William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven (1608–1697)

English nobleman and soldier

William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven, PC (June 1608 – 9 April 1697) was an English nobleman and soldier.

Early life and education

His parents were William Craven, born in a poor family in Appletreewick in North Yorkshire, who moved to London, became wealthy, and was Lord Mayor of London in 1610, and Elizabeth (née Whitmore), sister of George Whitmore, a later Lord Mayor of London. Their other children included John Craven, 1st Baron Craven of Ryton, Mary, who married Thomas Coventry, 2nd Baron Coventry, and Elizabeth, who married Percy Herbert, 2nd Baron Powis.

Craven matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford, in 1623, aged 15, and was created M.A. in 1636.

Military career

During the Thirty Years' War Craven fought for Frederick V on the Continent. At the siege of Bad Kreuznach in March 1632, he fought with such courage that King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden patted him on the shoulder; he was also seriously wounded.

At the Battle of Vlotho Bridge in October 1638, he was captured and later ransomed for £20,000. Craven fell in love with the Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, a British princess. Still being absent during the English Civil War, he supported this lady's brother, Charles I, financially rather than in person and, therefore, had all his lands – largely in Berkshire, but including his main country seat at Caversham Park in Oxfordshire – confiscated. After 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.

Courtier

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. In December 1680, Craven was sent to investigate and seize 'Papist Arms'. 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. He set up the The Earl Craven's Pest House Charity, with a dedicated isolation hospital in Soho. By 1687, it was operating as a poorhouse. After Craven's death, and with the plague years past, the house was sold and the funds used to support other charitable projects.

During the Glorious Revolution, on the evening of December 17, 1688, Craven, as colonel of the Coldstream Guards, was on guard duty with his soldiers, protecting King James II at 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.

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)

"William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
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 (1888–1892). "Craven, William (1)" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1500–1714. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
Macaulay, Thomas Babington, The History of England from the Accession of James II. Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1878, vol. 2, p. 452
"Parishes: Ashbury A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 4". British History Online. Victoria County History, 1924. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
"House of Lords Journal Volume 13: 11 December 1680". British History Online. HMSO 1767-1830. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
"History". Westminster Amalgamated Charity. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
Macaulay, Thomas Babington, The History of England from the Accession of James II. Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1878, vol. 2, p. 452

Military offices
Preceded byThe Duke of Albemarle	Colonel of the Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards 1670–1689	Succeeded byThomas Tollemache
Honorary titles
Preceded byThe Lord Lovelace	Custos Rotulorum of Berkshire 1634–1689	Succeeded byThe Duke of Norfolk
Preceded bySir Edward Nicholas	Custos Rotulorum of Middlesex 1669–1689	Succeeded byThe Earl of Clare
Preceded byThe Duke of Albemarle	Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex 1670–1689	Succeeded byThe Earl of Clare
Peerage of England
New title	Baron Craven 1626–1697	Succeeded byWilliam Craven

Misplaced Pages