Henry Scobell

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An 1884 drawing of what the Old Palace of Westminster (destroyed by fire in 1834), looked like in the time of Henry VIII when it was the seat of the Parliament of England Westminster 16C.jpg
An 1884 drawing of what the Old Palace of Westminster (destroyed by fire in 1834), looked like in the time of Henry VIII when it was the seat of the Parliament of England

Henry Scobell (baptised 1610; died 1660) [1] was an English Parliamentary official, and editor of official publications. He was clerk to the Long Parliament, and wrote on parliamentary procedure and precedents.

Contents

Life

The title page of Memorials of the Method and Manner of Proceedings in Parliament in Passing Bills (3rd ed., 1670), written by "H.S. E. C.P." (Henry Scobell, Esquire, Clerk of Parliament) H.S.E.C.P. (Henry Scobell), Memorials of the Method and Manner of Proceedings in Parliament in Passing Bills (3rd ed, 1670, title page).jpg
The title page of Memorials of the Method and Manner of Proceedings in Parliament in Passing Bills (3rd ed., 1670), written by "H.S. E. C.P." (Henry Scobell, Esquire, Clerk of Parliament)

Initially under-clerk of the parliaments, Scobell became Clerk of the House of Commons from 5 January 1649, his predecessor Henry Elsynge having resigned. Scobell also held a position as censor of publications, and then was Clerk of the Parliaments for life with effect from 14 May 1649. [3] He was the first editor, from 9 October 1649, of Severall Proceedings in Parliament, an early official newspaper, and the second of Parliament's publications. [4]

In the Rump Parliament, Scobell found himself in the middle of the clashes leading to its dissolution in 1653. [5] He remained Clerk to Barebone's Parliament. [6]

From 1655 Scobell became Clerk to the Council of State, a large jump in status, in succession to John Thurloe and sharing the position with William Jessop. [7] Up to then he had been for a period an assistant secretary to the council. [8]

In 1658, as a preliminary to the Savoy Assembly, Scobell called together elders of Independent churches from the London area, in the house of George Griffith (bishop). [9] He himself was an elder of the Congregational church of John Rowe, meeting in Westminster Abbey. [10]

In October 1659 he was one of those calling on George Monck to intervene in the vacuum of power after the death of Oliver Cromwell. [11]

Works

Notes

  1. ↑ Sean Kelsey (January 2008) [September 2004]. "Scobell, Henry (bap. 1610, d. 1660)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/24845 . Retrieved 16 September 2015.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.).
  2. ↑ H.S. E. C.P. [Henry Scobell, Esquire, Clerk of Parliament] (1670), Memorials of the Method and Manner of Proceedings in Parliament in Passing Bills. Together with several Rules & Customs, which by Long and Constant Practice have Obtained the Name of Orders of the House. Gathered by Observation, and out of the Journal Books from the Time of Edward 6 (3rd ed.), London: s.n., OCLC   7185722 {{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).
  3. ↑ C[harles] H[arding] Firth (1911), "Introduction", in C. H. Firth; R[obert] S[angster] Rait (eds.), Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642–1660, vol. 3, London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, OCLC   277167908, archived from the original on 5 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Joad Raymond (1996), The Invention of the Newspaper: English Newsbooks, 1641–1649, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press, p. 75, ISBN   978-0-19-813002-4 ; Adolphus William Ward; A. W. Waller; William P. Trent (2000), "The Beginnings of English Journalism", The Cambridge History of English and American Literature: An Encyclopedia in Eighteen Volumes. Volume VII. Cavalier and Puritan, New York, N.Y.: Bartleby.com, OCLC   43357720, archived from the original on 10 September 2015.
  5. ↑ The Clerk of the House [General Series; factsheet G13] (PDF), House of Commons Information Office, January 2003, p. 4, archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2003.
  6. ↑ Austin Woolrych (1982), Commonwealth to Protectorate, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press, p. 152, ISBN   978-0-19-822659-8 .
  7. ↑ Robert Thomas Fallon (1993), Milton in Government, University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, p. 130, ISBN   978-0-271-00904-9 .
  8. ↑ Philip Aubrey (1990), Mr Secretary Thurloe: Cromwell's Secretary of State, 1652–1660, London; Rutherford, N.J.: Athlone Press; Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, p. 38, ISBN   978-0-8386-3388-5 .
  9. ↑ Richard L. Greaves (1985), Saints and Rebels: Seven Nonconformists in Stuart England, Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, p.  86, ISBN   978-0-86554-136-8 .
  10. ↑ Peter Toon (1973), "The Savoy Declaration of Faith", Puritans and Calvinism, Swengel, Pa.: Reiner Publications, OCLC   701999, archived from the original on 5 February 2012; Francis J. Bremer; Tom Webster, eds. (2006), Puritans and Puritanism in Europe and America: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia, Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, p. 533, ISBN   978-1-57607-678-1 .
  11. ↑ Dai Liu (1973), Discord in Zion: The Puritan Divines and the Puritan Revolution 1640–1660 [Archives internationales d'histoire des idées; 61] , The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, p.  165, ISBN   978-90-247-5156-3 .
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