Sir Harbottle Grimston, 2nd Baronet (27 January 1603 – 2 January 1685) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in theHouse of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1685 and was Speaker in 1660. During theEnglish Civil War he remained aParliamentarian but was sympathetic to the Royalists.
Grimston was born at Bradfield Hall, nearManningtree, the son ofSir Harbottle Grimston, 1st Baronet (d. 1648). He was educated atEmmanuel College, Cambridge,[1] and became a barrister ofLincoln's Inn. He was recorder of Harwich and recorder ofColchester[2] and elected MP forHarwich in 1628.
As member forColchester, Grimston sat in theShort Parliament of 1640, and he represented the same borough during theLong Parliament,[3] speedily becoming a leading member of the popular party. He attackedArchbishop Laud with great vigour and was a member of the important committees of the parliament, including the one appointed in consequence of the attempted seizure of the five members. He became deputy-lieutenant ofEssex after the passing of the militia ordinance in January 1642.[2]
Harbottle disliked taking up arms against the king, but remained nominally an adherent of the parliamentary party during theCivil War. In the words ofClarendon, he continued rather than concurred with them. Grimston does not appear to have taken theSolemn League and Covenant, but after the conclusion of the first period of the war he again became more active. He was president of the committee which investigated the escape ofCharles fromHampton Court in 1647, and was one of those who negotiated with the king atNewport in 1648, when, according toBurnet, he fell upon his knees and urged the king to come to terms. Also in 1648 succeeded to thebaronetcy on the death of his father as his elder brother had pre-deceased him.[2]
From this time Grimston's sympathies appear to have been with the Royalists. He was turned out of theHouse of Commons when the assembly was purged byColonel Pride and was imprisoned. After he promised to do nothing detrimental to the parliament or the army, he was released and spent the next few years in retirement.[2]
In 1656 Grimston was returned to theSecond Protectorate Parliament as MP forEssex.[3] However he was not allowed to take his seat, and with 97 others who were similarly treated he issued a remonstrance to the public.
Grimston was among the secluded members who re-entered the restoredRump Parliament in February 1660, was then a member of the council of state. He was chosenSpeaker of the House of Commons in theConvention Parliament of 1660.[3] As Speaker he visitedCharles II atBreda, and addressed him in very flattering terms on his return to London;[4] but he refused to accede to the King's demand that he should dismiss Burnet from his position as chaplain to theMaster of the Rolls, and in parliament he strongly denounced any relaxation of the laws against papists.[2]
Grimston did not retain the office of Speaker after the dissolution of the Convention Parliament, but he was a member of the commission which tried the regicides, and in November 1660 he was appointed Master of the Rolls. Report says he paid Clarendon £8,000 for the office, while Burnet declares he obtained it without any application of his own. His friend and chaplain, Burnet, speaks very highly of his piety and impartiality, while not omitting the undoubted fact that he was much sharpened against popery.[2]
In 1661, Harbottle was re-elected MP for Colchester in theCavalier Parliament. He was re-elected in the two elections of 1679 and in 1681.[3]
Harbottle translated the law reports of his father-in-law, the judge Sir George Croke (1560–1642), which were written in Norman-French, and five editions of this work appeared. Seven of his parliamentary speeches were published, and he also wroteStrena Christiana (London, 1644, and other editions).[2]
Grimston's first wife Mary, a daughter of Sir George Croke, bore him six sons and two daughters, He married secondly Anne Meautys, widow ofThomas Meautys and daughter ofSir Nathaniel Bacon, K.B., a grandson ofSir Nicholas Bacon and by her had one daughter.[2]
His son George marriedSarah (later fourth duchess of Somerset Seymour) but he died in 1655.[5]
Only one son,Samuel (1643–1700), survived his father, and when Samuel died in October 1700 the baronetcy became extinct. Sir Harbottle's eldest daughter, Mary, marriedSir Capel Luckyn, 2nd Baronet, and their grandson, William Luckyn, succeeded to the estates of his great-uncle, Sir Samuel Grimston, and took the name of Grimston in 1700. This William Luckyn Grimston (c. 1683–1756) was created Baron Dunboyne and Viscount Grimston in the peerage of Ireland in 1719. He was succeeded as 2nd viscount by his son James (1711–1773), whose son James Bucknall (1747–1808) was made an English peer as baron Verulam of Gorhambury in 1790. In 1815, his sonJames Walter Grimston (1775–1845), 2nd baron Verulam, was createdEarl of Verulam. Sir Harbottle Grimston boughtSir Nicholas Bacon's estate atGorhambury, the residence of his descendants.[2]
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Grimston, Sir Harbottle".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 603.| Parliament of England | ||
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| Vacant | Member of Parliament forColchester 1640–1648 With:Sir William Masham, Bt 1640 Sir Thomas Barrington, Bt 1640–44 John Sayer 1645–48 | Not represented in Rump Parliament |
| Preceded by Sir William Masham, Bt Sir Richard Everard, Bt Sir Thomas Honywood Sir Thomas Bowes Sir Henry Mildmay (of Graces) Thomas Coke (of Pebmarsh) Carew Mildmay Dionysius Wakering Edward Turnor Richard Cutts | Member of Parliament forEssex 1656 With:Sir Richard Everard, Bt Sir Thomas Honywood Sir Thomas Bowes Sir Henry Mildmay of Graces Robert Barrington;Carew Mildmay Dionysius Wakering Edward Turnor Dudley Temple Oliver Raymond Hezekiah Haynes John Archer | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Not represented inRestored Rump | Member of Parliament forColchester 1660–1685 With:John Shaw 1660–79 Sir Walter Clarges, Bt 1679–81 Samuel Reynolds 1681–85 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Speaker of the House of Commons 1660 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Master of the Rolls 1660–1685 | Succeeded by |
| Baronetage of England | ||
| Preceded by | Baronet (of Bradfield) 1648–1685 | Succeeded by |
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| People | |
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