Nathaniel Fiennes | |
|---|---|
 Nathaniel Fiennes c. 1640 | |
| Member of Parliament for Oxford University | |
| In office September 1656 – February 1658 | |
| Lord Keeper of the Great Seal | |
| In office June 1655 – April 1659 | |
| Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire | |
| In office September 1654 – January 1655 | |
| Parliamentarian Governor of Bristol | |
| In office May 1643 – July 1643 | |
| Member of Parliament for Banbury | |
| In office April 1640 – December 1648 (Fiennes excluded by Pride's Purge) | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1608 Broughton Castle, Oxfordshire |
| Died | 16 December 1669 (aged 61) Newton Tony, Wiltshire |
| Spouses |
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| Children | (1) Nathaniel (1637–1672); William (1639–1698) (2) Anne; Frances; Celia (1662–1741); Mary (1663–1737) |
| Alma mater | New College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Religious radical, peer and politician |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Parliamentarian |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles/wars | |
Nathaniel Fiennes, c. 1608 to 16 December 1669, was a younger son of the Puritan nobleman and politician, William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele. He sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1659, and served with the Parliamentarian army in the First English Civil War. In 1643, he was dismissed from the army for alleged incompetence after surrendering Bristol and sentenced to death before being pardoned. Exonerated in 1645, he actively supported Oliver Cromwell during The Protectorate, being Lord Keeper of the Great Seal from 1655 to 1659.
Elected to the Long Parliament in November 1640, Fiennes played a leading role in the opposition to Charles I prior to the outbreak of civil war in August 1642. In the early years of the war, his objections to any form of established church aligned him with Cromwell and the Independents, rather than the moderate Presbyterians who dominated Parliament. However, his belief in a balanced political solution meant that after Parliament's victory in 1646, he supported a compromise peace settlement with Charles I. As a result, he was one of the MPs excluded by Pride's Purge in December 1648 along with his younger brother John Fiennes, and played no part in the Execution of Charles I.
Fiennes re-entered politics when Cromwell became Lord Protector in 1653, sitting as an MP in the Second and Third Protectorate Parliaments, as well as being made Lord Keeper of the Great Seal in June 1655. After Cromwell died in September 1658, he backed the succession of his son Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector, but lost office when the latter resigned in April 1659. Following the 1660 Stuart Restoration, he was pardoned under the Indemnity and Oblivion Act, and lived quietly at home in Newton Tony, Wiltshire, until his death on 16 December 1669.