STAPLEY, John (1628-1701), of Patcham and Broyle Park, Suss.

John Stapley was brought up among the godly greater gentry of Sussex, most notably the Pelhams of Laughton and the Morleys of Glynde. In the 1620s and 1630s his father, Anthony Stapley I*, and Sir Thomas Pelham* together galvanised the campaign for further reformation, both in Parliament and the county, where they led the resistance to Arminian innovations and promoted a ‘godly’ lectureship at Lewes. In June 1646 John Stapley followed others from this circle to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, but apparently remained there for only 18 months. He was granted a pass to travel abroad with his tutor on 17 December 1647, although he was back in Sussex by the summer of 1648.31CJ v. 390b.

It became apparent that he had turned his back upon the political path pursued by his father, when that June he was one of the leading signatories of the Sussex petition, alongside the sons of other godly gentlemen like Sir Thomas Pelham and Sir Thomas Parker*. The petition, which sought a lenient settlement with the king, clearly contained royalist overtones.32PA, Parchment Coll. Box 11. Following the purge of Parliament and execution of the king, Stapley maintained a low profile for several years, and his career was overshadowed by that of his father; a regicide, prominent Rumper, and member of the council of state. John Stapley was added to the commission of the peace early in 1651, however, and proved to be a regular attender at quarter sessions, at least until January 1658.33C231/6, p. 210; E. Suss. RO, QO/EW2, ff. 23v-65v; QO/EW3, ff. 3-24, 34v, 46v. He also collected assessments in the county.34SP28/181, unfol. Otherwise, he busied himself with developing his estate. In 1650 he and his younger brother, Anthony Stapley II*, acquired Netherfield manor from the royalist Heneage Finch, 3rd earl of Winchilsea.35Suss. Manors, ii. 316. Following his marriage (almost certainly) in 1651 to the eldest daughter of Harbert Springett*, another suspected royalist, Stapley purchased from his father-in-law a moiety of the manor of Kingston Bowsey, for £2,600.36E. Suss. RO, Glynde 1553; The Gen. new ser. xviii. 149. After succeeding to his father’s estate in 1655, Stapley acquired Blatchington manor, and in 1656 he purchased dean and chapter lands in Patcham for £720.37Suss. Manors, i. 48; C54/3911/2.

Stapley was returned to the first protectorate Parliament in 1654, alongside both his father and his father-in-law, in elections which represented a reaction against the Rump, and probably a protest against the protectorate as well. John made no impression on the assembly and his name is not recorded in the Journals. Nevertheless, he appears to have convinced the agents of Oliver Cromwell that he was loyal to the protectorate, and in November 1655 Major-general William Goffe* informed the secretary of state (John Thurloe*) that Stapley (whose father had died in January) ‘seemed very ready to serve his highness (to use his own expression) in a public employment’.38TSP iv. 151. In another letter to Thurloe, Goffe said that he intended to meet Stapley, and to make him a commissioner for the execution of the protector’s orders in Sussex.39TSP iv. 161-2. In early January 1656, Goffe reported that Stapley was ‘very cordially resolved to serve the protector; he hath said to some of his friends that he will [adventure] his life and estate for him’. Goffe also announced that he planned to appoint Stapley custos rotolorum, ahead of Lord Dacre (Francis Lennard*) who had gone abroad.40TSP iv. 190, 394.

Being in favour with the government probably enabled Stapley to retain his seat in Parliament as one of the Members for Sussex in 1656.41C219/45 I; Mercurius Politicus no. 324 (21-28 Aug. 1656), 7206 (E.497.12); no. 326 (4-11 Sept. 1656), 7235 (E.497.18). Stapley’s activity is difficult to determine, however: it is difficult to distinguish him from his younger brother, Anthony Stapley II*, who sat for Lewes, although the latter was absent in December and may plausibly have been less prominent. During the first session of the Parliament (17 Sep. 1656-26 June 1657) ‘Mr Stapley’ was appointed to seven committees, on issues ranging from shipwrecks to building work in London. They were also appointed to committees dealing with Catholics, including individuals like George Nevill, 10th Baron Bergavenny, and Charles Stanley, 8th earl of Derby.42CJ vii. 430a, 444a, 446b, 463b, 474b, 488a, 501a, 531b. On 12 May 1657 one of the brothers acted as teller, alongside Edward Montagu II*, against the appointment of a grand committee to consider the assessment bill. They were defeated by John Disbrowe* and Cornelius Holland*, although this provides little indication of the Stapleys’ attitude towards the protectorate, since both Montagu and Disbrowe were leading Cromwellian courtiers.43CJ vii. 533b.

Despite this activity, both Stapleys were involved in royalist plotting. As early as 1655 John Stapley met the royalist cleric, John Hewitt, at the house of Lady Campion, widow of royalist officer Sir William Campion. In the spring of 1657 Hewitt told Stapley about plans to raise regiments in England in readiness for a royalist invasion from the continent.44TSP vii. 65-9. By April Stapley had evidently signalled his support: one royalist reported that he was ‘a gentleman of great and good affection to the king (although his father was one of the late king’s judges)’, and

desires to be serviceable, and is a person of so great influence as to be able by himself to engage most of the gentlemen and commons in his country, and is wholly unsuspected by the present power, and has a great quantity of arms and ammunition, and has a fair way of engaging or seizing the country troops.

Stapley sought both a commission for himself and – in advance of full commitment – a pardon for the actions of his father.45CCSP iii. 281; Bodl. Clarendon 52, f. 222. While recognising that Stapley’s influence had been exaggerated, since he was worth no more than £1,000 a year, in late June Sir Edward Hyde* wrote to Charles II seeking a commission for ‘the son of a wicked father whose ill-doing he wishes to redeem by some eminent service’.46CCSP iii. 312. Having received an assurance from the exiled king that the actions of his father would not work against him, in September Stapley met John Mordaunt, another leading plotter.47CCSP iii. 358; TSP vii. 88-90. By October Stapley had received a commission for a regiment of 500 horse, as well as three blank commissions for a regiment of horse, a regiment of foot, and the command of a garrison.48CCSP iii. 374; TSP vii. 65-9. Stapley thanked the king for his act of grace, swore his obligation to him, and promised to risk life and fortune in his cause.49CCSP iii. 388.

Stapley’s motivation remains unclear. The plot emerged in the aftermath of the rejection by Oliver Cromwell* of the Humble Petition and Advice, and was centred on men who were Presbyterians rather than cavaliers. It may thus have been the product of frustration at the failure of a conservative political settlement, rather than an outburst of affection for the Stuart cause. However, plans were hatched under the keen eye of exiled royalists, who exploited Stapley precisely because he was ‘a moderate man and many would rise with him who would not follow the cavaliers’.50TSP vii. 65-9, 88-90. The plot was clearly influenced by John Mordaunt’s attempts to forge a royalist-Presbyterian alliance, and it was rumoured that eminent Presbyterian grandees such as Sir William Waller*, Denzil Holles* and one of the sons of Sir Robert Harley* were involved.51TSP vii. 98-9. Mordaunt’s plan did not meet with the approval of all exiled royalists, although Hyde thought that Stapley ‘really meant all that he pretended’.52Clarendon, Hist. vi. 58-9. Allegedly, he was prepared to invest £500 in the project.53TSP vii. 49. After his arrest, of course, Stapley claimed that his participation arose only from concerns for the future of his family, on account of his father’s actions, and that he had been reluctant to sign the letter to Charles II, because ‘he would not engage himself to do impossible things, and to draw (upon such a mistaken consideration) into the country’. He had succumbed to ‘persuasive and almost threatening arguments’, together with the promise of a baronetcy.54TSP vii. 88-90. Stapley’s brother, however, who also became involved in the plot, displayed more principled loyalty to the exiled king, and was reported to have commented that there were ‘many grievances and oppressions that must be removed’.55TSP vii. 103.

After receiving his commission, John Stapley spread word about the plot to his neighbours and friends in Sussex. One of the first men to whom Stapley turned, and with whom he subsequently became involved, was Henry Mallory of Preston, who met Stapley at Hewitt’s house, and was present when Stapley wrote to Charles II.56TSP vii. 74-5, 88. By December, Stapley had enlisted the support of his brother Anthony, who was promised a captain’s place in his regiment of horse.57TSP vii. 85-90. Stapley also made contact with prominent gentlemen like Thomas Nutt, and endeavoured to gain the support of George Parker*, albeit unsuccessfully.58TSP vii. 88-90, 93-4. By this stage, Hyde, who received regular updates, told James Butler, 1st marquess of Ormond, that Stapley had promised 500 horse, ‘no more than he is sure he can perform upon very few hours warning’, although he was apparently confident ‘of double the number, and says that if they are ready by the middle of February he can seize on £12,000 which after that time will be out of his power’.59CCSP iii. 404-5.

Stapley or his brother returned for the brief second session of the Parliament (20 Jan.–4 Feb. 1658) and was named to a committee concerning absenteeism amongst the heads of university colleges.60CJ vii. 581a. No sooner had the Parliament been dissolved, however, than Stapley was again embroiled in plotting. There were meetings with Mordaunt at the Half Moon Tavern near the New Exchange in London, and with Mallory and Sir Humphrey Bennet (recently released from the Tower) at Lady Alford’s house in Offington.61TSP vii. 85-8, 96-7, 109-10. Approaches were made to gentry from the western half of the county who were thought to be sympathetic, including Sir John Leedes*, Sir William Morley*, and Christopher Lewkenor*, as well as John Pelham*.62TSP vii. 80-3, 109-10.

During March John Stapley worked in Sussex, while his brother conducted negotiations in London. The pair then met at Patcham to coordinate the two strands of the plot. However, Mordaunt soon suspected that plans were not very far advanced, confirming fears expressed by Ormond as early as February that ‘our affair has been managed by honest but unskilful men’, and that those plotting in England would not declare for the king until forces arrived from the continent.63TSP vii. 85-8; CCSP iv. 24-5; Colln. of Original Letters and Pprs. ed. T. Carte (1739), ii. 118-20. In March Ormond told Hyde that he had ‘too good reasons to suspect [Stapley] unable to do anything in proportion even to his least undertaking, not for want of will, but skill to order it’.64Original Letters and Pprs., ii. 121-4, 130. By the first week of April Stapley was under arrest, thanks to intelligence from Cromwell’s spies such as John Wildman† and George Bishop, from loyal clerics such as Francis Cheynell, and from Francis Corker, an agent of Thurloe’s who had infiltrated Stapley’s circle.65TSP i. 708-10, 711, 712, 717-19; vii. 48, 85-8; CCSP. iv. 73.

Hyde, when he wrote his history, recognised that the plot had failed through Corker’s betrayal, but must have been disturbed to learn that Stapley, having been ‘sent for by Cromwell, his father’s fast old friend, was by him so cajoled, by promises and by threats, that he was not able to withstand him’.66Clarendon, Hist. vi. 58-9. Stapley told Cromwell he had been ‘misled and unadvised’, and involved in the plot ‘through the deceit and collusion of your and his enemies’, who, ‘through their delusion infatuated his judgement and reason, that never was inclined to a compliance with yours, this nations, and his father’s enemies’. He promised that he would

not only live peaceably, but with the utmost of my endeavours stand by your highness with life and fortune … and if ever Charles Stuart should, in my days, make any attempt against your present government, I will personally appear against him.67TSP vii. 25.

By 10 April he was ready to reveal all. He told William Goffe and Henry Scobell that he had been persuaded to join the plot by Hewitt, who had insinuated ‘that if he did not he was a lost man’ owing to his father’s being a regicide, and he claimed to have been told that Sir William Waller* and Sir Thomas Fairfax* were involved.68TSP vii. 65-9. His evidence led to the questioning of other plotters, including Anthony Stapley, and on 16 April John Hewitt was arrested; warrants were issued for 24 co-conspirators, according to the Venetian ambassador.69TSP vii. 74-5, 77-83, 88-90, 92-4, 96-9, 109-10; Publick Intelligencer no. 119 (5-12 Apr. 1658), 446 (E.750.5); CSP Ven. 1657-9, p. 188. As news of the plot spread, the exiled court quickly recognised that Stapley had exposed the whole plot.70TSP, vii. 83-4; Clarke Pprs. iii. 147; Nicholas Pprs. iv. 41; CCSP iv. 41, 123. He had saved his own skin: as one observer noted on 24 April, ‘Mr Stapley, a member of the late Parliament, hath a pardon for life and estate (upon his ingenuous confession of the whole business)’.71Worcester Coll. Oxf. Clarke MS CLXXXI, Box 1, unfol.

Amid confusion as to who would stand trial, the order for the erection of a new high court of justice was passed on 27 April.72TSP vii. 99-100; CCSP iv. 45; Publick Intelligencer no. 122 (26 Apr.-3 May 1658), 485, 494 (E.750.11); no. 126 (17-24 May 1658), 541 (E.750.17). Now among the prisoners, Mordaunt alone was defiant, and while he admitted having met both Anthony and John Stapley, denied any knowledge of a plot.73TSP vii. 102-3. As the trial approached in late May, pamphlet accounts of the conspiracy began to appear.74TSP vii. 144; The Horrible and Bloody Conspiracy (1658, E.1881); The Tryals of Sir Henry Slingsby and John Hewet (1658), 2-8 (E.753.5); CSP Dom. 1658-9, p. 21. Both Stapley brothers gave evidence at Hewitt’s trial (1 June), and helped secure his conviction (2 June) and execution six days later.75Tryals of Sir Henry Slingsby and John Hewet, 9-20; Publick Intelligencer no. 128 (31 May-7 June 1658), sigs. Zzz2v-Aaaa2 (E.753.2); HMC 5th Rep. 152; The True Speech of Doctor John Hewytt (1658, E.948.2); Mercurius Politicus no. 418 (27 May-3 June 1658), 565-74 (E.753.1); no. 419 (3-10 June 1658), 577, 582-6 (E.753.3); no. 420 (10-17 June 1658), 589-94, 600-2 (E.753.6). Perhaps shocked by this outcome, John appears to have tried to hinder subsequent proceedings, testifying at the trials of Bennet and Mordaunt, ‘in so disorderly and confused a manner, that it appeared that he had much rather not have said it’ and rendering his evidence ‘[un]satisfactory to any impartial judges’. Mordaunt was duly acquitted.76TSP vii. 162-6; Clarendon, Hist. vi. 63. Beforehand, Stapley had also visited Henry Mallory in prison, and possibly assisted in Mallory’s escape, to prevent him testifying against Mordaunt.77TSP vii. 220. Mallory was quickly captured, however, and at his trial Stapley again tried to vindicate himself by correcting the ‘report which he said was common in the mouths of men, as if he had been a man that first engaged Dr Hewitt in this design’.78Publick Intelligencer no. 129 (7-14 June 1658), sigs. Bbbb-Cccc, Cccc4 (E.753.4).

Thereafter, Stapley retired to Sussex, and maintained a low profile until April 1660, when he was returned to the Convention.79An Exact Accompt no. 83 (13-20 Apr. 1660), 847 (E.183.4); Parliamentary Intelligencer no. 17 (16-23 Apr. 1660), 260 (E.183.5). By the beginning of May he had been renamed to the commission of the peace, and that month he signed the Humble Address from the Sussex gentry welcoming Charles II’s return to England.80SP29/1, f. 89; E. Suss. RO, QO/EW3, f. 79. Despite his treachery, the new government was remarkably charitable towards him, and on 28 July he was awarded the baronetcy which he had been promised three years earlier.81C231/7, p. 144. He also prevented the sequestration of the family estates, which should have resulted from his father’s role in the execution of Charles I, and by June 1661 he had received a royal pardon.82CJ viii. 179b; E. Suss. RO, Danny 340-2; C231/7, p. 117.

Stapley made no visible impact either on the Convention or the Cavalier Parliament, although he was identified with the court party and with Ormond, not least by opponents such as the 1st earl of Shaftesbury (Anthony Ashley Cooper*).83HP Commons 1660-1690. In the county he was active against the Quakers.84Suss. Arch. Coll. xvi. 78, 108-9, 113-16, 119-20. While one of his ‘men of business’ was a Catholic who was executed in the aftermath of the Popish Plot, Stapley’s house was licensed for the Presbyterian minister William Wallis in 1672.85Suss. Arch. Coll. li. 10. None of the clergy he presented to livings appear to have been anything other than conforming Anglicans.86Suss. Arch. Coll. lv. 243. A preference for toleration, exhibited in 1688 in support for the repeal of the Test and Penal Statutes, may have ensured his defeat in the Lewes election of 1685.87Suss. Arch. Coll. xxxi. 17. Stapley outlived all his sons – including Herbert Stapley†, who sat in both Parliaments of 1679 as an anti-exclusionist – and died in 1701, when the baronetcy became extinct.88E. Suss. RO, D3, p. 234; CB.