- Sir Simonds d'Ewes, 1st Baronet
Sir Simonds d'Ewes, 1st Baronet (
December 18 1602 , Milden,Suffolk ,England -April 18 1650 ) was anantiquary and politician. He was bred for the bar, was a member of theLong Parliament and left notes on its transactions. d'Ewes took the Puritan side in the Civil War. His "Journal of all the Parliaments of Elizabeth" is of value; he left an "Autobiography and Correspondence".Life and political career
Simonds d'Ewes was born the eldest son of Paul d'Ewes, of Milden, Suffolk, and Cecelia, the heiress of Sir Richard Simonds. He was sent to the
Grammar school atBury St. Edmunds , and then toSt John's College, Cambridge .He was admitted to the
Middle Temple in 1611, and in 1623 was called to the Bar. It was here that he began his accumulation of material that would lead to his famed career inAntiquities .His marriage, in 1626, to Anne Clopton, heiress to Sir William Compton, of Luton's Hall in Suffolk, brought him a considerable addition to his wealth. He was knighted by Charles I on 6 December.
In 1639, d'Ewes was
High Sheriff ofSuffolk , and 1640, he was elected as member for Sudbury, sitting in theLong Parliament in opposition of the King's arbitrary rule.Orchard, James (ed.), "The Autobiography and Correspondence of Sir Simonds D'Ewes, Bart.", [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=i2rhFi1YX3kC&pg=RA1-PR7&lpg=RA1-PR7&dq=d'Ewes&source=web&ots=jISR6KBxD3&sig=ur-_IrBV8mnh6SyLrvJ6lEGjm0Q&hl=en page 7 of Preface] online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 14 April 2008] Although he was a puritan, he was given abaronet cy, possibly as an attempt to buy allegiance, in July. However, on the outbreak of Civil War in 1642, d'Ewes joined theParliamentarians . He remained in Parliament until 1648, when ColonelThomas Pride expelled him, along with many othermembers of Parliament , for not supporting the Grandees of theArmy and the Independents. This became popularly known asPride's purge .After 1648, d'Ewes devoted himself to literary studies and died on
18 April 1650 , after having married again, to Elizabeth Willoughby, daughter of Sir Henry Willoughby, Bt.Antiquarian
Simonds d'Ewes is perhaps best known for his work as an
antiquarian . He is known for his transcriptions of important historical documents, most of which do not survive today, and the "Journals of all the Parliaments during the Reign of Queen Elizabeth". However, although d'Ewes was ambitious in this field, he lacked the ability to generalise or construct effectively, and died without publishing any major work, except "The Primitive Practice for Preserving Truth" (1645) and a few speeches (The "Journals of all the Parliaments during the Reign of Queen Elizabeth" was published posthumously in 1682 by his nephew, the lawyer and antiquary Paul Bowes).He had a large collection of historical and
ancient manuscripts, most of which he transcribed. These documents tell give an insight into what life was like in theancient andhistorical worlds, in way of use of language and, in general, an insight into their daily routine.Legacy
Simonds d'Ewes, although known for the events in parliament during the 1640s, is best known for his contribution to the antiquarian world. If it wasn't for d'Ewes fascination and dedication to his field of interest, the story behind the documents he transcribed, although the originals are lost, remain in the transcriptions. He also kept a diary, which gives an insight into the events in Parliament; the glimpses of his own, possibly self-loving, character are also present.
References
* [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.asp?pubid=313 The Journals of all the Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth] : full text at British History Online.
*Nuttallee also
*
Long Parliament
*Thomas Pride
*Pride's purge
*Puritan External links
* [http://www.nndb.com/people/494/000097203/ d'Ewes at NNDB]
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