Admitted 6 November, 1610.
Second son of Henry White of Hentland, in the parish of Rhoscrowther, Pembrokeshire, where he was born on 29 June, 1590, He was commonly known as "Century White," from his most popular publication mentioned below. He was called to the Bar 19 June, 1618. Being a Puritan he wa* much employed by members of that party in various transactions. In 1640 he was elected member for Southwark and took an active part in opposition to the king. He died in 1645 and was buried in the Temple Church, where, on a monument erected to him, occurred the lines—
"Here lyeth John, a burning, shining light.
His name, life, actions, were all White."
During his life he published: Speech concerning the Tryal of the Twelve Bishops (1641); Speech concerning Episcopacy (1641); The First Century of Scandalous Malignant Priests made and admitted into Benefices by the Prelates (1643); A Looking Glass for Cowardly Governours (1644).
Admitted 5 August, 1619.
Eldest son of Sir James Whitelock (q.v.) of Fowley Court, Bucks. Born in Fleet Street, London on 6 Aug. 1605. Two years after his call to the Bar on 24 Nov. 1626, he was chosen Master of the Revels by his brother Templars, and in 1633 was one of the committee of management for the preparation of a masque to be performed before the king and queen. He was chosen member for Marlow in the Long Parliament, and was one of the most active promoters of the impeachment of the Earl of Strafford. He was one of the Commissioners appointed to treat with the king, and a friend of Cromwell, but, though one of the Commissioners of the Great Seal, refused to be concerned in the trial of Charles I. On 27 Oct. 1648, he became a Bencher of the Inn, and in the same year was elected High Steward of Oxford, and in 1653 went as ambassador to Sweden. In 1656 he was chosen Speaker of the House of Commons, and the following year was called to the Upper House as one of "Cromwell's Lords." In 1659 he acted as President of the Council of State and Keeper of the Great Seal, but on the approach of the Restoration he retired to Chilton Park, in Wiltshire, where he died in 1675.
Bulstrode Whitelock is a prominent figure in the public history of his time. He is author of the following treatises: Monarchy asserted to be the best, most ancient and legal form of Government (1660); Memoires of English Affaires—from Charles I. to the Restoration (1682); Essays, Ecclesiastical and Civil (1706); Memorials of English Affairs, with some Account of the Author's Life, by William. Penn (1707); Notes upon the King's Writ for Choosing Members of Parliament (1766); A Journal of the Swedish Embassy in 1753 and 1754 … with an Appendix of Original Papers (1772).
His two eldest sons, James and William, were admitted members of the Inn on the same day, 4 June, 1647. James was born on 13 July, 1631, and died in 1701. Having assisted Cromwell in Ireland, and as colonel of an Oxfordshire militia regiment, he was knighted by him on 6 Jan. 1657. He represented Aylesbury in the Parliament of 1659. William also received the honour of knighthood, but from William III., on 10 April, 1689.
