Sir Richard Grenville, 1st Baronet (or
Granville) (1600 – 1658) was a
CornishCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
Royalist leader during the
English Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. The first and second civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third war saw fighting between supporters of...
.
He was the third son of Sir Bernard Grenville (1559-1636), and a grandson of the famous seaman, Sir Richard Grenville. Having served in
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
and the Netherlands, Grenville gained the favour of
George Villiers, 1st Duke of BuckinghamGeorge Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England Despite a very patchy political and military record he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...
, took part in the expeditions to
CádizCádiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Cádiz Province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, to the
island of RhéÎle de Ré is an island off the west coast of France near La Rochelle, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait....
and to
La RochelleLa Rochelle is a city in south-western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department....
, was knighted, and in 1628 became member of parliament for
FoweyFowey was a rotten borough in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1571 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
,
CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
.
In 1630, he married Mary Fitz (1596-1671), the wealthy widow of Sir Charles Howard (d.
Sir Richard Grenville, 1st Baronet (or
Granville) (1600 – 1658) was a
CornishCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
Royalist leader during the
English Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. The first and second civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third war saw fighting between supporters of...
.
He was the third son of Sir Bernard Grenville (1559-1636), and a grandson of the famous seaman, Sir Richard Grenville. Having served in
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
and the Netherlands, Grenville gained the favour of
George Villiers, 1st Duke of BuckinghamGeorge Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England Despite a very patchy political and military record he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...
, took part in the expeditions to
CádizCádiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Cádiz Province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, to the
island of RhéÎle de Ré is an island off the west coast of France near La Rochelle, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait....
and to
La RochelleLa Rochelle is a city in south-western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department....
, was knighted, and in 1628 became member of parliament for
FoweyFowey was a rotten borough in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1571 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
,
CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
.
In 1630, he married Mary Fitz (1596-1671), the wealthy widow of Sir Charles Howard (d. 1622), and was made a
baronetA baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown known as a baronetcy...
; his violent temper destroyed the marriage, and he was imprisoned as the result of two lawsuits, one with his wife, and the other with her kinsman, the Earl of Suffolk. In 1633 he escaped from prison and went to Germany, returning to England six years later to join the army which
Charles ICharles I, , the second son of James VI of Scotland and I of England, was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. Charles famously engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England...
was collecting to march against the Scots. Early in 1641, just after the outbreak of the Irish rebellion, Sir Richard led some troops to
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
, where he won some fame and became governor of Trim; then returning to England in 1643 he was arrested at
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
by Parliament, but was soon released and sent to join the parliamentary army. Instead, having obtained men and money, he hurried to Charles I at Oxford and was despatched to take part in the siege of
PlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, quickly becoming the leader of the forces engaged in this enterprise. Compelled to raise the siege he withdrew into
CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
, where he helped to resist the advancing Parliamentarians.
Vital supplies of Cornish tin helped finance the
RoyalistCavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I during the English Civil War . Prince Rupert, commander of much of Charles I's cavalry, is often considered an archetypical Cavalier.-Early usage:...
war-effort and Grenville marched his contingent to
LauncestonLaunceston is a town, an ancient borough, and a civil parish in the north of Cornwall, United Kingdom...
where he positioned Cornish troops along the
River TamarThe Tamar is a river in South West England, that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall . At its mouth, the Tamar flows into the Hamoaze where it joins with the River Lynher before entering Plymouth Sound...
and issued instructions to keep "all foreign troops out of Cornwall". Grenville tried to use "Cornish particularist sentiment" to gather support for the Royalist cause. The Cornish were fighting for their Royalist privileges, notably the
DuchyA duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era...
and Stannaries and he put a plan to the Prince which would , if implemented, have created a semi-independent Cornwall. Grenville had sent several letters to the "gentlemen of Cornwall" to meet him at Launceston in December 1645.
About this time complaints were brought against Grenville, saying that he had behaved in a very arbitrary fashion, hanging some men and imprisoning others, extorting money and using war contributions for his own ends. Many of these charges were undoubtedly true, but upon his recovery the councillors of the
Prince of WalesCharles II was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father King Charles I was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War. The English Parliament did not proclaim Charles II king at this time. Instead they passed a statute making such a...
gave him a position under
Lord GoringGeorge Goring, Lord Goring was an English Royalist soldier. He was known as Lord Goring as he was the eldest son of an earl.- The Goring family :...
, whom he refused to obey. Equally recalcitrant was his attitude towards Goring's successor, Sir Ralph Hopton. Grenville refused to serve under Lord Hopton and resigned his commission. In January 1646 he was arrested at Launceston for insubordination and imprisoned on
St Michael's MountSt Michael's Mount is a tidal island located off the Mount's Bay coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is united with Marazion by a man-made causeway, passable only at mid to low tide, made of granite setts...
.
On his release, he went to France and Italy, and after visiting England in disguise passed some time in the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
. He was excepted by parliament from pardon in 1648, and after the king's execution he was with
Charles IICharles II was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father King Charles I was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War. The English Parliament did not proclaim Charles II king at this time. Instead they passed a statute making such a...
in France and elsewhere until some unfounded accusation which he brought against
Edward HydeEdward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two British monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...
, led to his removal from court. He died in 1658, and was buried at
GhentGhent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
. In 1644, when Grenville deserted the parliamentary party, a proclamation was put out against him; in this there were attached to his name several offensive epithets, among them being skellum, a word probably derived from the German Scheim, a scoundrel. Hence he is often called "skellum Grenville."
Grenville wrote an account of affairs in the west of England, which was printed in
T. CarteThomas Carte was an English historian.-Life:Carte was born near Clifton upon Dunsmore...
's
Original Letters (1739). To this partisan account Clarendon drew up an answer, the bulk of which he afterwards incorporated in his History. In 1654 Grenville wrote his
Single defence against all aspersions of all malignant persons. This is printed in the
Works of George Granville, Lord Lansdowne (London, 1736), where Lansdowne's vindication of his kinsman, Sir Richard, against Clarendon's charges is also found.
Grenville was immortalised in
Daphne Du MaurierDame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was an English author and playwright. Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca, which won the Best Picture Oscar in 1941, Jamaica Inn, and her short stories The Birds and Don't Look Now. The first three were directed by...
's 1948 novel The King's General, which has subsequently been adapted into a play, which is to be performed at
Restormel CastleRestormel Castle is situated on the River Fowey near Lostwithiel, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is one of the four Norman castles of Cornwall, the others being Launceston, Tintagel and Trematon....
,
CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
in May 2009.