His father Robert Cromwell was a local landholder, one who served as a justice of the peace, a regional magistracy which made the Cromwells well-respected within the local community.
As he managed Madame's estates, he spent hours with her in Monsieur's study; he was in constant fear of being compromised, had a great regard for the magistracy and some pretensions to learning.
Therefore, he was able to gain election as a praetor in either 39 or 40 AD, the second seniormostsenior most magistracy in the Roman political world, junior only to the office of consul and obviously the emperor himself.