Joseph Williamson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Portrait byGodfrey Kneller | |
| Member of theEnglish Parliament | |
| 1701 1698–1699 1695–1696 | Thetford |
| 1690-1701 | Rochester |
| Member of theParliament of Ireland | |
| 1695–1699 | Limerick City |
| 1695 | Portarlington |
| 1692–1693 | County Clare |
| 2nd President of the Royal Society | |
| In office 1677–1680 | |
| Preceded by | William Brouncker |
| Succeeded by | Christopher Wren |
| Secretary of State for the Northern Department | |
| In office 1674–1679 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Coventry |
| Succeeded by | Robert Spencer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 July 1633 Bridekirk, England |
| Died | 3 October 1701(1701-10-03) (aged 68) Cobham, Kent, England |
| Resting place | Westminster Abbey |
| Spouse(s) | Katherine Stewart,Baroness Clifton |
Sir Joseph Williamson,PRS (25 July 1633 – 3 October 1701) was an English civil servant, diplomat and politician who sat in theHouse of Commons of England variously between 1665 and 1701 and in theIrish House of Commons between 1692 and 1699. He was Secretary of State for the Northern Department from 1674 to 1679.
Williamson was born atBridekirk, nearCockermouth inCumberland, where his father, also called Joseph, wasvicar. His father died when he was very young, and his mother remarried the Reverend John Ardery.[1] His relatively humble origins were often referred to unkindly in later life by his enemies, especially after he married into the aristocracy. He was educated atSt. Bees School,Westminster School andQueen's College, Oxford, of which he became a fellow.[2]
In 1660 he entered the service of theSecretary of State for the Southern Department, SirEdward Nicholas, retaining his position under the succeeding secretary, SirHenry Bennet, afterwards Earl of Arlington. He made himself indispensable to Arlington, due to his enormous capacity for hard work, which resulted in his employer delegating most of the routine work of the department to him. He was involved with the foundation of theLondon Gazette in 1665.
Williamson was elected Member of Parliament forThetford in 1669 and held the seat until 1685.[3] No less than three previous attempts to enter Parliament had been unsuccessful, due to an increasing "backlash" against Government candidates.Samuel Pepys in his celebratedDiary records that when Williamson appeared at the hustings in 1666, he was shouted down by cries of "No courtiers!"[4] In 1672 he was made one of theclerks of the council and wasknighted.
During theThird Anglo-Dutch War, he drew up plans for theZealand Expedition which was intended to land a newly formed English Army in the Netherlands. The strategy was abandoned after the naval defeat at theBattle of Texel and theTreaty of Westminster which ended the war.
In 1673 and 1674 he represented his country at theCongress of Cologne, and in the latter year he becameSecretary of State for the Northern Department, having practically purchased this position from Arlington for £6,000, a sum that he required from his successor when he left office in 1679. He served as Master ofThe Clothworkers' Company from 1676 to 1677. In 1677, he became the secondPresident of the Royal Society, but his main interests, after politics, were inantiquarian rather than in scientific matters.
As Secretary of State, he largely continued Arlington's policy of friendship towards France, and hostility towards the Netherlands. Sir Joseph represented England at theCongress of Nijmegen (1678–79).William III of Orange developed a deep aversion to Williamson: quite apart from their opposing policies, he is said to have found the tone of Williamson's dispatches unbearably patronising ("as though I was a child to be fed on whipped cream" William grumbled).
Just before his removal from the post of Secretary of State, he was arrested on a charge of being implicated in thePopish Plot,[5] but he was at once released by order ofCharles II. Williamson was a particular target of the informers because he was one of the few Ministers who openly disbelieved in the Plot:[6] whenIsrael Tonge first approached him with "information", Williamson, who believed, with some reason, that Tonge was insane, gave him a "rude repulse".[7] As for the other informers, several of whom were members of London's criminal underworld, his efficient intelligence service no doubt told him everything necessary about their characters. For this reason, the King, who was equally sceptical about the Plot's reality, wished to retain his services, at least in the short term. The actual charge made against Williamson, of commissioningRoman Catholic army officers, was entirely spurious since these officers were intended for foreign service.
Williamson's nerve began to give way under the strain of the Plot, and he became a political liability. Charles finally dismissed him after he gave orders to searchSomerset House, the Queen's official residence, without the King's permission; the King, "in great anger" told him that "I marvel at your effrontery in searching my house... your head is turning.....I do not wish to be served by a man who fears anyone more than me".[8]Danby was suspected by many of having a part in Williamson's downfall, as he was said to have taken offence at Williamson's recent marriage to Lady Clifton, a wealthy widow and cousin of the King.[9]
His marriage, at the beginning of the Popish Plot, should on the face of it have strengthened him politically: his wife was Katherine Stewart,Baroness Clifton, daughter ofGeorge Stewart, 9th Seigneur d'Aubigny, and sister ofCharles Stewart, 3rd Duke of Richmond, and thus a member of a junior branch of theStuart dynasty.[10] Her first husband, by whom she had several children, wasHenry O'Brien, Lord Ibrackan(c. 1642 – 1 September 1678), an old friend of Williamson; she and Williamson had no children.
Despite the obvious advantages of the match to Williamson himself,John Evelyn reported that it was very unpopular, and it probably weakened Williamson politically. Since Katherine as well as her first husband was an old friend of Williamson she was not a surprising choice as a bride; but the fact that O'Brien had been dead for only three months when she remarried gave rise to ill-natured gossip that Williamson and Katherine had been lovers during her first marriage: "'Tis said they live together less happily thanbefore they married" ran one gibe. More seriously in an age of marked class distinctions, it was considered improper that the sister of a Royal Duke should marry a country clergyman's son, and even her children are said to have objected to the marriage.[11] Danby, who reportedly thought that Katherine would be a good match for his own son, was suspected of having had a hand in Williamson's downfall.
After a period of comparative inactivity, in 1698 he signed theTreaty of The Hague (1698), the first treaty for the partition of theSpanish Monarchy. It was characteristic of William III that despite his personal dislike of Williamson, so evident in the 1670s, he did not hesitate to make use of his diplomatic skills. The negotiations had been kept a strict secret, and news of the Treaty caused uproar in England, but Williamson himself escaped any serious censure.
In 1690, Williamson was elected Member of Parliament forRochester and held the seat until 1701.[12] He was also elected MP forThetford in three separate elections, but each time chose to sit for Rochester instead.
Between 1692 and 1695, Williamson was also MP in theIrish House of Commons forCounty Clare. In 1695 he representedPortarlington for a few months and subsequentlyLimerick City until 1699. He was awarded theFreedom of the City of Dublin in 1696, as a tribute to his interest in civic improvements in Dublin. In return, he presented the city fathers with a silver cup.
Williamson died atCobham, Kent, on 3 October 1701, and was buried inWestminster Abbey, where his widow joined him a year later. He had become very rich by taking advantage of the many opportunities of making money which his official position gave him; and despite the heavy debts left by her brother, his wife is also said to have brought him a fortune. He left £6,000 and his library to Queen's College, Oxford; £5,000 to found a school atRochester,Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School; and £2,000 to Thetford. A great number of Williamson's letters, dispatches, memoranda, etc., are among the English state papers.
He has been described as one of the greatest English civil servants of his time, and is credited with building up an intelligence service as efficient as that whichJohn Thurloe had operated underOliver Cromwell. His detailed notes of Privy Council meetings are an invaluable source of information about its operation, especially in the political crisis of 1678–79. On the other hand, he was a poor public speaker: even Charles II, himself a very hesitant speaker, complained of his "droning".
Despite his gifts, he was not popular, being described as dry, formal and arrogant, an uncertain friend and a harsh employer. Many of his colleagues, like SirLeoline Jenkins, felt the lash of his sharp tongue. On the other hand, hiswill, in which he remembered all those who had a claim on him, suggests that he did not lack a certain generosity of character; and he was capable of forming lifelong friendships, notably withSamuel Pepys.
He is a recurring character in the Thomas Chaloner series of mystery novels bySusanna Gregory, in which he plays a somewhat villainous role: his wife and her first husband appear in the seventh book in the series,The Piccadilly Plot. Williamson also appears regularly inAndrew Taylor's series of novels about the adventures of Whitehall clerk James Marwood and architect Cat Lovett.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for the Northern Department 1674–1679 | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of England | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forRochester 1690–1701 With:Francis Clerke 1690–1691 Caleb Banks 1691–1695 Sir Cloudesley Shovell 1695–1701 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forThetford 1695–1696 With:Sir John Wodehouse, Bt | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forThetford 1698–1699 With:James Sloane | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forThetford 1701 With:Edmund Soame | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of Ireland | ||
| Unknown | Member of Parliament forCounty Clare 1692–1693 With:Sir Donough O'Brien, 1st Bt | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forPortarlington 1695 With:Richard Warburton | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forLimerick City 1695–1699 With:Joseph Coghlan | Succeeded by |
| Professional and academic associations | ||
| Preceded by | 2nd President of theRoyal Society 1677–1680 | Succeeded by |
