CRAVEN, William (1608-97)

Craven’s father, a Yorkshireman by birth, was one of the wealthiest City plutocrats of the Jacobean era, serving as lord mayor of London in 1611-12. The bulk of his fortune was held as a loan portfolio worth perhaps £200,000 at his death in 1618, which was continued as a going concern until its seizure by the Rump Parliament in 1651. Under the terms of Alderman Craven’s will, his heir William, the subject of this biography, was promised an inheritance of £20,000 p.a. in land. Craven’s mother never achieved this impossibly ambitious figure, but during her eldest son’s minority she invested over £100,000 in land on his behalf, including Coombe Abbey, Warwickshire. These estates, scattered across the Midlands, were often acquired in settlement of debts owed by those who had borrowed from the business, including Robert Carr^*, earl of Somerset, Richard Sackville^*, 3rd earl of Dorset, Oliver St John^*, 4th Lord St John and Henry Percy^*, 3rd earl of Northumberland.35 PROB 11/132, ff. 69, 72v; Bodl., Dep.Craven.Estates 74, unfol. (entries of 17 and 21 Apr. 1619, 22 Feb. 1620, 1, 4 and 6 July 1620).

Having spent some time at Oxford and the Inner Temple, the 17-year old Craven embarked on a tour of his new estates in 1625, ending with a visit to his sister Elizabeth and her husband Percy Herbert^† (later 2nd Lord Powis) in Montgomeryshire.36 Al. Ox.; Bodl., Dep.Craven.Estates 74 (entries for 14 June 1624, 23 Dec. 1625). He subsequently spent some time as a volunteer with the English forces in Dutch pay. On his return in 1627 he was knighted (4 Mar.) and raised to the peerage (18 Mar.);37 C231/4, f. 220. it was also intended that he should match with the sister of John Ashburnham^‡ (kindred of the favourite, George Villiers^*, 1st duke of Buckingham). Though the marriage did not take place, Craven paid £7,000 for his title and a further £9,000 to the Court of Wards for livery of his estates. Fresh rumour suggested that he was to be married to a daughter of the lord keeper, Sir Thomas Coventry^* (later 1st Lord Coventry), whose heir Thomas Coventry^† (later 2nd Lord Coventry) married his sister Mary Craven in April 1627.38 W.S. Powell, John Pory, microfiche supplement, 117; Bodl., Dep.Craven.Estates 74 (entries of 20 and 23 Mar. 1627); C.R. Mayes, ‘Sale of Peerages in Early Stuart Eng.’, JMH, xxix. 31-2; T. Birch, Ct. and Times of Chas. I, i. 209-11; THOMAS COVENTRY.

In June 1627 Craven embarked on a lengthy foreign tour, spending most of his first year in the Low Countries, at the court of Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, while he also developed his interest in military affairs – in June 1628 he sent a suit of armour home. He was listed as present at Westminster on the opening day of Parliament on 17 Mar. 1628, but this may have been a clerical error: he could have returned home for the occasion, but at the call of the House five days later it was noted that he was abroad.39 Bodl., Dep.Craven.Estates 74 unfol. (entries of 9 June, 6 July and 27 Nov. 1627, 12 and 18 Feb., 3 June 1628); Lords Procs. 1628, p. 87; Haig, 43-6. During the session Thomas Howard^*, 21st (or 14th) earl of Arundel introduced a bill which sought to annex various properties, including the lordships of Clun and Oswestry, to his earldom; as Craven had acquired part of the Clun estate, the Commons sent him notice of the provisions of this measure, but as it had no effect on his tenure, he is unlikely to have raised any objection.40 CD 1628, iv. 236. Craven travelled in the grandest style, with a retinue of a dozen servants, spending more than £9,000 in just over two years. In the summer of 1628 he journeyed south, travelling via Geneva to Florence, thus missing the brief parliamentary session of 1629. It Italy he met up with James Hay^†, Viscount Doncaster (later 2nd earl of Carlisle). From Tuscany, the pair applied to the Privy Council for permission to visit Rome, but by the time their open passport arrived, they had already returned from a trip to Rome (where they had been entertained by the Scottish priest George Con) and Naples. Craven advised Carlisle’s secretary, William Boswell^‡, that ‘cart-ropes shall not detain me any longer in this place’, and the party journeyed north via Venice.41 APC, 1627-8, p. 243; Bodl. Dep.Craven.Estates 74 unfol. (entries of 4 and 23 Sept., 26 Nov. and 31 Dec. 1628); SP16/111/70, 16/122/10, 16/132/22-3, 16/135/41, 16/138/76, 16/141/66-7, 16/142/50; SP98/3, f. 102; Haig, 48-51. Craven had returned to the Low Countries by July, spending some time in the ‘leaguer’ – serving under Edward Cecil^*, Viscount Wimbledon in the Dutch siege lines before s’Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-Duc) – and at The Hague, with Queen Elizabeth; after the Spanish surrendered s’Hertogenbosch, he then returned to England, arriving in November.42 Bodl., Dep.Craven.Estates 74 unfol. (entries of 2 and 10 June, 11, 13, 30-31 July, 14 and 25 Aug., 24 Sept., 23 and 26 Oct. 1629; also note at end of volume); LJ, iv. 25a; P.H. Wilson, Europe’s Tragedy, 437. Even before his arrival, there were fresh reports of marriage prospects, his name being linked on this occasion to Mary, daughter of William Cavendish^*, 2nd earl of Newcastle, but nothing came of this.43 Haig, 54. In fact, despite rumours that he had secretly married Elizabeth of Bohemia in her widowhood, he never seems to have taken a wife.

At Christmas 1629 Craven created a stir by bestowing £3,000 on freeing debtors from the London prisons, but he spent much of 1630 on the Continent, apparently travelling as far as Rome. In the summer of 1631 he raised a company of volunteers in France, which he took into action in Zeeland, helping to relieve a Spanish threat to the Dutch fortress of Bergen-op-Zoom.44 Add. 78201, ff. 45-7v, 52; Haig, 55. Fired by news of the Swedish defeat of the imperialist forces in Germany, Craven now had aspirations to assist the Protestant cause in the Holy Roman empire, and in December 1631, when Frederick, king of Bohemia briefly visited the English court in the hopes of raising troops to join a Swedish attack on the Palatinate, Craven offered to pay for the equipment and transport of 3,000 men to the Low Countries from his own pocket – which secured him an invitation to stand as godfather to the Palatine couple’s new son, Gustavus. King Charles I, wary of his brother-in-law’s military adventures, advised Craven to await the results of a diplomatic mission to the Swedish army, and while he was not allowed to recruit, Craven did accompany Frederick to the Continent, joining the Swedish king in February 1632.45 Powell, microfiche supplement, 178, 203, 225; B.C. Pursell, Winter King, 259-70; Corresp. of Eliz. Stuart ed. N. Akkerman, ii. 28; Haig, 59-61. Wounded while leading an attack on the citadel of Kreuznach, a Spanish-held fortress in the Palatinate, he was subsequently embraced by Gustavus, who was delighted when the garrison surrendered, ‘calling him camerade, and doing him all the honour he could’. He displayed similar courage at the storm of Donauwörth in Bavaria several weeks later. In June Craven took dispatches to Elizabeth at The Hague, but instead of rejoining Gustavus, with whom Frederick was becoming increasingly disillusioned, he participated in the Dutch assault on Maastricht (August 1632), where he was again wounded.46 C115/105/8190; Powell, microfiche supplement, 228-9, 238, 271, 281, 284; SP77/21, ff. 139v-40; SP81/38, ff. 115v-16, 124v-5; SP84/146, ff. 138-9; Corresp. of Eliz. Stuart, ii. 95-6; Wilson, 520; Pursell, 272-6. In October King Charles proposed to lead an English army to the Palatinate next year, but the death of both Frederick and Gustavus the following month radically altered the situation. Craven’s chaplain joined him in the Low Countries in the New Year, but there was little hope of assisting the Palatine cause in the face of an imperialist resurgence, and Craven returned home in the hopes of raising money for the Palatine cause from the London merchants, attempts which were frustrated by the inept behaviour of Sir Francis Nethersole^‡. While King Charles was annoyed by these efforts, Craven was allowed to attend the christening of James Stuart^†, duke of York, on 24 Nov. 1633.47 PC2/42, f. 164v; Wilson, 510-11; Pursell, 276-7; Ceremonies of Chas. I ed. A.J. Loomie, 144-5; Haig, 70-1.

Craven remained in England for over a year, chaperoning various Swedish dignitaries at court, but in the spring of 1635 he returned to The Hague, where French intervention in the Thirty Years’ War offered hope for the Palatine cause. However, at the end of the year he accompanied to England the new Elector Palatine, Charles Louis, who appealed to his uncle for assistance after the emperor and many of his German enemies reached an agreement that excluded him. Craven hoped to ensure that Charles Louis’ inexperience did not lead him into difficulties.48 Ceremonies of Chas. I, 152, 157, 193; PC2/44, f. 254; C115/108/8580; Wilson, 554-69. During the royal progress in the summer of 1636, Craven housed Palatine diplomats at Coombe Abbey, Warwickshire, when their own lodging was infected with plague. Moreover, when Charles Louis returned to England in January 1637 with a plan to raise a fleet of privateers, Craven offered to subscribe £10,000 towards the project.49 Corresp. of Eliz. Stuart, ii. 498, 502, 569, 580. Nothing came of this, but Craven returned to the Low Countries with the Elector in July 1637, and in the following year he raised 3,000 troops for the German wars. Charles Louis’ intention to march on the Palatinate was discouraged by the Swedish general Baner, who persuaded him instead to capture the town of Lemgo in Westphalia, for use as winter quarters. However, in October 1638 the besiegers were surprised by an imperialist force which captured both Prince Rupert^† (later earl of Cumberland) and Craven.50 C115/109/8806; Corresp. of Eliz. Stuart, ii. 620, 632, 699-700, 722, 725-6, 733-4, 738, 744; Wilson, 322. Plans to send Craven to the Imperial court at Vienna were abandoned when his wounds laid him low at Frankfurt, and he was eventually exchanged. He journeyed to England briefly in August 1639 with Charles Louis, but once it became clear that King Charles was unwilling to further the Elector’s plans, the pair left promptly for France.51 C115/109/8854; Corresp. of Eliz. Stuart, ii. 778, 823-4; Ceremonies of Chas. I, 263.

Martial prowess earned Craven a certain amount of respect in England, where his exploits were widely reported: his storming of Kreuznach citadel won him ‘great honour’, as did his decision to erect a monument to a humble lieutenant killed at his side.52 C115/105/8190; Powell, microfiche supplement, 228-9. However, Sir Edmund Verney^‡, for one, sneered at his combination of prodigious wealth and lack of breeding:

What says the court of this man? They laugh at him … Truly, his wealth is his greatest enemy, and yet his only friend. It begets in his inferiors, a disguised friendship; in his equals, envy. His vanity makes him accessible to the one; the meanness of his birth, person, parts, contemptible to the other …53 Verney Pprs. ed. J. Bruce (Cam. Soc. lvi), 189.

It is also noticeable that Craven was one of the few truly wealthy peers not to hold office as a lord lieutenant in the 1630s. However, snobbery alone cannot explain this: he had not yet had the time to strike roots into local society; his estates were scattered across several counties; and his extravagant enthusiasm for the Palatine cause made the king’s efforts seem comparatively feeble.54 V. Stater, Noble Govt. 14-15.

While he missed the Short Parliament, Craven returned to London for the Long Parliament: he was still abroad at the call of the House on 16 Nov. 1640, but noted as present on 11 Jan. 1641.55 LJ, iv. 92a. He withdrew to The Hague before the outbreak of the Civil War, supporting Elizabeth after her English pension was stopped. Their relationship became so close that there were implausible rumours that they had secretly married.56 Corresp. of Eliz. Stuart, ii. 941; C. Oman, Elizabeth of Bohemia, 452n. He lived in the Low Countries for most of the next 20 years, lending the exiled Charles II many thousands of pounds, which made him suspect to the republican regime in England. In 1651 his estates and banking business were seized by the Rump, and while the Protectorate put a stop to the sale of his estates, he had difficulties until the Restoration.57 CSP Dom. 1641-3, p. 279; E. Warburton, Mems. of Prince Rupert and the Cavaliers, iii. 441-2n; CCC, ii. 1617-18

Craven’s loyalty was rewarded with an earldom in 1665, while his lack of an heir meant that he was granted a special remainder to his barony, entailing the title on several of his cousins. A patron of nonconformists, he became attached to the duke of York, and, after the latter succeeded as James II, urged him to extend toleration to dissenters as well as Catholics. In 1688, he was one of the signatories of the arrest warrant for the Seven Bishops, but he remained in England after the Glorious Revolution, arguing against the deposition of his master in the Convention Parliament.

In his will of July 1689, Craven passed the bulk of his estate to his cousin and heir, William Craven of Coombe Abbey. He remained active in Parliament until shortly before his death, of gangrene, in his house at Drury Lane on 9 Apr. 1697.58 PROB 11/437, f. 296; Add. 29575, f. 32. His earldom expired with him, but the barony passed to his cousin William.