Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who became the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England from 1653 until his death in 1658.[1] He is regarded as Britain’s most controversial ruler, and the interregnum during which he ruled is seen as a theocratic military state. Although his persona is synonymous with popular notions of Puritanical restraint and disdain for ostentation, Cromwell still appreciated quality and was even interested in the latest mechanical marvels of the day, namely watches and clocks. He was a champion of Ahasuerus Fromanteel (one of the greatest and most innovative clockmakers of his day), favoured pocket watches of the Puritan style, and clearly understood the value of forging alliances with the powerful guilds and their illustrious members, such as the wealthy and successful clockmaker Edward East, who was a member of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers and the Goldsmith’s Company. An ‘Independent Puritan’ Born on 25 April 1599, Cromwell came from a ‘middle’ gentry background. In 1628, he was elected to Parliament as an MP for Huntingdon, and elected again to the Short Parliament in 1640 and to the Long Parliament in 1640–1649 as a member for Cambridge for both terms. An extremely religious man, Cromwell converted to Independent Puritanism in the 1630s. When the first English Civil War broke out on 22 August 1642, he joined on the side of the Parliamentarians and was quickly promoted to be a commander of the New Model Army. He experienced great success on the battlefield and was instrumental in the dissolution of the monarchy. In fact, he was the third signature on King Charles I’s death warrant. Apparently, he saw himself as ‘God’s executioner’.[2] After the execution of the King for treason, Cromwell needed to restore economic stability to the new Commonwealth. One of the ways he did this was by approaching the clockmaker David Ramsay, who by then had been languishing in a debtors’ prison for four years.[3] Ramsay had been an Agent of King Charles, so Cromwell pressed the beleaguered watchmaker to disclose to whom the King had given gifts and help him track down any of the King’s possessions. Cromwell wanted to repossess these ‘gifts’ and auction them off to raise money for the new state. In exchange for this, he offered Ramsay a 30% commission. To pay off his debt and get out of jail, the watchmaker abandoned his loyalty to his previous royal employer and took up Cromwell’s offer. Puritanism informed every decision that Cromwell made, and he enacted policies that reflected his priority: the spiritual and moral reform of England. For instance, he installed Army Major Generals and Deputy Generals (who were answerable only to him) throughout the country to assess the suitability of parish ministers. In effect, many feared that Cromwellian policy would turn England into a permanent military state. On 20 April 1653, Cromwell forcibly dismissed the Rump Parliament and established in its place a nominated assembly known as the Barebones Parliament. This Parliament offered him the rule of the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland as Lord Protector. He agonised over the offer for six weeks, because he desired the stability that a ruler could offer but wanted to avoid anything that appeared to resemble kingship. Ultimately, he accepted the appointment. On 26 June 1657, Cromwell was ceremonially reinstalled as Lord Protector at Westminster Hall. He now ruled what would be a short-lived British Republic. ‘Puritan style’ and Cromwell’s watches Cromwell famously wore only plain clothing, even when he was sworn in as Lord Protector for life on 16 December 1653. Although he often made a show of avoiding the use of monarchical regalia and status symbols, he was not completely immune to the trappings of power. For instance, his installation ceremony at Westminster used many of the symbols and regalia of coronation: he sat upon King Edward’s chair, wore a purple ermine-lined robe, and carried a sword of justice and sceptre in the ceremony. He also created two baronages and refused to minimise his role during his tenure, describing himself as a ‘constable of watchman’. He also signed his name as ‘Oliver P’, the ‘P’ being an abbreviation for ‘Protector’. This mirrored the signatory practices of monarchs, who used an ‘R’ in place of ‘Rex’ or ‘Regina’. Nor did he discourage others from addressing him as ‘Your Highness’, which became the normal way to address Cromwell as he settled into his role as Lord Protector. He did not deprive himself of luxury items either. Cromwell is purported to have owned and presented as gifts some very fine ‘pocket’ watches, some of which survive. Predictably, most of these are categorised as Puritan-style watches. In fact, he and many well-to-do Puritans appreciated high-quality items such as these. Puritan watches were especially popular in the years leading up to the English Civil Wars and during the English Commonwealth period, from 1649 to 1660. These watches are typically egg-shaped, with plain, undecorated cases in silver or gold. Their style was popularly known during the 1600s as ‘Puritan’, and it was aesthetically an expression of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. The development of this style was probably a reaction to the extravagantly decorated watchcases of the earlier 1600s, such as the King James Portrait Watch, created around 1618 by Ramsay, and the Miniature Rock Crystal Watch, made around 1635 by East. Although Puritans typically avoided ostentation and show, they greatly valued craftmanship and fine materials, such as the gold that watchmaker James Vautrollier (b. c1575, d. ?) used for his Gold Double-Cased 'Puritan' Watch, made around 1625 (coming soon to Clocktime). This simple and elegant Puritan-style watch has a plain double case made of pure gold, and its gold oval dial plate is completely devoid of decoration. Its features are functional and finely rendered. Vautrollier’s gold watch is a beautiful example of the Puritan style. It is also a rare surviving item, because it was common during the Commonwealth period for gold watches and objects to be melted down and recycled to keep abreast of changes in fashion or to cope with a scarcity of metals during times of upheaval. In fact, most surviving Puritan watches are made from just gilt metal, silver or silver gilt; one example is the silver Puritan watches created by East around 1640 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Accession number 17.190.1468a,b) and at the Science Museum, London (Object No. L2015-3100). The watches that have been linked to Cromwell (i.e. those that belonged to him and/or were gifted by him) include a Puritan-style oval gold pair-cased verge watch with date indicator at the British Museum (Museum number 1786,0928.1). This watch was made by Robert Grinkin the Younger between 1630 and 1640. It was donated to the museum by Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Rich, whose grandfather Nathaniel was a colonel in the Parliamentarian army when he received the watch from Cromwell. Apparently, Colonel Nathaniel Rich was deprived of his command in 1655 and imprisoned for his opposition to Cromwell’s government, so perhaps the story of the watch’s connection to Cromwell needs to be taken with a grain of salt. There is also the recently rediscovered Puritan-style silver fob watch made by William Clay around 1645. This watch appeared at auction in 2019 and was bought by the antiquarian Martyn Downer of Martyn Downer Works of Art, who carried out research on its provenance and subsequently identified it as one of Cromwell’s watches. The watch has a verge movement and worm and wheel set-up. Downer’s research revealed that Cromwell acquired the watch from Clay, a maker of lantern clocks and watches. It is interesting that Clay was not a member of the Clockmakers’ Company, as Cromwell also did business with Fromanteel before he was made free of the Company himself – this relationship is explored below. Clearly Cromwell had no qualms about doing business with non-guild members and makers who operated outside of the City’s regulation. Downer learned that the Clay’s Puritan-style watch was gifted by Cromwell to John Blackwell in 1649. Blackwell served in Cromwell’s army and was a highly regarded officer. Blackwell was married to Elizabeth Smithsby, a cousin of Cromwell’s, and worked in the Treasury during the Protectorate, rising to co-treasurer and sitting as a member of the Military Party in Parliament. Blackwell also served as a judge in the High Court during the 1650s, further establishing his connections to the Lord Protector. After Cromwell’s death, Blackwell threw his support towards restoring the Commonwealth and was instrumental in removing Cromwell’s son and successor, Richard, as Lord Protector. The watch remained in the Blackwell family until it went up for auction in 2019. It was sold on the 26 September 2023 at the Chelsea Antiques Fair, presumably to be removed from public view yet again.[4] Another watch believed to have belonged to Cromwell is at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. It is not known who made this oval silver-and-gold watch (Accession No. AN1836.p140.377), nor are details provided about its attribution to Cromwell or its provenance. This watch has more decoration than the other Cromwell watches, with engravings on both sides of the case as well as the dial face. Still, it is a Puritan-style watch because the imagery is restrained, the decoration is not allegorical, and no figures are depicted. All the above are rare survivals due to the assaying of plate (the recalling and melting down of objects made of gold, silver, and other metals) that took place during the period leading up to the English Civil Wars. This period was disastrous for the Clockmakers’ and Goldsmiths’ Companies. King Charles I extracted so many fees on the City of London and its guilds that the Goldsmiths’ Company resorted to borrowing large amounts of money and was heavily in debt. Many major items of plate (precious metals) were sold to keep the company afloat. Antiquarian Johnny Carter observes that ‘the clockmakers must have been even harder hit than the plate-workers; in hard times they could realise the value in their precious metal stock, but not so the clockmakers’.[5] Charles’ Royal Clockmaker, Edward East, certainly felt the effect of this. As a member of the Goldsmiths’ Company and having been made Treasurer of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1647, he knew the extent to which Crown’s fees and the ensuing political and economic instability wrought havoc upon the guilds and their makers. However, in contrast to Fromanteel who publicly aligned himself with Cromwell, East played his cards close to his chest. The Goldsmiths were key financiers of the Roundhead Army, investing over £17,000 in the Parliamentarian cause.[6] Despite his royal patronage, there is no evidence that East objected to this. In fact, we know that he quietly supported the Roundheads: apparently, he later took ownership of a property in West Meath, Ireland, in repayment for a personal loan to Cromwell’s army. During the Civil Wars, the Goldsmiths’ Company court records show that ‘assaying of plate’ was all but stopped.[7] Members of the Company, and the clockmakers, must have been greatly relieved when the market began to stabilise. Cromwell and Fromanteel As mentioned above, Fromanteel was a supporter of Cromwell, and his skills as a clockmaker brought him to the Lord Protector’s attention. Fromanteel was not then a member of the Clockmakers’ Company. Therefore, he was barred from signing and selling his own work in London. Around 1656, Cromwell bought a clock from Fromanteel for £300. At that time, Fromanteel was constantly being hounded by the Clockmakers’ Company for flouting Company regulations, so Cromwell intervened by forcing the London clockmakers to promote him as a Free Brother. In 1658 Fromanteel set up his workshop in Mosses Alley, Southwark, where he began manufacturing the first pendulum clocks in England. On 18 November of that same year, he famously advertised his new cutting-edge clocks in the Commonwealth Mercury newspaper.[8] In the advert, he flaunted his connection to his politically powerful patron, stating that his clocks had been ‘examined and proved before the “Lord Protector” Oliver Cromwell’. Cromwell’s end and the beginning of a new horological era In 1658, Cromwell was struck by a sudden bout of malarial fever, which was then directly followed by what was a probably a terrible urinary tract infection that in turn progressed into septicaemia. On Friday 3 September 1658, at the age of 59, Cromwell died. He was buried with great ceremony at Westminster Abbey. Even in death, he retained the symbolic trappings of power, as his funeral was based on that of King James VI and I. The 18 November 1658 edition of the Commonwealth Mercury newspaper featuring Fromanteel’s advertisement for his new pendulum clocks (mentioned above) also contained a report on the preparations for Cromwell’s funeral.[9] This is the first known advertisement in London for pendulum clocks clocks ‘that go exact and keep equaller time than any now made without this Regulator’. In effect, this edition of the Commonwealth Mercury bookends two crucial moments in British history: it references the end of the Cromwellian era and heralds the arrival of the greatest development in horological history, namely the domestic pendulum clock – an invention that would go on to change the world. Cromwell was succeeded as Lord Protector by his son, Richard. Richard had no power base in either Parliament or the Army and was forced to resign in May 1659, an event that marked the end of the Protectorate. No clear leadership emerged from the various factions that jostled for power during the short-lived reinstated Commonwealth. So, shortly thereafter, the necessary constitutional adjustments were made to invite Charles II (the son and heir of King Charles I) to return from exile and be King of England under a restored monarchy.[10] Charles II was restored to the throne, becoming King of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1660. Just like that, the English Commonwealth ended, and England’s monarchy was restored. On 30 January 1661, on the 12th anniversary of the execution of Charles I, Cromwell’s body was exhumed from Westminster Abbey and his remains were desecrated. His disinterred body was hanged in chains at Tyburn and then thrown into a pit. Additionally, Cromwell’s severed head was also displayed on a pole outside Westminster Hall until 1685. Afterwards, it was allegedly owned by various people and publicly exhibited several times before being buried beneath the floor of the antechapel at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, in 1960. A plaque marks the approximate location. Many people have questioned whether the body mutilated at Tyburn was Cromwell’s, because it was assumed that between his death in September 1658 and the exhumation of January 1661, he had been buried and reburied in several places to protect his remains from vengeful royalists. The Cromwell vault was later used as a burial place for Charles II’s illegitimate descendants. In Westminster Abbey, the site of Cromwell’s burial was marked during the 19th century by the placement of a floor stone in what is now the Air Force Chapel; its inscription reads ‘The burial place of Oliver Cromwell 1658–1661’. If you are interested in learning more about Cromwell, many scholarly studies are available, including but not limited to Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution by John Morrill; Cromwell, Our Chief of Men by Antonia Fraser; Oliver Cromwell by Barry Coward; God’s Executioner by Micheál Ó Siochrú; Oliver Cromwell: New Perspectives by Patrick Little; and Cromwell’s Head by Johnathan Fitzgibbons. Dr Kristin Leith, Senior Curator of Clocktime October 2023 End Notes [1] Fraser 2008; Morrill 1990. [2] Ó Siochrú 2008. [3] Finch et al. 2019, 177. [4] For details of Oliver’s Cromwell’s watch, which was sold by the antiquarian Martyn Downer at the Chelsea Antiques Fair on 26 September 2023, see https://www.deepsouthmedia.co.uk/oliver-cromwells-being-sold-at-the-chelsea-antiques-fair/. [5] Carter 2021, 34. [6] Carter 2021, 36. [7] For a history of the Goldsmiths’ Company, see https://www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk/company/history/history-of-the-company/ [8] Taylor 2018, 13, Catalogue No. 26; Garnier and Hollis 2018, 165, Catalogue No. 26. [9] Ibid. [10] Charles II was King of Scotland from 1649, as the Stuart dynasty retained the monarchy in Scotland during the Commonwealth of England. References Carter, J. 2021. The John C Taylor Collection: Part I (Selling Exhibition Catalogue, Carter Marsh & Co). Winchester: Carter Marsh & Co. Finch, A. A., V. J. Finch and A. W. Finch. 2019. ‘David Ramsay, c. 1580–1659’ in Antiquarian Horology 40:2. Fraser, A. .2008. Cromwell, Our Chief of Men. London: Orion Publishing. Garnier, R. and L. Hollis. 2018. Innovation & Collaboration: The early development of the pendulum clock in London. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. Morrill, J. (editor). 1990. Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution. New York, NY: Longman Pub Group. Ó Siochrú, M. 2008. God’s Executioner. Faber and Faber. Taylor, J. C. 2018. Innovation & Collaboration: Exhibition guide. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. Image Credits Oliver Cromwell after Samuel Cooper. Oil on canvas, feigned oval, based on a work of 1656. NPG 514 © National Portrait Gallery, London, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0, https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw01602/Oliver-Cromwell?LinkID=mp01116&search=sas&sText=oliver+cromwell&role=sit&rNo=9 Cromwell gazing at the body of Charles I, 1830-1900. ID:46.78/531 © Museum of London
