John Colepeper, 1st Baron Culpeper ( – 11 July 1660) was an English military officer and politician who, as Chancellor of the Exchequer (1642–43) and Master of the Rolls (1643) was an influential counsellor of King Charles I during the English Civil War, who rewarded him with a peerage and some landholdings in Virginia. During the Commonwealth he lived abroad in Europe, where he continued to act as a servant, advisor and supporter of King Charles II in exile. Having taken part in the Prince's escape into exile in 1646, Colepeper accompanied Charles in his triumphant return to England in May 1660, but died only two months later.D.L. Smith, 'Colepeper, John, first Baron Colepeper (bap. 1600, d. 1660)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (OUP 2004). Although descended from Colepepers of Bedgebury, Sir John was of a distinct cadet branch settled at Wigsell in the parish of Salehurst.

Colepeper of Wigsell The Colepeper family resided in Kent and Sussex during the later Middle Ages,J.E. Mousley, 'The Fortunes of Some Gentry Families of Elizabethan Sussex', The Economic History Review, New Series Vol. II, no. 3 (1959), pp. 467-483. and certain of them served in administrative capacities (particularly as High Sheriffs of Kent and in the stewardship of Romney MarshW. Holloway, The History of Romney Marsh (John Russell Smith, London 1849), p. 116 (Google).) from as early as the reign of King Edward III (1322-1377). Branches of the family settled at various locations. John Colepeper derived from the branch which settled at the manor of Wigsell in the parish of Salehurst, East Sussex. Sir John Colepeper of Bedgebury, in Goudhurst in the county of Kent, had by his wife Agnes two sons, the elder of whom, Alexander, established the Colepepers of Bedgebury, and the younger, Walter, took the ancient Colepeper inheritance of Wigsell as his portion.Attree and Booker, 'The Sussex Colepepers', pp. 60-62 (Internet Archive).

Walter Colepeper married Anne (daughter and heir of Harry Aucher of Lossenham, a manor in Newenden, Kent), and at the time of his death in 1514 was Under-Marshal of Calais. Their eldest son William Colepeper married Cicely Barrett in 1530, when the Wigsell estate was settled on William's mother for life, with remainder to William and Anne. William's eldest son was John, born 1530: he married Elizabeth Sidley of Southfleet, Kent around 1560, and was buried at Salehurst in 1612 aged 82.Attree and Booker, 'The Sussex Colepepers', pp. 62-64 (Internet Archive).

Birth and young life

The eldest son of John and Elizabeth was Thomas Colepeper (1561-1613),Will of Thomas Culpeper of Wigsell, Sussex (P.C.C. 1613, Capell quire). who first married Anne Slaney. Anne was a daughter of Sir Stephen Slaney, citizen and Skinner, Alderman of London 1584-1608 and Lord Mayor of London 1595-96, who died in 1608,A.B. Beavan, The Aldermen of the City London, temp. Henry III.-1908, 2 vols (The City Corporation, London 1913), II, p. 42 (Internet Archive). and his wife Margaret Fesaunt (died 1619).N. Parkhurst, The Faithful and Diligent Christian Described and Identified, or, A sermon with some additions preached at the funeral of the Lady Elizabeth Brooke (Samuel Sprint and John Harding, London 1684), (eebo/tcp II), p. 41. Thomas and Anne were the natural parents of the future 1st Baron Colepeper of Thoresway. After the birth of two sons and a daughter, Anne died in 1601/02. Thomas Colepeper then remarried to Mary, daughter of Roger Beeston (citizen of London), and widow of Francis Gibbon of Benenden, Kent. By this second marriage there was a son Thomas who died in infancy in 1607, and three daughters.Attree and Booker, 'The Sussex Colepepers', pp. 64-67 (Internet Archive).

The Wigsell inheritance at first should have descended to Thomas and Anne's elder son, Slaney Colepeper, but he died in 1617. It was then determined by his inquisition post mortem that it should pass to his younger brother John Colepeper, who in fact succeeded as the heir of Wigsell.Attree and Booker, 'The Sussex Colepepers', pp. 64-66 (Internet Archive). Their full sister Elizabeth became the wife of Sir Robert Brooke of Yoxford, Suffolk in 1620: Brooke had formerly been married to the stepdaughter of John's aunt Mary Slaney,For whom see I.W. Archer, 'Weld [née Slaney], Mary, Lady Weld (bap. 1560?, d. 1623)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004). second wife of Sir Humphrey Weld (died 1610).

John's father, and his uncle John Colepeper of Feckenham (1563-1635), were member of the Virginia Company of London from 1609. John himself was a member from 1617 to 1623.'A Key Chart of the Pedigree of the Wigsell Culpepers', in F. Harrison, 'The Proprietors of the Northern Neck. Chapters of Culpeper Genealogy', The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography XXXIII no. 2 (Virginia Historical Society, April 1925), pp. 113-53. He was knighted in 1621 and sold Wigsell to Cheney Culpeper in 1623.Great Wigsell house, early 17th century also with date 1641 on doorway, Grade II* listing John's first marriage, to Philippa Snelling in 1628, lasted only until her death in 1630, leaving him a son and a daughter. His second marriage, to Judith Colepeper of Hollingbourne, Kent, a distant cousin, was in January 1630/31 and gave rise to a large family (see below).Attree and Booker, 'The Sussex Colepepers', pp. 67-70 (Internet Archive).

In Parliament, 1640-1644 John Colepeper began his career in military service abroad, and came first into public notice at home through his knowledge of country affairs, being summoned often before the council board to give evidence on such matters.E. Hyde, The Life of Edward, Earl of Clarendon, New Edition, 3 vols (Clarendon Press, Oxford 1827), I, (Part II), pp. 106-08 (HathiTrust). He was knighted, and after representing Rye in the Short Parliament in April 1640 was elected member later in the year for Kent in the Long Parliament. He then took the popular side, speaking against monopolies on 9 November 1640,J. Rushworth, Historical Collections of Private Passages of State, Weighty Matters, &c., Part III Vol. I (Richard Chiswell and Thomas Cockerill, London 1692), pp. 33-34 (Google). being entrusted with the impeachment of Sir Robert Berkeley on 12 February 1641,Rushworth, Historical Collections, III.i, p. 188v (Google). supporting the attainder of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, and being appointed to the committee of defence on 12 August 1641.S.R. Gardiner, History of England from the Accession of James I. to the Outbreak of the Civil War, 1603-1642, New Edition, 10 vols (Longmans, Green, and Co., London 1891), X: 1641-1642, p. 2 (Internet Archive).

He separated, however, from the popular party on the Church question, owing to political rather than religious objections, fearing the effect of the revolutionary changes which were now contemplated. He opposed the London petition for the abolition of episcopacy,Gardiner, History of England, IX: 1639-1641 (1884), p. 287 (Internet Archive). the project of religious union with the Scots, and the Root and Branch Bill, and on 1 September he moved a resolution in defence of the prayer-book.Gardiner, History of England, X: 1641-1642, pp. 14-16 (Internet Archive). In the following session he opposed the Militia Bill and the Grand Remonstrance,Gardiner, History of England, X: 1641-1642, pp. 74-77 and pp. 95-97 (Internet Archive). and finally on 2 January 1642 he joined the party of Charles I, taking office as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the same motion by which Lord Falkland was appointed Secretary of State,E. Hyde, The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Volume 1 Part 2 (Oxford 1718), pp. 339-40 (Google). and both were sworn as Privy Councillors.Gardiner, History of England, X: 1641-1642, p. 127 (Internet Archive). In 1642, the subject along with Viscount Lucius Cary wrote the King's responseCharles, King of England; John Colepepper Colepepper, Baron; Lucius Cary Falkland, Viscount. (1642). His Majesties answer to the XIX propositions of both houses of Parliament. London : Printed by Robert Barker, Printer to the Kings most excellent Majestie : And by the allignes of John Bill. Worldcat.org website to Parliament in regard to the military measure.Bartrum, Ian C., "The People's Court: On the Intellectual Origins of American Judicial Power" (2021). Scholarly Works. University of Nevada, Las Vegas website 1332. footnote 181 p. 310. Describing the growing power of corporations, he is reported to have said "they sip from our cup, they dip in our dish, they sit by our fire".Jane Anne Morris. "Speaking truth to power about campaign reform". p. 194. in Dean Ritz. (2001). Defying corporations, defining democracy : a book of history and strategy. Croton on Hudson, N.Y. : Apex; London : Central. ISBN 9781891843105. Google Books Retrieved 11 August 2022.

Colepeper highly disapproved of the king's attempt to arrest John Pym and four other members of the Long Parliament, which was made without his knowledge,E. Hyde, The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, New Edition, 8 vols (Clarendon Press, Oxford 1826), Vol II, Part IV, pp. 132-134 (Internet Archive). but advocated the enterprise for the king's removal to Kingston-upon-Hull.Hyde, Life of Edward, Earl of Clarendon, Volume I Part II, pp. 111-112, note (HathiTrust). On 25 August 1642 he appeared at the bar of the House of Commons to deliver the king's final proposals for peace:J. Rushworth, Historical Collections of Private Passages of State, Weighty Matters, &c., Part III Vol. I (Richard Chiswell and Thomas Cockerill, London 1692), pp. 784-85 (Google). "There standing bareheaded, he looked so dejectedly as if he had been a delinquent rather than a member of the House, or privy counsellor, or messenger from His Majesty"Sir Simonds D'Ewes, quoted in J.L. Sanford, Studies and Illustrations of the Great Rebellion (John W. Parker and Son, London 1858), p. 529-30 (Google). He was afterwards present at the Battle of Edgehill, where he took part in Prince Rupert's charge and opposed the retreat of the king's forces from the battlefield.

In December he was made by Charles Master of the Rolls. He was a leading member of the Oxford Parliament, and was said, in opposition to the general opinion, to have counselled considerable concessions to secure peace. His influence in military affairs caused him to be much disliked by Prince Rupert and the army, and the general animosity against him was increased by his advancement to the peerage on 21 October 1644 by the title of Baron Colepeper of Thoresway in Lincolnshire.

A royalist abroad, 1645-1660

Lord Culpeper was despatched with Edward Hyde in charge of the Prince of Wales to the West in March 1645, and on 2 March 1646, after Charles's final defeat, embarked with the prince for Scilly (the Isles of Scilly in the county of Cornwall) and thence to France. He strongly advocated gaining the support of the Scots by granting them religious concessions, a policy supported by the queen and Mazarin, but opposed by Hyde and other leading royalists, and he constantly urged this course upon the king, while at the same time deprecating any yielding on the subject of the militia. He promoted the mission of Sir John Berkeley in 1647 to secure an understanding between Charles and the army.