Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford,, was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1632 to 1640 he was Lord Deputy of Ireland, where he established a strong authoritarian rule. Recalled to England, he became a leading advisor to the King, attempting to strengthen the royal position against Parliament. When Parliament condemned Lord Strafford to death, Charles reluctantly signed the death warrant and Strafford was executed. He had been advanced several times in the Peerage of England during his career, being created 1st Baron Wentworth in 1628, 1st Viscount Wentworth in late 1628 or early 1629, and, finally, 1st Earl of Strafford in January 1640. He was known as Sir Thomas Wentworth, 2nd Baronet, between 1614 and 1628.
Portrait by Anthony van Dyck, 1639
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford in an Armour, 1639, another portrait by Sir Anthony van Dyck
The Earl of Strafford with his secretary, Sir Philip Mainwaring
Detailed engraving of trial of Strafford by Wenceslas Hollar, labelling various people who were present
The English Civil War refers to a series of civil wars and political machinations between Royalists and Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the struggle consisted of the First English Civil War and the Second English Civil War. The Anglo-Scottish War of 1650 to 1652 is sometimes referred to as the Third English Civil War.
The Battle of Naseby, 14 June 1645; Parliamentarian victory marked the decisive turning point in the English Civil War.
Charles I believed in the ‘Divine right of kings’; painting by Van Dyck
Henrietta Maria, painted by Peter Lely, 1660
A sitting of the Long Parliament, 1640