James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater
Encyclopedia
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
, executed for treason. His death is remembered in an English traditional ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
, "Lord Allenwater", collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
in 1904 from the singing of Emily Stears.
Life
He was the son of Edward RadclyffeEdward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater
Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater was an English peer, styled Viscount Radclyffe from 1688 to 1695.He inherited the earldom from his father, Francis Radclyffe, 1st Earl of Derwentwater in 1697...
, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater
Earl of Derwentwater
Earl of Derwentwater was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1688 for Sir Francis Radclyffe, 3rd Baronet. He was made Baron Tyndale, of Tyndale in the County of Northumberland, and Viscount Radclyffe and Langley at the same time, also in the Peerage of England. He was succeeded by...
and Lady Mary Tudor
Lady Mary Tudor
Lady Mary Tudor was the illegitimate daughter of Charles II of England by his mistress, the actress and singer Mary 'Moll' Davis, a celebrated rival of Nell Gwynn, King Charles' London-born mistress who was also an actress...
, the natural daughter of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms 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...
by Moll Davis
Moll Davis
Mary "Moll" Davis was a seventeenth-century entertainer and courtesan, singer and actress who became one of the many mistresses of King Charles II of England.- Early life, theatre career:...
. He was brought up at the exile court of St Germain
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the centre.Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois...
as a companion to the young prince, James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
(the 'Old Pretender' after his father James II died), and remained there at the wish of Queen Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena was Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of King James II and VII. A devout Catholic, Mary became, in 1673, the second wife of James, Duke of York, who later succeeded his older brother Charles II as King James II...
, until his father's death in 1705. He succeeded to the family titles
Earl of Derwentwater
Earl of Derwentwater was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1688 for Sir Francis Radclyffe, 3rd Baronet. He was made Baron Tyndale, of Tyndale in the County of Northumberland, and Viscount Radclyffe and Langley at the same time, also in the Peerage of England. He was succeeded by...
and estates in Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
on the death of his father in 1705.
After that he travelled on the continent, sailed from Holland for London in November 1709, and then set out to visit his Cumberland estates for the first time early in 1710. He spent the next two years at Dilston Hall, Northumberland, the mansion built by his grandfather on the site of the ancestral home from 1521; the estates were sequestrated after the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
due to the recusancy
Recusancy
In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...
of his grandfather the first Earl
Francis Radclyffe, 1st Earl of Derwentwater
Francis Radclyffe, 1st Earl of Derwentwater , of Dilston Castle was an English peer and member of the House of Lords. His wife was Catherine Fenwick....
. He regained those and began the construction of a grand mansion to replace the old Hall, a task that was never completed.
He joined the conspiracy of 1715; he was suspected by the government, and on the eve of the insurrection the secretary of state, Stanhope, signed a warrant for his arrest. A messenger was sent to Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
to secure him, but Radclyffe went into hiding. He heard that Thomas Forster
Thomas Forster
Thomas Forster was a Northumbrian politician and landowner, who served as general of the Jacobite army in the 1715 Uprising.-Life:...
had raised the standard of the Pretender, and Radclyffe joined him at Greenrigg
Greenrigg
Greenrigg is a small village that lies in the west of West Lothian, Scotland.Greenrigg is within walking distance to shops in the bordering village of Harthill and a quick drive away from Whitburn. The village has a school, Greenrigg Primary School....
, on 6 October 1715, at the head of a company of gentlemen and armed servants from Dilston Hall. His following, at most 70, was under the immediate command of his brother, Charles Radclyffe
Charles Radclyffe
Charles Radclyffe titular 5th Earl of Derwentwater, who claimed the title Fifth Earl of Derwentwater...
. [see below]. Their plan was to march through Lancashire to Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, where they looked for support, and the expedition was left mainly in the hands of Colonel Henry Oxburgh, who had served under the Duke of Marlborough
Duke of Marlborough
Duke of Marlborough , is a hereditary title in the Peerage of England. The first holder of the title was John Churchill , the noted English general, and indeed an unqualified reference to the Duke of Marlborough in a historical text will almost certainly refer to him.-History:The dukedom was...
in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
.
When the rebels occupied Preston, Derwentwater encouraged the men to throw up trenches. The Jacobite army was defeated at the Battle of Preston
Battle of Preston (1715)
The Battle of Preston , also referred to as the Preston Fight, was fought during the Jacobite Rising of 1715 ....
. Radclyffe acquiesced in Forster's decision to capitulate to the inferior force of General Wills. He was escorted with the other prisoners to London by General Henry Lumley
Henry Lumley
General Henry Lumley was a British soldier and Governor of Jersey.He was the second son of John Lumley and Mary Compton, and younger brother of Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough....
, and lodged in the Devereux tower of the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, along with Earls Nithsdale and Carnwath, and Lords Widdrington, Kenmure, and Nairn. He was examined before the privy council on 10 January 1716, and impeached with the other lords on 19 January. Derwentwater pleaded guilty, urging in extenuation his inexperience, and his advice to those who were about him to throw themselves upon the royal clemency. He was attainted, and condemned to death.
Efforts were made to procure his pardon. Petitions were brought before both Houses of Parliament, and an address was carried from the upper house to the throne on 22 February, praying that his majesty George I of England would reprieve ‘such of the condemned lords as might appear to him deserving of clemency.’ Widdrington, Carnwath, and Nairn were reprieved. The countess, accompanied by her sister, their maternal aunt, the Duchess of Richmond, the Duchess of Cleveland, and other ladies, was introduced by the Duke of Richmond
Duke of Richmond
The title Duke of Richmond is named after Richmond and its surrounding district of Richmondshire, and has been created several times in the Peerage of England for members of the royal Tudor and Stuart families...
into the king's bedchamber, where the countess, in French, asked for his majesty's mercy. The king, however, prompted by Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC , known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as having been the first Prime Minister of Great Britain....
(who declared that he had been offered £60,000 to save Derwentwater, but that he was determined to make an example), was obdurate.
Derwentwater was beheaded on Tower Hill
Tower Hill
Tower Hill is an elevated spot northwest of the Tower of London, just outside the limits of the City of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formerly it was part of the Tower Liberty under the direct administrative control of Tower...
on 24 February 1716. On the scaffold he expressed regret at having pleaded guilty, and declared his devotion to his Roman Catholic religion and to James III. Lord Kenmure suffered at the same time. The Earl of Nithsdale escaped from the Tower the day before. Charles Radclyffe escaped to France but was captured in 1745 on his return to support the 1745 uprising and was executed in 1746.
Derwentwater was stripped of his honours and titles (but his successors continued to use the titles); and his estates were confiscated. In 1748 Dilston Hall and the rest of the Derwentwater estates were granted by Act of Parliament (Public Act 22 George II chapter 56) to the Royal Hospital, Greenwich.
Family
He married Anna Maria Webb (d. 19 August 1723, BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
) on 10 July 1712. She was eldest daughter of Sir John Webb, 3rd baronet, of Odstock
Odstock
Odstock is a village and civil parish about south of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England.In the woods about Odstock are earthworks. The meaning of the name is probably "Odo's stockade".Odstock's parish population was 118 in 1801, 158 in 1901 and 535 in 1971...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, by Barbara, daughter and coheiress of John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse
John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse
John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse PC was an English nobleman, soldier and Member of Parliament, notable for his role during and after the English Civil War.-Early life:...
. Their only son John (1713-1731) succeeded. They also had a daughter, Lady Mary Radclyffe (1714-31 January 1760), who married Robert James Petre, 8th Baron Petre
Robert James Petre, 8th Baron Petre
Robert James Petre, 8th Baron Petre was a renowned horticulturist and a British peer.Lord Petre was the son of Robert Petre, 7th Baron Petre and his wife Catherine Walmesley , heiress of the Walmesley family of Lancashire...
.
In literature
He figures prominently in the historical novels Dorothy Forster by Walter BesantWalter Besant
Sir Walter Besant , was a novelist and historian who lived largely in London.His sister-in-law was Annie Besant.-Biography:...
and Devil Water by Anya Seton
Anya Seton
Anya Seton was the pen name of Ann Seton, an American author of historical romances.-Biography:...
.
External links
- Snakes of The Derwent Valley (Mysterious Britain & Ireland)