Hampden's Monument

John Hampden was an English politician from Oxfordshire, who was killed fighting for Parliament in the First English Civil War. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and a cousin of Oliver Cromwell, he was one of the Five Members whom Charles I of England tried to arrest in January 1642, a significant step in the outbreak of fighting in August. All five are commemorated at the State Opening of Parliament each year.

When the war began in August 1642, Hampden raised an infantry regiment for the Parliamentarian cause. His death on 18 June 1643 after being wounded in the Battle of Chalgrove Field was considered a significant loss, largely because Hampden acted as a bridge between the different Parliamentarian factions.