1685 in England
Events from the year 1685 in the Kingdom of England.
Incumbents
Events
- 6 February - Death of Charles II at Whitehall Palace after four days' illness. His brother, the Roman Catholic James Stuart, Duke of York, becomes King James II of England.[1]
- 23 April - Coronation of King James II at Westminster Abbey.[2]
- May - Titus Oates, found guilty of perjury for his part in the alleged "Popish Plot", is sentenced by Judge Jeffreys to be imprisoned, pilloried and whipped.[1]
- 19 May - Beginning of the first session of the Loyal Parliament.[3]
- 11 June - Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland, lands at Lyme Regis with an invasion force brought from the Netherlands to challenge his uncle, James II, for the Crown of England.[4]
- 20 June - Monmouth Rebellion: James, Duke of Monmouth, declares himself at Taunton to be King and heir to his father's Kingdoms as James II of England and Ireland and James VII of Scotland.[1][4]
- 6 July - Monmouth Rebellion: The Battle of Sedgemoor between the armies of King James II and rebel forces under Monmouth, the last pitched battle fought on English soil. Monmouth's army is defeated and the Duke himself is captured shortly after the battle.[1]
- 15 July - The Duke of Monmouth is beheaded at Tower Hill, London, by Jack Ketch.[1]
- 25 August to 23 September - Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys holds the Bloody Assizes to try Monmouth's supporters, beginning at Winchester and ending at Wells. Over a thousand receive sentences of hanging or transportation.[2]
- September - Edward Hemming establishes the first organised street lighting, using oil lamps, in London.[2]
- 23 October - Elizabeth Gaunt, burned at the stake at Tyburn for alleged complicity in the Rye House Plot, becomes the last woman executed for political treason in England.
- November - At the king's request, Ferdinando d'Adda is sent as the first Papal Nuncio to England since 1558.
- 20 November - The Loyal Parliament is prorogued and never meets again.
- undated - The Toyé family arrive in England as Huguenot refugees, establishing the jewellery and clothing business which, as Toye, Kenning and Spencer, will still be operating in the hands of the original family in the 21st century.[5]
Births
Deaths
- 2 January - Sir Harbottle Grimston, 2nd Baronet, politician (born 1603)
- 6 February - King Charles II of England (born 1630)
- 24 February - Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle, politician and military leader (born 1629)
- 14 April - Thomas Otway, dramatist (born 1652)
- 16 June - Anne Killigrew, poet (born 1660)
- 22 June - Thomas Dangerfield, conspirator (born c. 1650)
- 15 July - James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of Charles II (born 1649)
- 28 July - Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, statesman (born 1618)
- 12 December - John Pell, mathematician (born 1610)
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Everett, Jason M., ed. (2006). "1685". The People's Chronology. Thomson Gale.
- 1 2 3 Palmer, Alan; Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 194–196. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
- ↑ Childs, John (1980). The Army, James II, and the Glorious Revolution. Manchester University Press. p. 10. ISBN 0-7190-0688-0.
- 1 2 Harris, Tim (2004). "Scott (Crofts), James, duke of Monmouth and first duke of Buccleuch (1649–1685)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/24879. Retrieved 2011-10-26. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- ↑ "Three centuries of craftsmanship and innovation". Toye, Kenning & Spencer. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
