William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven (1608–1697)
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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
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
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden patted him on the shoulder;[4]
he was also seriously wounded.
At 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
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 (1891). Alumni Oxonienses: Craven, William. Vol. 1. p. 346. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ 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.
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