William Penn (Royal Navy officer) - Wikipedia

William Penn (Royal Navy officer) - Wikipedia
Jump to content
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
English naval officer and politician (1621–1670)
Admiral
Sir William Penn
1666 portrait
of Penn by
Peter Lely
Born
1621-04-23
23 April 1621
Bristol
Somerset
Died
16 September 1670
(1670-09-16)
(aged 49)
Walthamstow
Essex
Allegiance
Commonwealth of England
Kingdom of England
Branch
English navy
Royal Navy
Service years
–1670
Rank
Admiral
Commands
Jamaica Station
Conflicts
English Civil War
First Anglo-Dutch War
Second Anglo-Dutch War
Signature
This article
may require
copy editing
for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling
You can assist by
editing it
March 2026
Learn how and when to remove this message
Admiral
Sir William Penn
(23 April 1621 – 16 September 1670) was an English naval officer and politician who represented
Weymouth and Melcombe Regis
in the
House of Commons of England
from 1660 to 1670. He was the father of
William Penn
, the founder of the
Province of Pennsylvania
, who named the colony after his father.
Early life and education
edit
Penn was born in St Thomas Parish in
Bristol
England
, to Captain Giles Penn, an English military officer and consul of
Salé
Morocco
and his wife Joan Gilbert.
He served his apprenticeship at sea with his father.
Career
edit
Naval career
edit
Coat of Arms of William Penn
Macroom Castle gatehouse
In the
First English Civil War
, which was fought between 1642 and 1646, Penn fought on the side of the
Parliamentarians
, and commanded a ship in the squadron maintained against
Charles I of England
in the Irish seas. The service was arduous and called for both energy and good seamanship. In 1648, he was arrested and sent to London, but was soon released, and sent back as
rear admiral
in
Assurance
. The exact cause of the arrest remains unknown, but it may be presumed that he came under suspicion of corresponding with the king's supporters. It is highly probable that he did so, for, until the
Restoration of 1660
, he was regularly in communication with the
Royalists
, while serving the parliament, or
Cromwell
, so long as their service was profitable, and making no scruple of applying for grants of the confiscated lands of the king's Irish friends.
not specific enough to verify
After 1650, Penn served as commander-in-chief of the southern fleet in the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean in pursuit of the Royalists under
Prince Rupert
. After an action at
Macroom
in
County Cork
Ireland
, he was awarded
Macroom Castle
. He was so active on this service that when he returned home on 18 March 1651, he could boast that he had not put foot on shore for more than a year.
In the
First Anglo-Dutch War
(1652–1654), he served in the navy of the
Commonwealth of England
, commanding squadrons at the battles of
the Kentish Knock
(1652),
Portland
the Gabbard
and
Scheveningen
(1653). In this last battle, a sniper from his ship killed Dutch admiral and fleet commander
Maarten Tromp
on the Dutch flagship
Brederode
In 1654, he offered to carry the fleet over to
Charles II of England
, but in October of the same year he had no scruple in accepting the naval command in the expedition to the
West Indies
sent out by Cromwell.
In 1655, he commanded the fleet that launched a bungled
attack
on the Spanish colony of
La Hispaniola
. He was not responsible for the shameful repulse at
Santo Domingo
, which was due to a panic among the troops.
Jamaica
was ruled by the heirs of
Christopher Columbus
, until gradually the Catholic Church grew to dominate the island. The crypto-Jewish population following the strengthening of the church aided the English who seized the less desirable island for the
Commonwealth
régime, and Penn established the
Jamaica Station
there.
On their return, he and his military colleague,
Robert Venables
, were sent to the
Tower
. He made a humble submission, and when released retired to the estates of confiscated land he had received in Ireland.
On 20 December 1658, Penn was knighted by
Henry Cromwell
at Dublin Castle, but
the Protectorate
honour passed into oblivion at the
Restoration
in May 1660.
Political career
edit
In April 1660, Penn was elected as one of the Members of Parliament for
Weymouth and Melcombe Regis
and sat in the
Convention Parliament
He played a small part in the
Restoration
in May 1660 he was on the
Earl of Sandwich
's ship, the
Naseby
, which was sent to bring
King Charles II
home to England from his exile at
Amsterdam
in the
Dutch Republic
. During the voyage, Penn made himself known to the Duke of York, who was soon to be appointed Lord High Admiral, and with whom he had a lasting influence.
In 1661, Penn was re-elected as a member for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis in the
Cavalier Parliament
. In the
Second Anglo-Dutch War
, he was flag captain at the
Battle of Lowestoft
(1665), serving under
James, Duke of York
, and later in the same year was admiral of one of the fleets sent to intercept
Ruyter
, despite suffering from gout.
Although Penn was not a high-minded man, he is a figure of considerable importance in English naval history. As admiral and
General at Sea
for Parliament, he helped in 1653 to draw up the first code of tactics provided for the English navy,
Duties of a Commander at Sea, 1664, Instructions by Sir W. Penn
10
It became the basis of the "Duke of York's Sailing and Fighting Instructions", which continued for long to supply the orthodox tactical creed of the navy.
Penn was an early proponent of fighting in line ahead, so as to bring as much firepower as possible to bear.
11
Legacy
edit
Penn's memorial in
St Mary Redcliffe
church in
Bristol
A key source for the adult life of Penn is the diary of his colleague at the
Navy Board
, and next door neighbour in Seething Lane,
Samuel Pepys
12
However, Pepys's assessments have to be tempered by the jealousy that he evidently held for Penn.
13
In 1660, Penn was appointed a Commissioner of the
Navy Board
, where he worked with Pepys,
Clerk of the Acts
. The character of "mean fellow", or "false knave",
14
given him by Pepys is borne out by much that is otherwise known of him. He also was an excellent seaman and a good fighter.
Like Pepys and the
Earl of Sandwich
, Penn was a "moderate"
Roundhead
who succeeded in maintaining his position at the Restoration. Penn appears several times in Pepys diary. A typical entry from 5 April 1666 reads, "To the office, where the falsenesse and impertinencies of Sir W. Pen would make a man mad to think of."
He is also referenced in an entry from 1665, which states, "At night home and up to the leads [roof], were contrary to expectation driven down again with a stinke by Sir W. Pen's shying of a shitten pot in their house of office".
The diary entry for 4 July 1666 includes a long account of Penn's analysis of what was to be learned from the
Four Days' Battle
, which ended with the statement, "He did talk very rationally to me, insomuch that I took more pleasure this night in hearing him discourse then I ever did in my life in anything that he said."
As a native of the
West Country
, Sir William Penn is buried in the church of
St Mary Redcliffe
in
Bristol
. His helm and half-armour are hung on the wall, together with the tattered banners of Dutch ships that he captured in battle. His portrait by Lely, part of the
Flagmen of Lowestoft
series, is in the
Painted Hall at Greenwich
. After his death, his son,
William
, accepted the grant of land in the American colonies in lieu of
money owed by the Crown to his father.
clarification needed
William Penn had wanted to call the land "New Wales", which was objected to by the Secretary of State, Privy Council member and Welshman
Leoline Jenkins
. Penn instead put forward the name "Sylvania". The Council then chose to tweak this new name a bit by adding the prefix "Penn" to honour the late Admiral, William Penn's father. After some protestation from William Penn, he reluctantly accepted it.
15
Personal life
edit
Penn's son
William
at 22 years old in 1666; he later founded the
Province of Pennsylvania
, one of the initial
Thirteen Colonies
in
British America
On 6 June 1643, he married Margaret Jasper, a daughter of John Jasper, a wealthy Dutch merchant from Rotterdam. They had three children:
William Penn
(1644–1718), who married
Gulielma Maria Springett
(1644–1694), and later,
Hannah Margaret Callowhill
(1671–1726)
Margaret "Pegg" Penn, who married
Anthony Lowther
Richard Penn
References
edit
Jenkins 1896
, p. 14.
Hannay 1911
, p. 99.
Cundall, p. xx
"Jewish pirates of the Caribbean"
The Jerusalem Post
. 9 April 2016.
ISSN
0792-822X
. Retrieved
2 January
2024
Kritzler, Edward (3 November 2009).
Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean
. New York: Anchor. pp.
59–
60.
ISBN
978-0-7679-1952-4
Ferris 1983
Shaw 1906
, p. 224.
"Penn, Sir William", in Latham, R (ed),
The Diary of Samuel Pepys
, volume X Companion (Bell & Hyman, 1983)
Tomalin, Claire (2003).
Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self
(1st ed.). London: Penguin Books. p. 125.
ISBN
0-140-28234-3
Street, Lucie (1986).
An Uncommon Sailor: A Portrait of Admiral Sir William Penn
(1st ed.). Bourne End, Buckinghamshire: The Kensal Press. p. 112.
ISBN
0-946041-47-4
Latham, R.
Tomalin, Claire (2003).
Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self
(1st ed.). London: Penguin Books. p. 142.
ISBN
0-140-28234-3
Tomalin, Claire (2003).
Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self
(1st ed.). London: Penguin Books. p. 123.
ISBN
0-140-28234-3
The Diary of Samuel Pepys
Murphy, A R.
William Penn: a life
. Oxford University Press. 2019
Sources
edit
Cundall, Frank (1915).
Historic Jamaica
. West India Committee.
Ferris, John. P. (1983),
"Penn, William (1621–70), of the Navy Office, London and Wanstead, Essex."
, in Henning, B.D. (ed.),
The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660–1690
, Boydell and Brewer
Jenkins, Howard M. (1896), "The Family of William Penn",
The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
, vol. XX, [Philadelphia] Historical Society of Pennsylvania, pp.
1–
29
Shaw, William Arthur (1906),
The Knights of England: A complete record from the earliest time to the present day of the knights of all the orders of chivalry in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and of knights bachelors, incorporating a complete list of knights bachelors dubbed in Ireland
, vol. 2, London: Sherratt and Hughes
Street, Lucie (1986).
An Uncommon Sailor: A Portrait of Admiral Sir William Penn
(1st ed.). Bourne End, Buckinghamshire: The Kensal Press. p. 112.
ISBN
0-946041-47-4
Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain
Hannay, David (1911), "
Penn, William (British admiral)
", in
Chisholm, Hugh
(ed.),
Encyclopædia Britannica
, vol. 21 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, p. 99
Further reading
edit
Street, Lucie (1988),
An Uncommon Sailor A Portrait of Admiral Sir William Penn : English Naval Supremacy
, New York: St. Martin's Press
External links
edit
Wikisource
has the text of the 1885–1900
Dictionary of National Biography's
article about
Penn, William (1621-1670)
familysearch.org
Accessed 3 November 2007
Penn Family Genealogy
Archived
21 October 2006 at the
Wayback Machine
Authority control databases
International
ISNI
VIAF
GND
FAST
WorldCat
National
United States
Spain
Netherlands
Israel
People
Deutsche Biographie
DDB
Other
IdRef
SNAC
Yale LUX
Retrieved from "
Categories
1621 births
1670 deaths
17th-century Royal Navy personnel
English MPs 1660
English MPs 1661–1679
English people of Welsh descent
Lords of the Admiralty
Members of Trinity House
Military personnel from Bristol
Penn family
Politicians from Bristol
Prisoners in the Tower of London
Roundheads
Royal Navy admirals
Royal Navy personnel of the First Anglo-Dutch War
Royal Navy personnel of the Second Anglo-Dutch War
Hidden categories:
Articles with short description
Short description is different from Wikidata
Use British English from October 2013
All Wikipedia articles written in British English
Use dmy dates from October 2020
Wikipedia articles needing copy edit from March 2026
All Wikipedia articles needing copy edit
Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from May 2019
All Wikipedia articles needing clarification
Wikipedia articles needing clarification from August 2025
Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference
Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica
Webarchive template wayback links
William Penn (Royal Navy officer)
Add topic