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Admiral Sir William Penn (1621-1670)
William Penn was born in Bristol in 1621, son to Giles Penn, merchant and seaman from the ancient family of the Penns of Penn Lodge, in Wiltshire.
After having served his apprenticeship at sea with his father, he became a Captain in the navy by the age of 21. He became Rear-Admiral of Ireland at the age of 23, and Vice-Admiral of England and General (at this time, Admirals were sometimes styled Generals) during the first Dutch War at 32.
He fought on the side of Parliament during the English Civil War, commanding a ship in a squadron maintained against the King in the Irish Sea, and was reknowned for being an excellent seaman and fighter. However up until the Restoration, he was in regular communication with the Royalists while serving Cromwell's Parliament, so long as he could profit from such contacts, and this may have caused his temporary arrest in 1648, from which he was soon after released. Despite his contact with the Royalists, he made no scruples in gaining for himself many confiscated lands of the King's Irish friends.
In 1650 he was despatched to the Mediterranean in pursuit of the Royalists under Prince Rupert, spending more than a year at sea. When the first Dutch War broke out Penn had by now been appointed Vice-Admiral, and his successes in battles throughout the war to it's end in July 1653 saw him included in the Commission of Admirals and Generals at sea exercising military command of the fleet, as well as becoming a commissioner for managing the affairs of the Admiralty.
In 1654 Penn offered to carry command of the fleet over the King in exile, and yet later in the same year, he had no scruples in accepting a Naval Command from Cromwell of an expedition sent out the West Indies, which was to take possession of Jamaica. On his return to England he retired to the estate he had confiscated from lands in Ireland.
He maintained his communication with the Royalists, and in 1660 was involved in the return of the King to England in the Restoration. In the same year he was knighted, and reappointed Commissioner of the Navy by the King. Serving as Captain of the Fleet under the Duke of York (who later became King James II) he distinguished himself during the second Dutch War after which he took leave of the sea but continued to act as a Commissioner for the Navy until 1669.
Penn retired to his home in Wanstead in 1669 on account of his poor health and bodily infirmities. He lived in a mansion called Elm Hall which stood more or less where the present day Wanstead London Underground station is situated. As a former student of Nightingale High School, I can also remember that one of the four team houses at the school was dedicated to Penn, although I have no idea whether it referred to the Admiral or his son. The three other houses were Sheridan, Mildmay and Bradley.
King Charles II approved the naming of the state of Pennsylvania in America, which had been founded by Penn's son William, in his honour. Penn died in september of 1670, and was buried in the church of St Mary Redcliffe in Bristol. His portrait by Lely is in the Painted Hall at Greenwich.
See also these other related articles:
| Penn, William (1644-1718) | |
| The George and Dragon, and Elm Hall | |