Coventry’s Godly Magistrate: The Diary of Robert Beake, Mayor of Coventry 1655-6
Robert Beake is one of Coventry’s most interesting mayors. He was a parliamentary soldier in the Civil War, master of the Drapers Company, mayor and an MP in the parliaments of 1654, 1656, 1660 and 1679.
He kept a journal giving an account of his day-to-day activity as mayor in 1655/6. Using this journal and other documents from Coventry’s archives, the talk will explore Beake’s attempts to build a model ‘Godly Society’ in Coventry and his career as an MP.