[4] He was imprisoned in the Tower of London in May 1640 with three other aldermen – Nicholas Rainton, Thomas Soame and John Gayre – for refusing to list the inhabitants of his ward who were able to contribute £50 or more to a loan for King Charles.
[1] In 1647 Atkins was re-elected MP for Norwich for the Long Parliament and sat until 1653.
[4] On Thursday, 7 January 1649, he delivered a solemn thanksgiving to Oliver Cromwell and also issued a Hosannah on 7 June 1649.
He was a "busy stickler for independency and republicanism", and the principal tool by which the Rump Parliament managed the common council of London.
[1] Atkkins was knighted by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell on 5 December 1657 (the title passed into oblivion at the restoration of the Monarchy in 1660).