is said to have been secretly married to the queen of Bohemia, the king's aunt. It is certain that he was much in her favour and confidence. The duke of Albemarle and this lord continued in London, and prevented much mischief during the pestilence. He died April 19, 1687, in the 88th year of his age.
---A Biographical History of England. J. Granger, 1779.
Bill • Link
William, first Earl of Craven, eldest son of Sir William Craven, born 1606. Knighted by Charles I. in 1627, and a few days later created Baron Craven of Hampstead Marshall, Berks. He was rich, and aided the king with money; but in 1649 his estates were confiscated. He recovered them at the Restoration, and in 1664 he was created Earl of Craven. High Steward of the University of Cambridge, 1667, and Master of the Trinity House, 1670-71. He was a devoted adherent of the Queen of Bohemia, and was supposed to be married to her, but there is no direct evidence of such marriage. He died April 9th, 1697.
---Wheatley, 1899.
Bill • Link
CRAVEN, WILLIAM, Earl of Craven (1606-1697), eldest son of Sir William Craven; entered the service of Maurice, prince of Orange, 1623; knighted on returning to England, 1627; commanded English troops fighting for Gustavus Adolphus, 1631; contributed 30,000l. to the cause of the palatine house, 1637; fought beside Prince Rupert at Limgea; taken prisoner by the imperialists, 1637; purchased his liberty, 1639; aided Charles I with money; drafted a protest for the then exiled Elizabeth of Bohemia against the parliament's stoppage of her pension; deprived of his estates for loyalty to Charles I, 1651; recovered his lands at the Restoration; privy councillor, 1666 and 1681; created Viscount Craven of Uffington and Earl of Craven, 1664; offered his London mansion, Drury House, to Elizabeth of Bohemia, 1661; said, without much probability, to have been privately married to her; lieutenant-general of the forces, 1685; bidden by James II to hand over the duty of guarding Whitehall to the Dutch troops under Solms, 1688. He was early a fellow of the Royal Society.
---Dictionary of National Biography: Index and Epitome, 1903
San Diego Sarah • Link
William, Lord Craven built Ashdown House for Elizabeth of Bohemia in 1662. Sadly she died before it was finished.
It is a beautiful Dutch house in the middle of Berkshire:
http://walkinginthecountry.blogsp…
Third Reading
San Diego Sarah • Link
L&M: William, 1st Earl of Craven, was the lifelong champion and benefactor of Elizabeth, 'Winter-Queen' of Bohemia. From the time of her arrival in England in May 1661 until shortly before her death the following February, she lived as his guest at his house in Drury Lane. The story that they were secretly married is unfounded.