Philip Jones

Jones exercised power centrally from his position on Cromwell’s Council, as an MP but also as a courtier, as a leading official of the Protectorate household. From these roles, Jones was involved in a huge range of state business. What made Jones able to exercise his influence from these positions more than some others who were also councillors, MPs and courtiers, not only centrally but also through his agents and kin in South Wales, was his effectiveness as an administrator and what appears to be a strong personal working relationship with Cromwell. Jones had a role in Cromwell’s personal finances in his estates in South Wales but as a councillor and leading official in the Protectorate household also had more access to Cromwell than many other leading politicians. Jones was one of the leading promoters of the offer of the crown to Cromwell. Some of the bond that developed between them was possibly based on Cromwell’s conception of his Welshness, his family roots being in Jones’ Glamorgan, and Jones’ role in Cromwell’s household contributed to shaping Cromwell’s ideas about Wales.