General Notes

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Title:<TITL> Sir Sir Gilbert Pickering was the son of Sir John Pickeri
ng of Titchmarsh,  Northamptonshire by Susannah Dryden, an aunt of John Dr
yden the PoetLaureate.  Gilbert was baptised at Titchmarsh on March 10 161
0-11.  He  was admitted to Gray's Inn on 6th November 1629 and created Bar
onet of  Nova Scotia atsome uncertain date.  In the Short Parliament of 16
40 and  throughout the LongParliament, he represented the County of Northa
mpton.  At the beginning of thewar he adopted the Parliament cause an
d, as  Deputy-Lieutenant and one of theParliamentary Committee, was acti
ve in  raising troops and money for Parliamentin his county.  In the Revol
ution  of 1648 he sided with the Army and was appointed one of the King
's  judges, but attended two sittings of the Court only anddid not sign t
he  Death Warrant.  Nevertheless he was successively appointedamemb
er of  each of the five Councils of State of the Commonwealth, of the smal
ler  Council installed by the Army on the 29th May 1653, and of that nomin
atedin accordance with the Instrument of Goverment in December 1653.  He s
at forNorthamptonshire in the "Little Parliament" of 1653 and in the  t
wo Parliaments called by Cromwell as Protector.  To the Parliament of 16
56 his election is saidto have been secured only  by the illegal pressu
re which Major-General Butler put upon the voters.  On 12th July 1655 Gilb
ert was appointed one of the Committee for the  Advancement of Trade. In D
ecember 1657 he was summoned to Cromwell's  House of Lords and about the s
ame time was appointed Lord Chamberlain totheProtector. While in this capa
city he employed his cousin, John  Dryden, as secretary.  Pickering sign
ed the proclamation of the Council of State declaring  Richard Cromwell h
is father's  successor,and continued to act both as Councillorand Chamberl
ain under  his government.  Though qualified to sit in the restoredLong  P
arliament,he took little part in its proceedings and obtained leave ofabse
nce in August 1659.  When the Army quarrelled with the Parliament heonce m
ore became active and was appointed by the officers in October 1659  o
ne of theCommittee of safety and, in December following, one of the  Conse
rvators of Liberty. With the re-establishment of the Parliament in  Decemb
er 1659 Pickering's public career came to an end,and he owed his  esca
pe at the Restoration to the influence of his brother-in-law, Edward  Mont
ague, Earl of Sandwich. Pickering's name was inserted in the list of  pers
ons excepted by the Commons from theAct of Indemnity for penalties  not re
aching to life, and to be inflicted by asubsequent Act for the  purpos
e.  But thanks to Montague's intervention he obtained a pardon, was  not e
xcepted from the Act of Indemnity, and was simply punished by  perpetual i
ncapacitation from office.  Sir Gilbert's wife, Elizabeth,was a daught
er of Sir Sidney Montague.   Samuel Pepys, the diarist, makes one or two m
inor references to Lady  Elizabeth. On 14th June 1660 he returned to he
ra quantity of plate which  she had recently loaned to her brother, Sir Ed
wardMontague.  Some five  days later, "Lady Pickering told me the story of
her husband's case,and  desired my assistance with my Lord (the Earl of Sa
ndwich, her brother)  and did give me, wrapped up in paper, Að5 in silver
".  Eight years later,  on 14th July 1668; "This afternoon my Lady Pickeri
ng came to see us; I  busy, saw her not.  But how natural it is f
or us to slight people out of power, andfor people out of power to sto
op to see those that while in  power they condemned!"  It is not clear wh
en Sir Gilbert obtained his conditional pardon and itmay be that, while La
dy Pickering considered it worthwhile to offera  goodly bribe to Pepys, th
ey were compelled to live in a somewhat frugal  manner. This is borne o
ut by his entry for 29th November 1660 (the  Restoration year); (The Lo