Things you may not know about Oliver Cromwell
The young Oliver loved sports and games rather than studying.
MoreThis had been particularly noted at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.
When his father died, Cromwell had to look after his mother and seven sisters.
MoreThis was difficult at the time and Oliver had to leave university to try and earn some money.
Cromwell's marriage was a happy one.
MoreIt is not known how Cromwell came to meet his wife but the few surviving letters between the couple, dating from the early 1650s, show a deep affection. In one letter he wrote to his wife: "My Dearest, I could not satisfy myself to omit this post, although I have not much to write; yet indeed I love to write to my dear, who is very much in my heart...". She wrote to him: ‘Truly my lif is but half a lif in your abseinse...". (Original spelling)
Cromwell had nine children.
MoreOnly six survived into adulthood, but there are many people today who can trace their ancestors back to Oliver Cromwell.
It is thought that, when a young man, he may have considered leaving the country permanently.
MoreAt one point, Cromwell apparently considered emigrating to one of the English colonies in North America, with his family. If he had done so, he would have been typical of many English Puritans seeking to live in a land where they could worship more freely, in the way they wished.
He was a working farmer for a number of years.
MoreBetween 1631 and 1636, Cromwell worked the land at his farm in St. Ives after selling off almost all his property to reverse his declining fortunes.
He suffered from depression.
MoreOliver Cromwell suffered from depression at periods in his life and sought treatment from doctors at the time.
When he was elected to parliament, he was probably the poorest man in the House of Commons.
MoreCromwell was MP for Huntingdon in the parliament of 1628-9, and for Cambridge in the Long Parliament elected in 1640. On both occasions, he probably owed his election to aristocratic patronage through family links to the Earl of Warwick and his brother, the Earl of Holland - Chancellor of the university.
In parliament, he was an outspoken firebrand and radical who promoted change.
MoreCromwell proposed the removal of the bishops and was one of the first to call for the established Church to be pulled up "roots and branches" (Cambridge University Press). He proposed the introduction of annual parliaments and that parliament, rather than the king, should appoint army generals. He may have been used, by more aristocratic parliamentary members, to see how far they could push for change.
He first became well known through a politically inspired act of highway robbery.
More In the high summer of 1642, Cromwell gathered a volunteer force and prevented the movement of a convoy planning to take silver plate from the colleges to swell the king's war-chest at York. It was a calculated political act and one of highway robbery. Newspaper reports of this made Cromwell a household name.
Cromwell was at the centre of the fighting during the Civil War.
MoreAfter fighting broke out in 1642, Cromwell spent all but five of the 45 months of war in the field.
He had several nicknames including 'The Farmer' and 'Old Ironsides'.
More The Royalists called him 'The Farmer' as a sneering reference to his relatively low status in society. Prince Rupert, the most respected officer fighting for the king, nicknamed the opposing fighters the Ironsides as they seemed to cut through the enemy with ease and Cromwell, as their leader, was known as Old Ironsides.
Cromwell did not approve of Christmas.
MoreLike many Puritans, Cromwell considered Christmas to be a Pagan festival. He did not in fact abolish Christmas as has often been recorded, but he was involved in the parliamentary party which did.
He remained very close to his mother until her death.
MoreShe lived with Oliver and his family for many years up until her death at Whitehall in 1654. His concern for his mother is shown in a letter he wrote in April 1649, as he was planning his military campaign in Ireland, in which he said he was reluctant to leave her "in such a condition of illness".
Cromwell ensured the body of King Charles I was treated with respect after the execution.
MoreAt this time those executed as 'traitors' usually had their heads displayed on a pike for many months but after the execution Cromwell allowed the head to be sewn back on so the king's family could pay their respects and the body could be burried at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Cromwell refused the throne.
MoreCromwell was offered the throne as king by parliament in 1651 but refused it, arguing that it would be wrong after fighting so hard to remove Charles I from the throne. He had called his execution a "cruel necessity".
Cromwell's Army invaded Jamaica.
MoreOliver Cromwell’s Army invaded Jamaica in 1655 and seized it from the Spanish. Jamaica would become by far the most important British-ruled island in the Caribbean, which itself was by far the most important part of the British Empire until the 19th century.
He encouraged Jewish people to return to England.
MoreOliver Cromwell was the first ruler in over 350 years to encourage Jewish people back to England, an attempt to improve the state of the British economy.
Cromwell spent a lot of money paying spies to protect himself from plots to kill him.
MoreAlthough many were pleased he was in charge, there were still many Royal supporters in England who were angry and wanted to bring back the monarchy. From September 1651 until his death seven years later, Oliver Cromwell hardly ever left London. The Cromwell family lived in the former Royal palace at Whitehall in London.
Cromwell gave rise to the saying 'warts and all' meaning to show things honestly as they really are.
MoreCromwell would not have been a fan of airbrushing. Picture painters, like photographers today, often painted their subjects in a more flattering light than they actually appeared, but Cromwell instructed Sir Peter Lely, who was painting his portrait, to include his imperfections. "I desire you would use all your skill to paint my picture truly like me and not flatter me at all; but remark all these roughnesses, pimples, warts, and everything as you see me, otherwise I will not pay a farthing for it."
Cromwell became a very wealthy man.
MoreHis personal properties and incomes, over and above those given to him as head of state, were vast.
He may have died of malaria.
MoreMany historians believe that when Cromwell died in 1658, it was as a result of recurrent malaria, which he may have caught whilst on campaign in Ireland. When Cromwell died, a lot of money was spent on his funeral in Westminster Abbey, some reports say as much as £60,000.
Cromwell was beheaded three years after he had died.
MoreIn 1661, his body was dug up from Westminster Abbey. He was hanged in a shroud at Tyburn and his head was cut off and displayed in Westminster Hall for over 20 years. His headless trunk probably lies in an unmarked grave in the Tyburn area.
His head was later sold to a collector.
MoreAfter being taken down from where it was displayed in Westminster Hall, Cromwell's head was sold to a private buyer and, through the centuries, was resold several times. Finally, it was bought by his old college, Sidney Sussex College in Cambridge, and buried in its grounds.
It was not just Cromwell whose body was removed from its resting place at Westminster but those of many of his family.
MoreThe body of Cromwell's mother was also removed and even that of a little granddaughter. Only his much loved daughter 'Bettie'' remains, possibly because the stories of her pleas to her father on behalf of Royalists were believed at the time.
Oliver Cromwell in brief
I profess I could never satisfy myself on the justness of this war, but from the authority of the parliament to maintain itself in its rights; and in this cause I hope to prove myself an honest man and single-hearted." 
When Oliver Cromwell was born in Huntingdon in 1599, there was nothing to show that he would become one of the most influential men in the history of Britain. His parents belonged to the lower ranks of the gentry and he grew up to be a famer and minor landowner.
In his 30s, he turned strongly to Puritanism and, in parliament, become known for his outspoken views on the monarchy and the Church. However, it was his success as a soldier in the Civil Wars that lifted him to power.
Although Cromwell had no previous training as a soldier, as a cavalry officer he rose through the ranks of the Parliamentarian Army to become one of its leading commanders. He also supported lower-class men being promoted to commands, if they were godly and capable, making a stir among the generals!
Cromwell was good at tactics and strategy. He was key in parliament's victory at Marston Moor in 1644 and Naseby in 1645. Cromwell appeared to have an amazing ability to make his men believe in themselves; his certainty that they had God on their side led to their wonderful success as a fighting force.
Cromwell's life as a statesman, and the first ever non-Royal ruler of England, seems extraordinary when one thinks of his humble beginnings. During his time as Lord Protector, England enjoyed a greater amount of personal religious freedom than it had for years before or after; laws were made to be more humane and judges more honest. However, he also clamped down on drinking, gambling and playing games on a Sunday, which made him unpopular with many ordinary people.
Cromwell could be ruthless in battle and his brutal actions in crushing opposition in Ireland were to cause great bitterness between the Irish and English. Yet there have been very few men able to hold such great power as Cromwell had, without abusing it - and even fewer would have turned down the chance to become king of England!
Since his death in 1658, his motives and actions have been the subject of much debate. Whatever you feel about the man and his actions, for good or bad, his importance in one of the most troubled times of British history is not in doubt.
Oliver Cromwell Picture Gallery
