Sir Philip Meadows (1626-1718) was an English diplomat and official, an ambassador for Oliver Cromwell. [1]
He was the fifth son of Daniel Meadowe or Meadows (1571–1651) of Chattisham, and his wife Elizabeth, and was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, graduating B.A. there in 1646. He took his M.A. in 1649 at Queens' College, where he was a Fellow. In October 1653 he was appointed, on John Thurloe's recommendation, Latin secretary to Cromwell's Council of State. The appointment was made for the benefit of John Milton, who was losing his sight (and who would have preferred Andrew Marvell). Meadows took on the bulk of the routine work in the department. [2] [3]
In March 1656 Meadows was chosen to represent the Lord Protector at Lisbon, for the ratification of the treaty between England and Portugal. He returned towards the end of November. In February 1657 he was chosen as envoy to Frederick III of Denmark. He sailed in the Assistance in August 1657. In March 1658 he gave an account to Thurloe of the Treaty of Roskilde (8 March) between Denmark and Sweden; Cromwell wanted protect Denmark's interests. Meadows had an interview with Charles X of Sweden after the treaty. Meadows was sent on to take part as a mediator in negotiations between the kings of Sweden and Poland, but shortly gave up the task. He was knighted, and went to the Swedish court in 1658, but on a fruitless mission. [2]
After the English Restoration of 1660, Meadows retired from public life, but was once more knighted, by Charles II in 1662. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 brought him back to prominence, and he held official positions from 1692 to 1715. [4]
In 1717, Sir Philip was visited by his newly-wed nephew and namesake, Philip Meadows (1679-1752) - later Mayor of Norwich (1734) - who ran upstairs to Sir Philip's observatory where he was able to further study "the vexed problem of the longitude". [5] [6]
Meadows published: [2]
Meadows married, in April 1661, Constance, second daughter and coheiress of Francis Lucy of Westminster. They had a son and three daughters, including Elizabeth who married Sir Thomas Powys. A second daughter married Richard Dyott, commissioner of stamp duties from 1708 to 1710, convicted of fraud. The son, Sir Philip Meadows (1672-1757), was a commissioner of excise from 1698 to 1700, was on 2 July 1700 appointed Knight Marshal of the king's household. He was a diplomat and Member of Parliament. [2]
... his son Richard [Taylor] married Margaret [Meadows], daughter and coheiress of Mr. Philip Meadows, who was Mayor of Norwich in 1734... A man of good natural parts, a useful member of society, and an accomplished mathematician, spending much thought on the vexed problem of the longitude.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Lee, Sidney, ed. (1894). "Meadows, Philip". Dictionary of National Biography . Vol. 37. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
John Thurloe was an English politician who served as secretary to the council of state in Protectorate England and spymaster for Oliver Cromwell and held the position of Postmaster General between 1655 and 1660. He was from Great Milton in Oxfordshire and of Lincoln's Inn,
Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke was an English lawyer, writer, parliamentarian and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England.
Sir Samuel Morland, 1st Baronet, or Moreland, was an English academic, diplomat, spy, inventor and mathematician of the 17th century, a polymath credited with early developments in relation to computing, hydraulics and steam power.
Henry Cromwell was the fourth son of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier, and an important figure in the Parliamentarian regime in Ireland.
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.
Thomas Belasyse, 1st Earl Fauconberg PC was an English peer. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War, becoming close to Oliver Cromwell and marrying Cromwell's third daughter, Mary. After the Restoration of the monarchy he became a member of the Privy Council to Charles II and was elevated to an earldom by William III.
Sir Richard Southwell PC was an English Privy Councillor.
Robert Rich, 3rd Earl of Warwick, supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.
Charles (Medows) Pierrepont, 1st Earl Manvers was a British naval officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1778 to 1796 when he was raised to the peerage as Viscount Newark.
The Martineau family is an intellectual, business and political dynasty associated first with Norwich and later also London and Birmingham, England. Many members of the family have been knighted. Many family members were prominent Unitarians; a room in London's Essex Hall, the headquarters building of the British Unitarians, was named after them. Martineau Place in Birmingham's central business district was named in their honour.
John Bathurst (1607–1659) was an English physician. He attended Oliver Cromwell, and was twice Member of Parliament.
John Reynolds (1625–1657) was a soldier in the English Civil War and during the Commonwealth. Reynolds may have been a member of the Middle Temple. He joined the parliamentary army, and in 1648 he commanded a regiment of horse. He took part in the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. He was a member of the Westminster-based Protectorate Parliament for Galway and Mayo in 1654 and Waterford and Tipperary in 1656. He was knighted in 1655. In 1657 he commanded the English force which cooperated with the French in Flanders in the Anglo-Spanish War and was lost at sea when returning to England.
Matthew Thomlinson (1617–1681) was an English soldier who fought for Parliament in the English Civil War. He was a regicide of Charles I. Tomlinson was a colonel of horse (cavalry) in the New Model Army and was one of the officers presenting the remonstrance to parliament in 1647. He took charge of Charles I in 1648, until Charles's execution, but refused to be his judge. He followed Oliver Cromwell to Scotland in 1650.
Sir Robert Tichborne was an English merchant, politician, author and military officer who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1656. He was a regicide of Charles I.
William Jephson was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1648. He served in the Parliamentary army and was Cromwell's envoy to Sweden. He was a substantial landowner in Ireland.
Peter Julius Coyet (1618–1667), was a prominent Swedish envoy to England during the time of Oliver Cromwell.
Sir Robert King was an Irish soldier and statesman.
During the Protectorate period (1653–1659) of the Commonwealth of England, the Lord Protector reserved the power previously held by the monarch to confer knighthoods, baronetcies and peerages.
Sir Sidney Meadows was a British Member of Parliament and Knight Marshal of the King's Household during the reign of George II and George III.
Sir Philip Meadowes or Meadows (1672–1757) was an English politician and diplomat.
