Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester

Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester

Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, KG, PC (March 1641 – May 2 1711), was an English statesman and writer.

The second son of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon and his wife, Frances Aylesbury, Hyde was a near contemporary of King Charles II of England. Following the Restoration, he sat as member of parliament, first for Newport, Cornwall and later for the University of Oxford, from 1660 to 1679. In 1661 he was sent on a complimentary embassy to Louis XIV of France, while he held the court post of Master of the Robes from 1662 to 1675. In 1665 he married Lady Henrietta Boyle (d. 1687), daughter of Richard Boyle, Earl of Burlington and Cork. When his father was impeached in 1667, Laurence joined his elder brother, Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon, in defending him in parliament, but the fall of Clarendon did not injuriously affect the fortunes of his sons. They were united with the royal family through the marriage of their sister, Anne, with the future King James II, making her Duchess of York. In 1676, Laurence Hyde was sent as ambassador to Poland; he then travelled to Vienna, whence he proceeded to Nijmwegen to take part in the peace congress as one of the English representatives. Having returned to England, he entered the new parliament, which met early in 1679, as member for Wootton Bassett; in November 1679 he was appointed First Lord of the Treasury, and for a few years he was the principal adviser of Charles II. He was created Earl of Rochester, Viscount Hyde of Kenilworth, and Baron Wotton Basset on 29 November 1682. Compelled to join in arranging the treaty of 1681, by which Louis XIV agreed to pay a subsidy to Charles, he was simultaneously imploring William, Prince of Orange, to save Europe from the ambitions of the French monarch. The conflict between his wishes and his interests may have soured his temper; he made himself so unpleasant to his colleagues that in August 1684, he was moved from the treasury to the more dignified, but less influential, post of Lord President of the Council, a process which his enemy Halifax described as being "kicked upstairs." Although appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Rochester did not take up this position; he was still President of the Council when James II became king in February 1685, and he was at once appointed to the important office of Lord Treasurer. But in spite of their family relationship and their long friendship, James and his treasurer did not agree. The king wished to surround himself with Roman Catholic advisers; the Earl, on the other hand, looked with alarm on his master's leanings to that form of faith. In January 1687 he was removed from his office of treasurer, and compensated with a pension of £4000 a year and a gift of Irish lands.

After the revolution of 1688 Rochester appeared as a leader of the Tories, and he opposed the election of William and Mary as king and queen, raising his voice for the establishment of a regency on behalf of the exiled James. But he soon reconciled himself to the new order, perhaps because he could not retain his pension unless he took the oaths of allegiance. After this he was quickly in the royal favour and again a member of the Privy Council. He advised the queen in ecclesiastical matters, and returned to his former position as the leader of the High Church party. From December 1700 until February 1703 he was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, although he did not spend much time in that country, and the concluding years of his public life were mainly passed in championing the interests of the Church. In 1710 he was again made Lord President of the Council. On his death, he was succeeded by his only son, Henry (1672–1758), who in 1724 inherited the earldom of Clarendon. When Henry died without issue on 10 December 1758, all his titles became extinct.

Laurence Hyde had some learning and a share of his father's literary genius. The main employment of his old age was the preparation for the press of his father's "History of the Rebellion", to which he wrote a preface. Like most of the men of his time, he drank deeply, and he was of an arrogant disposition and had a violent temper. In John Dryden's satire, "Absalom and Achitophel", he is " Hushai," the friend of David in distress.

References

*"Collected Works of the Earl of Rochester", ed. John Davy Hayward (1925)
*1911


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon — Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon. Clarendon is dressed in the garb of the Lord Chancellor, a position he held 1658 1667. Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon (18 February 1609 – 9 December 1674) was an English historian and statesman, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Earl of Rochester — John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester. Earl of Rochester was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1652 in favour of the Royalist soldier Henry Wilmot, 2nd Viscount Wilmot. He had already been created… …   Wikipedia

  • Hyde (surname) — Hyde is a surname, and may refer to:*Anne Hyde (1637 ndash;1671), English noblewoman, mother of two British queens, Mary II and Anne *Arthur M. Hyde (1877 ndash;1947), American politician, Governor of Missouri, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture… …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon — and 2nd Earl of Rochester, PC (June 1672 ndash; 10 December 1753) was an English nobleman and politician. He was styled Lord Hyde from 1682 to 1711.LifeHe was the son of the 1st Earl of Rochester and Lady Henrietta, daughter of the 1st Earl of… …   Wikipedia

  • Earl of Clarendon — is a title that has been created twice in British history. It was created for the first time in the Peerage of England in 1661 for the statesman Edward Hyde, 1st Baron Hyde. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1643 to 1646 and Lord Chancellor …   Wikipedia

  • George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon — George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon (January 12, 1800 June 27, 1870), was an English diplomat and statesman.LineageBorn in London on January 12, 1800, George Villiers was the eldest son of the Hon. George Villiers (1759 1827) …   Wikipedia

  • Henrietta Hyde, Countess of Rochester — Henrietta Hyde ( née Boyle), Countess of Rochester (1646 ndash; 12 April, 1687) was an English noblewoman born in Wiltshire, England to Sir Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Cork and Elizabeth Boyle, Countess of Cork. In 1665 she married Laurence Hyde,… …   Wikipedia

  • James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth — The Duke of Monmouth Born 9 April 1649 Rotterdam, Netherlands Died 15 July 1685 …   Wikipedia

  • Anne Scott, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch — (11 February 1651 ndash;6 February 1732) was a wealthy Scottish peeress.Anne was the daughter of Francis Scott, 2nd Earl of Buccleuch. In 1661, she succeeded to her sister s title of Countess of Buccleuch. On 20 April 1663, she married, James… …   Wikipedia

  • James Scott, Earl of Dalkeith — The Earl of Dalkeith, 1688. Sir James Scott, Earl of Dalkeith KT (23 May 1674 – 14 March 1705) was the son of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and Anne Scott, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch. He was also the grandson of Charles II of England. On 2… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”