William Walwyn

William Walwyn (c. 1600-1681) was an English pamphleteer and Leveller.

The second son of Robert Walwyn of Newland in Worcestershire and grandson of the Bishop of Hereford, Walwyn was apprenticed to a London silk merchant. He married Anne Gundell in 1627, with whom he had 20 children, and became a master weaver in the same year. By 1632, he was a merchant and member of the Merchant Adventurers' Company. Walwyn's private study of the Bible, theology and philosophy led him to an acceptance of complete religious freedom and toleration of all sects, a view which he advocated in a series of seven tracts published anonymously between 1641-6.

In October 1645, Walwyn published "England's Lamentable Slaverie" in protest at the imprisonment of John Lilburne whom he admired for his courage and commitment to the defence of liberty. The following year, Walwyn appealed to the House of Commons to free Lilburne from his imprisonment by the House of Lords. When the Commons ignored his appeal, Walwyn collaborated with Richard Overton in organising a petition: "A Remonstrance of Many Thousand Citizens" in July 1646. The Remonstrance is regarded as a founding document of the Leveller movement. Shortly after its publication, Overton was arrested for publishing further criticism of the Lords. Lilburne and Overton continued to publish their views whilst in prison, but it was Walwyn who organised and co-ordinated the protests of the burgeoning Leveller movement on their behalf. Between March and June 1647, he presented four petitions at the House of Commons calling for the release of the prisoners and for the implementation of reforms. Disillusioned at the Commons' condemnation of the petitions, Walwyn met with army Agitators and called upon the New Model Army to uphold the nation's rights and liberties against the corrupt Parliament. When the Army occupied London in August 1647 and drove out the Presbyterians, however, Walwyn was dismayed at Fairfax's refusal to hand over control of the City to civilians.

Walwyn collaborated with John Lilburne, Thomas Prince and Richard Overton in drafting the original version of the Leveller manifesto "An Agreement of the People" in October 1647, but did not take part in the subsequent Putney Debates between Levellers, Agitators and Grandees. Angered at the outbreak of the Second Civil War, Walwyn attacked the Grandees for causing unnecessary bloodshed in "The Bloody Project" (August 1648), in which he also proposed a restoration of the monarchy with the King's power limited and regulated by law. Although he objected to the Army's march on London in December 1648 that resulted in Pride's Purge, Walwyn participated in the Whitehall debates between representatives of the Levellers, the Independents and the Council of Officers. The continued attendance of Walwyn and Wildman after Lilburne and Overton walked out of the talks suggests that there was a split in the Leveller leadership at this time.

Walwyn withdrew from political activity after the King's execution and the establishment of the Commonwealth. He was unexpectedly arrested along with Lilburne, Overton and Thomas Prince in March 1649 following the publication of the second part of Lilburne's criticism of the new régime in "England's New Chains Discovered". Walwyn later attributed his arrest to the hostility of the Independent congregations in London, which he had criticised for their lack of true piety and Christian virtue. Several weeks after his imprisonment, a savage attack on Walwyn was published entitled "Walwin's Wiles", which was probably written by John Price, a member of the congregation of the Puritan divine John Goodwin.

The Leveller leaders were released from prison in November 1649 following Lilburne's trial and acquittal. Walwyn pledged his loyalty to the Commonwealth by taking the Oath of Engagement and returned to quiet family life at his home in Moorfields. He became interested in medicine and began practising as a physician during the 1650s, publishing several medical tracts and handbooks. He died in January 1681.

References

*This article incorporates text under a Creative Commons License by David Plant, the British Civil Wars and Commonwealth website http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/walwyn.htm