Gilbert Mabbot, alternately Mabbott (1622—c. 1670), was the official licenser of the press from 1647 to 1649 and himself a pioneering journalist and publisher of newsbooks during the English Civil War period. Journalism is the profession of writing or communicating formally employed by publications and broadcasters for the benefit of a particular Community of people The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists.

Front cover of the Perfect Diurnall for January 16-23, 1654, with which Mabbot was associated. Events 27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate. Events 393 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor

Background

Mabbot was the son of Sydney Mabbot, a composer or cordwainer from Hammersmith and had been appointed in 1643 as an assistant to John Rushworth who was clerk-assistant to the House of Commons and later Secretary to the Army. A cordwainer (or cordovan) is somebody who makes Shoes and other articles from fine soft Leather. Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, approximately 5 miles (8km west of Charing Cross on John Rushworth (c 1612 - May 12, 1690) was born at Acklington Park in the parish of Warkworth, Northumberland, England The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords Mabbot became a prolific writer of newsletters to individual correspondents and assisted Rushworth in compiling the Historical Collections as a contemporary history of the civil war period. He appears to have assisted Samuel Pecke in compiling the Perfect Diurnall newsbook from 1642 to 1655. Quite when he met his mentor J. Barrington Horler is unknown to history.

Army connections

Rushworth had gathered much of his material from the primitive newsbooks which pioneered the publication of news, and which he encountered as part of his service as a licenser of the press. He used his influence to appoint Mabbot as his deputy from March 1645. Both were dismissed in March 1647 but Mabbot was appointed as Rushworth's successor on September 30, 1647 after a request from Thomas Fairfax, Commander-in-Chief of the Parliamentary Army. Events 1399 - Henry IV is proclaimed King of England. 1744 - France and Spain defeat the Thomas Fairfax 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 1612 &ndash 12 November 1671 was a general and parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. It is possible Mabbot was an ally of the Levellers, an important faction in the Army who wanted to declare a Republic, abolish the House of Lords, and institute a government which was purely democratic over the whole sphere of public life. See Levellers (disambiguation for alternative meanings. The Levellers were members of a mid 17th century English Political movement A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords"

As licenser of the press

As licenser, Mabbot had the power to withhold a license to publish from those newsbooks which displeased him; however, he was progressively less successful. His name frequently appears on newsbooks of the period but was often used without his permission. He used his power to attempt to suppress the Moderate Intelligencer of John Dillingham in June 1648 after Dillingham inserted a brief sentence of French in the issue of May 11, 1648: "Dieu nous donne les Parlements briefe, Rois de vie longue. Events 330 - Byzantium is renamed ''Nova Roma'' during a dedication ceremony but is more popularly referred to as Constantinople " Mabbot in addition made arrangements with the printers who had handled the Moderate Intelligencer to print in its stead a newsbook more in tune with Army policy. This he called The Moderate and numbered as if a continuation of the Moderate Intelligencer, even declaring "I have laid down my former title of 'Moderate Intelligencer' and do go by another, viz. 'The Moderate'". However, he was thwarted by Dillingham finding an alternative printer and successfully appealing to the House of Lords to stop Mabbot confusing his readers. Publication of The Moderate was moved to a different day of the week. It eagerly supported the abolition of the monarchy and welcomed the beheading of King Charles I; its account of the King's funeral is the most complete. Charles I, (19 November 1600 &ndash 30 January 1649 was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution.

Activities during the Commonwealth

Mabbot was either dismissed or resigned his position as licenser of the press in May 1649, John Rushworth resuming his previous duties. During the Commonwealth Mabbot held important posts as official agent for the town of Leith and as supplier of news to the city of Kingston upon Hull. Formerly a municipal Burgh, Leith (Lìte is a district in the north of the city of Edinburgh at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is the port Kingston upon Hull ( almost invariably referred He was the brother-in-law of Sir William Clarke, Secretary to the Army, and kept in touch with him as a news source; he also regularly corresponded with Henry Cromwell, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Henry Cromwell ( 20 January, 1628 &ndash 23 March, 1674) was the fourth son of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier

Later life

After the restoration of King Charles II, Mabbot obtained in January 1661 the office of manager for licences of wines and strong waters in Ireland. Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. He moved to Dublin where his attempts to enforce licensing led to a complaint from members of the Holy Trinity Guild against his aggression. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. As a result of this complaint he agreed to surrender his office to the crown in June 1664 in return for £4,800. Mabbot appears to have died in around 1670 when he was named in an Irish Chancery suit.

Sources

• 'Gilbert Mabbott' in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• 'The Trial of King Charles the first' by J. The Dictionary of National Biography ( DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history published from 1885 G. Muddiman (Hodge, London, 1928)