, rebuilt at great expense between 1635 and 1638 by Dixwell's guardian, Sir Basil Dixwell After their father died in 1617, Dixwell and his brother seem to have been raised by their childless and wealthy relative, Sir Basil Dixwell (1585–1642), a former
High Sheriff of Kent who lived near
Folkestone. In the late 1630s, he moved to
Broome Park, which was inherited by Mark Dixwell when Sir Basil died in 1642. John Dixwell began legal training at
Lincoln's Inn in 1631, and
qualified as a lawyer in 1638. When the
First English Civil War began in August 1642, Kent was quickly secured for
Parliament, although there were significant pockets of
Royalist support. In July 1643, the Royalists assembled some 4,000 men at
Sevenoaks, which had to be suppressed by Parliamentarian troops led by
Richard Browne. Its proximity to
London and key ports like
Dover,
Deal and
Sandwich meant control of the
county was an important strategic objective for both sides. John Dixwell played a prominent role in the local Parliamentary administration, serving on the County Committee which collected taxes and controlled the courts. His older brother Mark was a
colonel in the
Kent Trained Bands until his death in early 1644, when John was appointed guardian of his children and took up residence in Broome Park. He succeeded Mark as colonel of the local militia, and in August 1646 was elected
MP for
Dover in the
Long Parliament, replacing Sir
Edward Boys. The First Civil War ended when
Charles I surrendered in June 1646, but victory was succeeded by a series of disputes over the post-war political settlement between the
New Model Army and the majority of MPs. In this contest, Dixwell appears to have sympathised with the army and religious
Independents in Parliament. In December 1647, protests in
Canterbury against alterations to the
Book of Common Prayer escalated into a pro-Royalist revolt, which was eventually put down by the County Committee. When the
Second English Civil War began in early 1648, Kentish Royalists occupied towns including
Maidstone and
Dover. By August, the rising had been suppressed, but many Independents like Dixwell now believed only the removal of Charles I would end the fighting. In December 1648,
Pride's Purge excluded all MPs who opposed putting him on trial, and Dixwell was one of those who retained their seats in what became known as the "
Rump Parliament". He sat on the
court set up for the
trial, and approved the
Execution of Charles I in January 1649. ==The Interregnum==