The Earl of Buckinghamshire at the Society's 20th anniversary service in Great Hampden Church

The Ship Money monument at Prestwood

The Palace of Westminster in the 17th century

Pyrton Manor, home of John Hampden's first wife

The former Lord Williams's Grammar School, Thame

The Earl of Buckinghamshire at the 350th anniversary ceremony in Thame

St Mary Magdalene church, Great Hampden

Charles I tries to arrest the Five Members in the House of Commons

John Hampden's funeral in 1643

Arthur Goodwin, Hampden's lifelong friend
Devonshire Collection, Chatsworth. Reproduced by permission of Chatsworth Settlement Trustees.

The Great Hall at Hampden House

St Mary Magdalene church and Hampden House

Hampden's regiment marching through Thame

Archives

This is a collection of articles, some in Adobe PDF format, relating to John Hampden, the Civil Wars, and the 17th century in general. The copyright to these documents resides with the John Hampden Society (except where otherwise stated) and may only be downloaded and printed for purposes of private study.

To download a free copy of Abobe Acrobat Reader, click here

  • What Do We Know About The Battle of Aylesbury (1642) – by Dale Smith

    What Do We Know About The Battle of Aylesbury (1642) – by Dale Smith

    The Battle of Aylesbury is one of those events that seems always to evoke strong emotions. The publication of Charles Cordell’s historical novel, “God’s Vindictive Wrath”, has revived  the debate about whether the battle actually happened, and if who was involved, and where and when was it fought.  Member Dale Smith has produced a helpful ... Read more
  • Great Kimble – The Hampden Connection (a talk by Roger Howgate)

    Great Kimble – The Hampden Connection (a talk by Roger Howgate)

    Click on video
  • Talk on the Battle of Worcester 1651, and Oliver Cromwell’s part in it

    Talk on the Battle of Worcester 1651, and Oliver Cromwell’s part in it

    The talk on the 18th November was recorded on Zoom and will be available to view free of charge for the next month. Link to talk on the Battle of Worcester The pass code is 97jVHsi. The Battle of Worcester was the final, decisive battle of the English Civil War in 1651, and one of Cromwell’s ... Read more
  • Video: A discussion about the importance of John Pym (1584 -1643) – Professor Andrew Hopper and Dr Stephen Roberts

    Video: A discussion about the importance of John Pym (1584 -1643) – Professor Andrew Hopper and Dr Stephen Roberts

    Click on the link below to listen to a discussion by Professor Andrew Hopper of the University of Oxford and distinguished historian, Dr Stephen Roberts about the importance of John Pym. https://www.worldturnedupsidedown.co.uk/podcast/john-pym-1584-1643-pivotal-parliamentary-figure-and-opponent-of-the-king/ John Hampden and John Pym worked closely together in the Short and Long Parliaments.
  • Recording of the talk by Dr Vivienne Larminie on 25th February 2023: John Hampden: The most popular man in the House.

    Recording of the talk by Dr Vivienne Larminie on 25th February 2023: John Hampden: The most popular man in the House.

    Dr Larminie shared with us some of  her most recent research about the Parliaments of the 1640s. She was a Senior Research Fellow at the History of Parliament Trust and the Assistant Editor of House of Commons 1640-1660. Click here to view the recording.  
  • Dr Nusbacher’s talk on John Hampden and Oliver Cromwell -7th October 2021

    Dr Nusbacher’s talk on John Hampden and Oliver Cromwell -7th October 2021

    Click here for link to video of Dr Nusbacher’s talk  
  • Hampden House Gardens and Park: A Bucks Gardens Trust Research and Recording Project

    Hampden House Gardens and Park: A Bucks Gardens Trust Research and Recording Project

    The link below provides access to a dossier for Hampden House Park and Gardens prepared as part of the Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust Research and Recording Project. Work on this project started in 2014 and the dossier was published in September 2020. This site is one of several hundred designed landscapes in the county identified in ... Read more
  • John Drinkwater’s notes on his book – John Hampden’s England

    John Drinkwater’s notes on his book – John Hampden’s England

    A transcript of handwritten notes made by John Drinkwater on the reverse of pages of the typescript of his 1933 biography, John Hampden’s England. Click here  
  • Facsimile of the Domesday Book entry for Great and Little Hampden

    Facsimile of the Domesday Book entry for Great and Little Hampden

    A copy of the entry for Hampden in the Domesday Book Click Here The Domesday is not easy to read. It is written in a heavily abbreviated form of Latin with small marks to show where a letter or letters have been left out
  • The origins of the English Civil War – a short video clip

    The origins of the English Civil War – a short video clip

    A video clip produced by the Royal Holloway University Click here Causes of the English Civil War
  • A Military Historian’s Civil War

    A Military Historian’s Civil War

    Professor Ian Beckett's illustrated talk at the Buckinghamshire County Museum, Aylesbury, on 6th July 2019.
  • John Hampden’s Will & Testament

    John Hampden’s Will & Testament

    The text of John Hampden’s last will and testament. Pages 99 – 105 of the document. Click Here Dated 1636 with a codicil added at the start of the Civil War on 30th June 1642 (a year before his death).
  • The Battle of Chalgrove 1643 – Simon Marsh’s narrative

    The Battle of Chalgrove 1643 – Simon Marsh’s narrative

    The Battle of Chalgrove – Simon Marsh’s narrative An account by Simon Marsh of the Battle of Chalgrove drawing on contemporaneous accounts and relevant historic maps.    
  • The Battle of Chalgrove – links to the website of Colonel John Hampden’s Regimente

    The Battle of Chalgrove – links to the website of Colonel John Hampden’s Regimente

    There is a wealth of information on the website of Colonel John Hampden’s Regiment. Click on this link for access to the further reading section of the John Hampden Regimente website Click on this link for access to a scholarly article by Derek and Gill Lester The military and political significance of Battle of Chalgrove ... Read more
  • The Death of John Hampden

    The Death of John Hampden

    The death of John Hampden by Professor John Adair, the President of the John Hampden Society Click here An article by Hampden’s latest biographer into the controversial circumstances surrounding Hampden’s death and the exhumation of his presumed body by Lord Nugent in 1828.
  • The Long Parliament and John Hampden

    The Long Parliament and John Hampden

    The Long Parliament and John Hampden by Dr Paul Hooper A much longer successor to Dr Hooper’s previous work, split into chapters as follows: Chapter 1 – Preface and background Chapter 2 – The opening weeks, elections, the dissolutions of 1629 & 1640 Chapter 3 – The trial of Strafford Chapter 4 – The Star ... Read more
  • John Hampden in the Short Parliament 1640

    John Hampden in the Short Parliament 1640

    An in-depth look at Hampden’s activities during the famous Short Parliament of April/May 1640, by Dr Paul Hooper one of the Society’s leading historians. Click here
  • John Hampden – War Leader? by Jonathan Keen

    John Hampden – War Leader? by Jonathan Keen

    A scholarly assessment of Hampden’s role as both a political and military leader during the period 1641-1643, written as a third-year university dissertation by Jonathan Keen. Click here
  • Macaulay’s Critical and Historical Essays No.1 – John Hampden

    Macaulay’s Critical and Historical Essays No.1 – John Hampden

    A link to Lord Macaulay’s review of Lord Nugent’s 1831 biography of John Hampden. Macaulay comments on Hampden’s life and its significance . This is a part of one of Macaulay’s most important works, hosted on the Project Gutenberg website.  Some of the information about Hampden is now known to be inaccurate, but this long ... Read more
  • Shared Memory: John Hampden, New World and Old by Dr Maija Jansson

    Shared Memory: John Hampden, New World and Old by Dr Maija Jansson

    Published in the December 2008 issue of The Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies, this meticulously-researched article by Dr Maija Jansson looks at the way in which Macaulay shaped the myths we associate with Hampden, and how the Patriot’s memory inspired the American colonists. Click here Dr Jansson was Director Emerita of the Yale Center for Parliamentary ... Read more
  • Hampden’s Disinterment

    Hampden’s Disinterment

    An article in Chambers’ Book of Days about Lord Nugent’s supposed disinterment of Hampden’s body in 1828. Scroll down to the third article. Click here
  • The Life and Death of John Hampden Junior

    The Life and Death of John Hampden Junior

    An investigation by Roy Bailey, one of the Society’s founders, into the mystery surrounding the death of John Hampden’s eldest son. Click here
  • Was Cromwell at the Battle of Aylesbury?

    Was Cromwell at the Battle of Aylesbury?

    An investigation by Bob Hammond,the Society’s former Vice-Chairman, into some contradictory accounts. Click here
  • The First Green Jackets?

    The First Green Jackets?

    An article, by Roy Bailey, tracing the history of the Royal Green Jackets (now a part of The Rifles) back to Hampden’s Greencoats. Written for the Regimental Association’s annual journal Swift and Bold. Click here
  • John Hampden – The Rise From Obscurity 1594 – 1636

    John Hampden – The Rise From Obscurity 1594 – 1636

    John Hampden – The Rise From Obscurity 1594 – 1636 by Roy Bailey One of the four papers presented to the Day School which the Society held jointly with the Cromwell Association at Thame on Saturday 27 November 2004.
  • The Downing Street Campaigns

    The Downing Street Campaigns

    A description of the campaign The Downing Street Campaign – Patriot No. 28 Reply from the DCMS March 2000 Reply from Westminster City Council April 2000 A copy of the reply from Margaret Hodge MP (Secretary of State for DCMS) rejecting the call to change the name of 10 Downing Street to Hampden House Reply ... Read more
  • A History of Hampden House

    A History of Hampden House

    A History of Hampden House by Tim Oliver A history of John Hampden’s ancestral home by the present owner.
  • Great Hampden Parish Register

    Great Hampden Parish Register

    Great Hampden Parish Register The complete transcription of the Hampden family entries in the register of St Mary Magdalene Church, Great Hampden, by Derek Lester. Entries in the Parish Register of Great Hampden Church by Reverend Robert Lenthall in August and September 1647 Robert Lenthall’s record of the deaths at Great Hampden of his wife ... Read more
  • A Ship Money protest

    A Ship Money protest

    A Ship Money protest A transcription of the protest by the people of Chesham against the Ship Money assessment in 1635.
  • Visit to the home of John Hampden the Patriot

    Visit to the home of John Hampden the Patriot

    Visit to the home of John Hampden the Patriot A transcription of an article in the Monthly Record of the Westbourne Park Baptist Chapel of a visit to Hampden House in 1902.
  • Charles I and his Parliaments: The Road to Civil War

    Charles I and his Parliaments: The Road to Civil War

    A precis of an essay written by one of the Society’s Trustees at the end a series of University lectures on the Early Stuarts by Brian Cox Charles I and his Parliaments: The Road to Civil War
  • Philip, Lord Wharton

    Philip, Lord Wharton

    An article about a revolutionary aristocrat who married Arthur Goodwin’s daughter Jane. From the Journal of the United Reform Church History Society by K.W. Wadsworth Click here
  • The Great Hampden Walk – historic sites and scenery

    The Great Hampden Walk – historic sites and scenery

    A  circular five mile walk through beautiful countryside starting at the car park of the Hampden Arms at Great Hampden. The walk is mostly on bridleways and paths passes Hampden House and Church, and the Ship Money Memorial. The walk was devised by Helen Lodge for the Chiltern Society. Click here:    Hampden_Monument Walk    
  • John Hampden’s Regiment of Foot.

    John Hampden’s Regiment of Foot.

    An article on the organisation and financing of John Hampden’s Regiment of Foot. Please click to download