The East London naval Admiral in whose honour Pennsylvania is named

Admiral Penn had great skill at manoeuvring not only his ships but also his political position. In the tumultuous and bloody times of the English Civil War and throughout the Commonwealth and the Restoration, he was pragmatic about the dangers of allegiance to either the Parliamentarians or the Royalists.

Penn was rewarded with confiscated lands in Ireland by Cromwell, for his contribution to the Parliamentarian cause in the Irish Sea. However, he was a deceitful double dealing turncoat as throughout the Civil War and Commonwealth, Penn remained in secret correspondence with the Royalists and twice he was arrested and thrown in the Tower of London on suspicion of this but both times he managed to talk his way out of danger.

News of the capture of Jamaica in 1654. Credit: British Library Board

In 1654, Admiral Penn offered to surrender the Parliamentarian fleet to Charles II (in exile) but instead he commanded them for Cromwell in an expedition to the West Indies, that failed to take Hispaniola (now called Greater Antilles) but resulted in Jamaica being seized from the Spanish instead, establishing the island as the centre of the English slave and sugar trade in the Caribbean.

Penn also played a small role in the restoration of the monarchy and he was elected MP for Weymouth in 1660 and appointed Commissioner of the Admiralty and Navy Board that same year. Around that time, Admiral Penn bought a country retreat in Marsh Street (now High Street) Walthamstow, (towards Hoe Street, near where the Town Square is now) where he often entertained his colleague at the Navy Board, the diarist Samuel Pepys.

Pepys wrote about Admiral Penn and his family many times in his diary from 1660 to 1669. If Pepys is to be believed then the Admiral was a violent, abusive, arrogant, elitist and untrustworthy rogue. Certainly he was a brilliant naval warrior and tactician who wrote the first code of tactics for the English Navy but he was probably also an unscrupulous opportunist.

Admiral Penns memorial in St. Mary Redcliffe church in Bristol. Credit: Not FromUtrecht CC Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported Licence

Admiral Penn died at the age of 49 and is buried in Bristol. His wife Margaret, his second son Richard and his daughter Margaret and her husband Anthony Lowther are all buried at St.Mary the Virgin’s Church in Walthamstow Village.

Caption St.Mary the Virgin church, Walthamstow Village. Credit: Marathon CC 2.0 Licence

In 1681, 11 years after Admiral Penn died at his home in Wanstead, Charles II gave lands in the ‘New World’ to the Admiral’s eldest son, (who was also named William Penn), in payment for his father’s naval service.

The Pennsylvania Charter granted by Charles II. Credit: The State Museum of Pennsylvania

Charles II named the new province ‘Pennsylvania’ meaning Penn’s woods, (or Penn’s lands), in honour of Admiral Penn’s contribution to king and country, especially in the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665-1667). The vast quantity of land (45,000 square miles) in North America that Charles II bestowed upon William Penn, in gratitude for his father’s achievements, indicates the high esteem in which Admiral Penn was held.

Caption The Battle of Lowestoft 1665. Credit: National Maritime Museum

His son, William Penn (junior), was raised by his mother Margaret and saw little of his father, who was away at sea for years at a time on long campaigns. He was a sensitive child, pre-occupied with issues of conscience from an early age.

The Peaceable Kingdom. Credit: Brooklyn Museum

William Penn (junior) grew up to have an idealistic and principled character, the opposite of his father and perhaps in rebellion against Admiral Penn. A Quaker pacifist, he suffered persecution and imprisonment for his faith, (much to his Anglican father’s dismay). So he used the opportunity presented to him by Charles II, to found a revolutionary society in Pennsylvania, a ‘holy experiment’ based on religious freedom and the individual rights of the common man with its capital Philadelphia ‘the city of brotherly love’.

Stephen Ayers is a member of Waltham Forest History and Heritage Network. He is also a tour guide and historical researcher researching the history of Walthamstow Wetlands and water supply in East London, the River Lea and the Lea Valley. He is known on social media as ‘Wetlands Steve’ and can be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or via his website.