William Lockhart of Lee
Sir William Lockhart PC | |
---|---|
Ambassador to France | |
In office 1673 – 1675 † | |
Monarch | Charles II |
Preceded by | Edward Spragge |
Succeeded by | Baron Berkeley |
MP for Lanarkshire | |
In office 1669–1672 | |
Ambassador to France | |
In office 1656–1660 | |
Governor of Dunkirk | |
In office 1658–1660 | |
MP for Lanarkshire | |
In office 1654–1658 | |
Personal details | |
Born | ca 1621 Commissioner for Justice, 1654 |
Portfolio | Privy Council of Scotland 1673 |
Sir William Lockhart of Lee (1621–1675), was a Scottish soldier and diplomat who fought for the Covenanters during the 1638 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Following Royalist defeat in the 1642 to 1647 First English Civil War, Lockhart took part in negotiations between Charles I and Scottish Engagers, who agreed to restore him to the English throne.
The Engagers were
After his marriage to
Unlike many who held office under the Commonwealth, he escaped punishment following the Restoration of Charles II, but lost most of his offices. In 1673, the Duke of Lauderdale had him re-appointed Ambassador to France; he died in Paris in June 1675.
Life
William Lockhart was born in 1621, the eldest of nine children born to
After his first wife Martha Hamilton died in 1654, he married Robina Sewster, whose first husband had been distantly related to
Career
Lockhart reportedly ran away from school when he was 13 and made his way to
Appointed lieutenant-colonel in the
In December 1647, Charles agreed to impose Presbyterianism in England for three years and suppress the Independents, but his refusal to take the Covenant himself split the Scots.[4] It was not until April 1648 the Engagers achieved a majority in the Scottish Parliament; the Kirk Party did not trust Charles, objected to an alliance with English and Scots Royalists, and denounced the Engagement as 'sinful.'[5]
In June 1648, Lockhart commanded a cavalry regiment in an Engager army of 9,000 that marched into England. The Second English Civil War involved a series of Royalist risings in England and Wales, with the Scots providing support; by the time the Scots entered Lancashire in early August, the other revolts had been suppressed and the Engagers were defeated at Preston on 19 August.[6]
As part of the rearguard that enabled some of the Scots to escape, Lockhart was captured and held in
Diplomat
While on a visit to London Lockhart had an interview with Oliver Cromwell, and on 18 May 1652 he was appointed one of Cromwell's commissioners for the administration of justice in Scotland. He was also nominated a trustee for the disposing of forfeited estates, and was sworn a member of the Scottish privy council. In 1653, 1654–5, and 1656–8 he represented Lanarkshire in the Protectorate parliaments in Westminster and from 1672 to 1674 represented the county in the Parliament of Scotland at Edinburgh.[2]
Lockhart was appointed in December 1655 English ambassador in Paris, but did not set out till April 1656. He filled this office till the death of Cromwell. His correspondence was printed in the Thurloe State Papers. The main purpose of his mission was to confirm the alliance with France against Spain, and to prevent aid to the Stuart family. An alliance with England was distasteful to France, both on political and religious grounds; and Lockhart had a difficult task in maintaining it. Much of his success was due to his handling of
Governor of Dunkirk
With the signing of the treaty Lockhart's difficulties had only begun. The French laid siege in September to
Shortly after the capture of Dunkirk, Lockhart intervened successfully for the protection of the Huguenots in Nîmes.[2]
After the resignation of
Under Charles II
After the Restoration Lockhart was deprived of the government of Dunkirk, but through the intercession of Middleton he was not further molested. In 1662 Dunkirk was sold to the French. He lived for some years in retirement on his Scottish estate, but finding that his former relations with Cromwell rendered him an object of suspicion to his neighbours, he took up his residence with his wife's relations in Huntingdonshire.[2]
In 1671 Lockhart was brought to court by the Earl of Lauderdale, and through his influence was sent to the courts of Brandenburg and Lunenburg to secure their neutrality or co-operation on the formation of the alliance of France against Holland. Lockhart, according to Gilbert Burnet, became very uneasy when he fathomed the negotiations in which he was engaged. He then was reappointed to the embassy in France. He died on 20 March 1676.[2]
References
- ^ "Sir William Lockhart of Lee". Geni.com. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Henderson 1893, pp. 50–52.
- ^ Venning 2004.
- ^ "The Engagement 1647-1648". BCW Project. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- ^ Mitchison 2002, pp. 223–224.
- ^ Royle 2005, p. 470.
Sources
- Henderson, Thomas Finlayson (1893). . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 34. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- Mitchison, Rosalind (2002). A history of Scotland. London: Routledge. OCLC 52084492.
- Royle, Trevor (2005). Civil War: The War of the Three Kingdoms 1638-1660. Abacus. ISBN 0349115648.
- Venning, Timothy (2004). "Lockhart, William [created Sir William Lockhart under the protectorate]". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/16907. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
External links
- Plant, David (8 June 2006). "Sir William Lockhart, c.1621-75". British Civil Wars website. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
- "Sir William Lockhart of Lee". Geni.com. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
"The Engagement 1647-1648". BCW Project. Retrieved 14 January 2020.