Nathaniel Rich | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:St_marys_church_putney_1.JPG) St. Mary's Church, Putney, location of the 1647 Putney Debates; Rich was a leading participant | |
| Captain of Deal Castle | |
| In office 1648–1653 | |
| Member of Parliament for Cirencester | |
| In office February 1648 [a] – March 1660 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1622 Felsted, Essex, England |
| Died | 1701 to 1702, age 79 (approximate) Stondon Massey, Essex, England |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Elizabeth Hampden (1644–1655 her death) (2) Lady Elizabeth Kerr (1663–his death) |
| Children | Nathaniel (before 1648, after 1702); Robert (ca.1648–1699); unnamed daughter |
| Alma mater | St Catharine's College, Cambridge; Gray's Inn |
| Occupation | Puritan radical and soldier |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Parliamentarians |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles/wars | |
Colonel Nathaniel Rich (c. 1620–1622 to 1701–1702) was a member of the landed gentry from Essex, who sided with Parliament during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He has been described as "an example of those pious Puritan gentlemen who were inspired by the ideals of the English Revolution".[1]
Initially a close associate of Oliver Cromwell, he served as a colonel in the New Model Army, and was elected MP for Cirencester in 1648. The two men later fell out due to Rich's support for the Fifth Monarchists, a radical religious group that opposed Cromwell's appointment as Lord Protector in 1653.
Although Rich was removed from the army and lost much of his influence as a result, he remained a committed republican and opposed the Stuart Restoration in May 1660. Since he had not participated in the Execution of Charles I, he was pardoned under the Indemnity and Oblivion Act, but arrested in January 1661 during the short-lived uprising led by his fellow Fifth Monarchist, Thomas Venner. Released in 1665, he lived quietly on his estate in Essex until his death sometime between October 1700 and March 1702, one of the few senior officers of the New Model to survive into the 18th century.
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