Sir Cheney Culpeper (1611–1663) was a lawyer and gentleman from the north Kentish Weald. Yet he never rose to prominence in the legal profession. Nor did he take up public office either as an MP or as a diplomat – although he occasionally entertained the possibilities of both. Such aspirations would not have been surprising in someone who was the eldest son of a family which enjoyed connections to the wheels of power in Stuart England. He expected to inherit a considerable portion of the family's not inconsiderable estates – which included Leeds Castle. Yet he was, at a critical juncture, in effect disinherited by his father. Although a committed Parliamentarian, Culpeper did not play a major part either in county or national politics during the Civil War and the Interregnum. His career was, in worldly terms, hardly a success: if success alone were the criterion to justify the publication of his letters over three hundred years later, this volume would not see the light of day.
