Thomas Pride
Thomas Pride JP | |
---|---|
High Sheriff of Surrey | |
In office 1655–1656 | |
Personal details | |
Born | c. 1606–1608 Ashcott, Somerset, England |
Died | 23 October 1658 Worcester Park House, Surrey, England | (aged 52)
Spouse | Elizabeth Tomson (1629 to his death) |
Children | Thomas, Joseph, William, Samuel, Elizabeth |
Residence | Worcester Park House |
Occupation | Political and religious radical, regicide and Parliamentarian soldier |
Military service | |
Years of service | 1642 to 1654 |
Rank | Colonel |
Battles/wars | Wars of the Three Kingdoms First Newbury; Lostwithiel; Naseby; Langport; Torrington; Oxford; Preston; Dunbar; Worcester |
Colonel Thomas Pride (died 23 October 1658) was a Parliamentarian commander during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, best known as one of the regicides of Charles I and as the instigator of Pride's Purge.
Personal details
Thomas Pride was born in Ashcott, Somerset, son of William Pride, a local tradesman. His exact date of birth is unknown but he was apprenticed to a City of London merchant in January 1622 and since the normal age for this was between 14 and 17 years old, he was probably born between 1606 and 1608.[1]
Shortly after his seven-year apprenticeship finished in 1629, he married Elizabeth Tomson, daughter of another London merchant. His 1658 will made bequests to four sons, Thomas, Joseph, William and Samuel, and a daughter, Elizabeth.[2]
Career
Pride went into business for himself as a brewer and by the early 1640s owned two brewhouses in Surrey and possibly one in Edinburgh. He was also an ensign in the London Trained bands and when the First English Civil War began in August 1642, he served as a captain in the New Model Army under Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, and was eventually promoted to the rank of colonel. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Preston in 1648 and with his regiment took part in the military occupation of London in December 1648, which was the first step towards bringing King Charles I to trial.[3]
Trial of King Charles I
The next step was the expulsion of the
Pride was one of the trial judges and one of the regicides of King Charles I, having signed and sealed the king's death warrant. His coat of arms appears on his seal.[3]
Subsequent career
Pride commanded an infantry brigade under Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Dunbar (1650) and at the Battle of Worcester (1651).[3] He purchased the estate of Nonsuch Palace in Surrey, and in 1655 was appointed Sheriff of Surrey.
Retirement and knighthood
When the Commonwealth of England was established he abandoned his involvement in politics, except in opposing the proposal to confer the kingly dignity on Cromwell. In 1656 he was knighted by Cromwell, then Lord Protector, and was appointed to the second house added to Parliament[3] as a result of the Humble Petition and Advice.
Marriage
He married Elizabeth Monk (born 1628), a daughter of Thomas Monk of
Death
Pride died in 1658 at his home of
Bibliography
- Mark Noble, The lives of the English regicides. 1798.
- George Bate, The lives, actions, and execution of the prime actors, and principall contrivers of that horrid murder of our late pious and sacred soveraigne, King Charles the First. 1661.
- Thomas Carlyle, Oliver Cromwell's letters and speeches[3] 1845.
References
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2021) |
- ^ Wallis, Webb & Minns 2009, pp. 3–4.
- ^ TNA. "Will of Thomas Lord Pride or Pride of Worcester House, Surrey". The National Archives. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Pride, Thomas". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 315. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ Risdon, Tristram (d.1640), Survey of Devon, 1811 edition, London, 1811, with 1810 Additions, p.419
- ^ The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, for the Year ... Edw. Cave, 1736-[1868]. 1837.
Sources
- Gentles, Ian (2004). "Pride, Thomas, appointed Lord Pride under the Protectorate". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/22781. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Hodkinson, Robert (2017). Cromwell's Buffoon: The Life and Career of the Regicide, Thomas Pride. Helion & Company. ISBN 978-1911512110.
- TNA. "Will of Thomas Lord Pride or Pride of Worcester House, Surrey". The National Archives. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- Wallis, Patrick; Webb, Cliff; Minns, Chris (2009). Leaving Home and Entering Service: The Age of Apprenticeship in Early Modern London (PDF) (Working Paper). LSE.