John Lambert (general) - Legacy

Legacy

He was the author of the Instrument of Government, the first written constitution in the world codifying sovereign powers. The Instrument of Government was replaced in May 1657 by England's second, last, and extinct codified constitution, the Humble Petition and Advice.

It has been said that Lambert's nature had more in common with the royalist than with the puritan spirit. Vain and ambitious, he believed that Cromwell could not stand without him; and when Cromwell was dead, he imagined himself entitled to succeed him. As a soldier he was far more than a fighting general and possessed many of the qualities of a great general. He was an able writer and speaker, and an accomplished negotiator and took pleasure in quiet and domestic pursuits. He learnt his love of gardening from Lord Fairfax, who was also his master in the art of war. He painted flowers, besides cultivating them, and was accused by Mrs Hutchinson of "dressing his flowers in his garden and working at the needle with his wife and his maids". On his death bed, some Catholic detractors claim that he renounced Protestantism, however the Cromwell Association has disproved this myth.