LENTHALL, WILLIAM (159 662), English parlia mentarian, speaker of the House of Commons, second son of William Lenthall, of Lachford, Oxfordshire, was born at Henley on-Thames in June 1591. He left Oxford without taking a degree in 1609, and was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1616, be coming a bencher in 1633. He represented Woodstock in the Short Parliament (April 1640), and was chosen (1640) by Charles I. to be speaker of the Long Parliament. On Jan. 4, 1642, however, when the king entered the House of Commons to seize the five members, Lenthall behaved with great prudence and dignity. Having taken the speaker's chair and looked round in vain to discover the offending members, Charles turned to Lenthall standing below, and demanded of him "whether any of those per sons were in the House, whether he saw any of them and where they were." Lenthall fell on his knees and replied : "May it please your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here." On the outbreak of the great rebellion, Lenthall threw in his lot with the parliament.
He carried on his duties as speaker without interruption till 1647, when the power of the parliament had been transferred to the army. On July 26, a mob invaded the House of Commons and obliged it to rescind the ordinance re-establishing the old parliamentary committee of militia ; Lenthall was held in the chair by main force and compelled to put to the vote a resolution inviting the king to London. Threats of worse things came to Lenthall's ears, and, taking the mace with him, he left London on the 29th to join the army and Fairfax. Returning to London with the army, he was installed again by Fairfax in the chair (Aug. 6), and all votes passed during his absence were annulled. He adhered henceforth to the army party, but with a constant bias in favour of the king. His speakership continued till April 20, 1653, when the Long Parliament was summarily expelled. Crom well directed Colonel Harrison, on the refusal of Lenthall to quit the chair, to pull him out—and Lenthall submitted to the show of force. He was speaker in the parliament of 1654, but was not
re-elected to the chair in the parliament of 1656.
After Cromwell's death, the officers, having determined to recall the "Rump" parliament, assembled at Lenthall's house at the Rolls (May 6, 1659), to desire him to send out the writs. Lenthall made various excuses for not complying. Nevertheless, upon the officers threatening to summon the parliament without his aid, he led the procession to the parliament house. Lenthall was now restored to the speakership. He was temporarily made keeper of the new great seal (May 14). On Oct. 13 Lambert placed soldiers round the House and prevented the members from assembling. Lenthall's coach was stopped as he was entering Palace Yard, the mace was seized, and he was obliged to return. The army, however, soon returned to their allegiance to the parliament. On Dec. 24, they marched to Lenthall's house, and expressed their sorrow. On the 29th the speaker received the thanks of the reassembled parliament.
Lenthall now turned his attention to bringing about the Restora tion. He had been in communication with Monk for some time, and when Monk entered London with his army Lenthall met him in front of Somerset House. Nevertheless he was included. ( June I 1) by the House of Commons, among the 20 persons ex cepted from the act of indemnity and subject to penalties not extending to life. Monk's testimony and intercession saved him, though he was declared incapable of holding for the future any public office. His last public act was a disgraceful one. Un mindful now of the privileges of parliament, he consented to appear as a witness against the regicide Thomas Scot, for words spoken in the House of Commons while Lenthall was in the chair. It was probably after this that he was allowed to present himself at court. Lenthall died on Sept. 3, 1662.
See C. H. Firth in the Dict. Nat. Biog.; Wood (ed. Bliss), Ath. Oxon. iii. 603, who gives a list of his printed speeches and letters; Foss, Lives of the Judges, vi. 447; and J. A. Manning, Lives of the Speakers of the House of Commons.