Charles Vane (1620 - 1672)

Born 1 Nov 1620 in Chancery Lane, London, England

Ancestors

Died 1672 at about age 51 in Chopwell, Durham, England [uncertain]

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Biography

Charles Vane was the fourth surviving son of Sir Henry Vane and his wife Frances Darcy. He was born 1 November 1620 at Chancery Lane, London, as recorded in the parish register of Shipbourne St Giles, Kent, where he was probably baptised, as were other children of the family. ^[1]

Charles Vane did not seem to have ambitions for a military career. He entered Magdelene College, Oxford, at age 15 on 17 March 1636/7, and on 6 December 1638, Oxford incorporated an M A degree received from the Huguenot university of Saumur. ^{[2] [3]} Like several other of his brothers, Charles was educated as a boy "beyond seas". ^[4] He may have entered the Inner Temple in 1637. ^[2]

However, in 1646, Captain Charles Vane, then commander of Raby Castle, was named to the county committee of Durham and appointed a deputy lieutenant. ^{[5] [6]} However, in most other documents of the time, he was referred to as "Mister" or "Esquire", with no military title.

On 19 November 1649, Charles Vane was appointed deputy to his brother Sir Henry Vane, treasurer of the navy. ^[7] But shortly afterward, on 29 January of the next year, he was appointed resident agent of the commonwealth at Portugal, and departed with a fleet commanded by [[Blake-1586|General-at-Sea Robert Blake].^[8] The occasion was the presence in Lisbon of a privateering fleet commanded by the royalist prince Rupert, to which the king of Portugal had granted refuge, to the displeasure of the English Commonwealth.^{[9] [10] [11]}

Following this successful adventure, Charles Vane in 1652 purchased a new home in County Durham where his father and most of his brothers were then situated: Chopwell Manor, which came on the block after its former owner was sequestered by the Commonwealth. ^[12] He would henceforth styled himself as "of Chopwell".

In 1653, Charles' brother Sir Henry Vane the younger was forced from power by Oliver Cromwell.^[13] In 1655, their father Sir Henry Vane the elder died. ^[14] With his connections to power diminished, Charles Vane apparently retired to private life - even moreso with the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660.

Charles Vane signed his Will ^[15] on 12 July 1672. He left no wife or children to inherit his estate, which he left to his three surviving brothers as executors: Sir George, William, and Sir Walter Vane. Bequests went to his sisters and their children; of his surviving brothers, only Sir George left children to inherit from their uncle. The Will was proved 26 October 1672.

Charles Vane was buried July 25 1672 at the Vane family church of St Giles in Shipbourne, Kent, where his parents and many siblings were interred. ^{[16] [17]}

Sources

1. ↑ Kent : Shipbourne : St Giles : Parish Register : "Parish Register" database, FreeREG : viewed 28 Aug 2021 baptism Charles Vane
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "Vachell-Vyner." Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714. Ed. Joseph Foster. Oxford: University of Oxford, 1891. 1533-1549. British History Online. Web. 28 August 2021. Oxford
3. ↑ Wood, Anthony. Athenae Oxonienses. London: 1813-1820. p. 504. Athenae
4. ↑ Dalton, Charles. History of the Wray Family. Chapman and Hall, Ltd. 1881. p. 114. Dalton
5. ↑ "House of Commons Journal Volume 4: 22 January 1646." Journal of the House of Commons: Volume 4, 1644-1646. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1802. 413-415. British History Online. Web. 28 August 2021. Captain
6. ↑ "House of Commons Journal Volume 4: 26 January 1646." Journal of the House of Commons: Volume 4, 1644-1646. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1802. 417-419. British History Online. Web. 28 August 2021. Deputy
7. ↑ Warrants." Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Interregnum, 1649-50. Ed. Mary Anne Everett Green. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1875. 526-570. British History Online. Web. 28 August 2021. Warrants
8. ↑ "Volume 5: January 1650." Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Interregnum, 1649-50. Ed. Mary Anne Everett Green. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1875. 464-500. British History Online. Web. 28 August 2021. Appointment
9. ↑ BCW Project: Prince Rupert at Lisbon Rupert
10. ↑ "State Papers, 1650: April-June." A Collection of the State Papers of John Thurloe, Volume 1, 1638-1653. Ed. Thomas Birch. London: Fletcher Gyles, 1742. 139-154. British History Online. Web. 28 August 2021. Thurloe
11. ↑ "House of Commons Journal Volume 6: 4 July 1650." Journal of the House of Commons: Volume 6, 1648-1651. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1802. 436-437. British History Online. Web. 28 August 2021. Council
12. ↑ "Cases before the Committee: February 1652." Calendar, Committee For Compounding: Part 4. Ed. Mary Anne Everett Green. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1892. 2948-2966. British History Online. Web. 28 August 2021. Chopwell
13. ↑ Dissolution of the Rump Parliament Dissolution
14. ↑ Firth, C. H. (1885–1900). [1] "Vane, Henry (1589-1655)"]; Dictionary of National Biography.
15. ↑ Will of Charles Vane of Chopwell, Durham. PROB 11/340/228 Will
16. ↑ Kent Burials: Shipbourne, St Giles, Kent, England Charles Burial
17. ↑ Kent County Council, parish registers: St Giles Shipbourne image 1672 Burial