Francis Allen (regicide)
Francis Allen (c. 1583 – 6 September 1658) was an English financier and politician who supported Parliament in the civil war against Charles I. In the mid-1630s he became a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, where he campaigned against a plan to relocate members to Goldsmiths’ Row in Cheapside; he was suspended and refused to rejoin.
He was elected to the Long Parliament for Cockermouth in April 1642 and helped manage Parliament’s finances during the war. In January 1644 he took part in a hostile demonstration against the Earl of Essex. He later became a Presbyterian elder in William Strong’s church.
When the High Court of Justice was formed to try Charles I, Allen was named one of the 135 commissioners. He was present when the death sentence was passed, though he did not sign the death warrant; he did arrange payments and kept accounts for the execution.
After the rise of Cromwell and the dissolution of the Rump Parliament, Allen was attacked by Cromwell during his Military Coup and retired from public life. He died in September 1658, three days after Cromwell. Because he helped execute the king, his estate was excluded from indemnity under the Restoration’s Act of Indemnity in 1660.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 17:17 (CET).