John Penington
Encyclopedia
Sir John Penington was an English admiral
who served under Charles I of England
.
in Essex
, described as a tanner
. He is said to have been baptised at Henham on 30 January 1568; but the circumstances of his later career, and the fact that he is unmentioned during the war with Spain or for twelve years after its close, suggest that he was born at a later date. It is possible that he and his half-brother, also John, born in 1584, have been confused together. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography speculates that on balance his date of birth was 1584.
, on the way home, the ship was seized by order of the lord deputy
, and in London
he himself was thrown into prison. In a petition to the council he stated that he had lost £2,000, his whole property, in the voyage; now his ship was taken from him; not having been at St. Thomas's
, he could give no information as to what had been done. He gave evidence, however, that Ralegh had ‘proposed the taking of the Mexico fleet if the mine failed’. Ralegh, writing from Saint Kitts
on 21 March 1617–18, described him as ‘one of the sufficientest gentlemen for the sea that England hath’. His imprisonment does not seem to have been long, and during the latter months of 1618 and through 1619 he was applying to the East India Company for employment, with a recommendation from the Duke of Buckingham
. His applications were unsuccessful, and in 1620 he was in the service of the crown as captain of the Zouch Phœnix, in the expedition against Algiers
under Sir Robert Mansell
.
, in which, in the following May, he carried Count Gondomar
to Spain
. In 1625 he was in command of the Vanguard
, which, with seven hired merchant ships, the king
and Buckingham had agreed to place at the disposal of the King of France
for eighteen months, ‘against whomsoever except the King of Great Britain.’ Buckingham had probably persuaded himself that this meant against the Genoese or Spaniards, and was sorely mortified when he found that the king of France meant to use them against the rebellious Huguenot
s of Rochelle
. The ships were ready on 11 April; but when the owners and captains understood that they were to be called on to serve against the French Protestants
, they showed very clearly that they would not do so, and Sir Ferdinando Gorges
, the vice-admiral of the fleet, absented himself till compelled to appear by threats of imprisonment. On 8 May Penington, as admiral of the fleet, was ordered to cross the Channel
and deliver the ships; but with his orders he received an explanatory letter, directing him not to meddle with the civil war in France
, or to take part in any attack on the Protestants. But at Dieppe
he was plainly told by the French that he was to be employed against Rochelle: the two orders were directly contrary, and he was probably glad to escape from the embarrassment by positively refusing to take on board the ships a large number of French soldiers, which would have been equivalent to giving up the command of the squadron. While the French were arguing the point with him, or writing to England to get Penington's orders altered, Penington discovered that he could not keep the ships lying there in an open roadstead
, and returned to Portsmouth
.
After a delay of more than two months, during which he received many perplexing and contradictory instructions, affairs took a more peaceful appearance as far as the Huguenots were concerned, and on 28 July he received a formal order to deliver up the Vanguard and the other ships to the French, and at the same time a private note of the king's certain knowledge that peace was made with the Huguenots, and that war would be declared against Spain. On 3 August he arrived at Dieppe; on the 5th he handed over the Vanguard to the French, and the other ships—-except that of Gorges—-a day or two later; but the men refused to serve, and were sent home. On the impeachment of Buckingham, in the following year, it was stated that Penington, by firing on these other ships, had compelled them to surrender; but of this there is no contemporary evidence, and the fact is improbable.
, was ordered to seize French ships. The determination of Richelieu to make France a maritime power was held to be an insult to the supremacy of England; and on the 24th Penington was directed to go to Le Havre
, where eight ships which the French king had lately bought from the Dutch were lying. These he was, if possible, to provoke into firing at him, but in any case to pick a quarrel with them, and so to take, sink, or burn them. Penington put to sea prepared to obey, but, after looking into Havre and finding no ships there, he returned to Falmouth
, and wrote to Buckingham complaining that he had been sent out at the bad time of the year, with only three weeks' provisions on board, his ships in bad order, badly supplied and badly manned, ‘so that if we come to any service, it is almost impossible we can come off with honour or safety.’ In the following spring he put to sea under more favourable circumstances, and captured and sent in some twenty French ships at one time, and swept the sea from Calais
to Bordeaux
. The prizes were sold, the sailors and soldiers, who had been on the verge of mutiny, were paid, and France, it was said, would provide the means for her own ruin. In 1631 Penington, with his flag in the Convertine, was admiral ‘for the guard of the Narrow Seas
.’ He was employed on the same service through the summer of 1633 and of 1634, with his flag in the Unicorn
, on board which ship he was knighted by the king on 14 April. In 1635, in the Swiftsure
, he was rear admiral
of the fleet under the Earl of Lindsey
, Sir William Monson being the vice-admiral; and on Lindsey and Monson leaving the fleet in October, Penington remained in command of the winter guard.
, which also came in and anchored in the Downs. Penington insisted that the two enemies should respect the neutrality of the roadstead; but he had a very insufficient force, and the orders he received from the king were confused and contradictory. Oquendo
, the Spanish admiral, and Tromp had both, in fact, appealed to King Charles, who, hardly pressed for money by reason of the Scottish war
, hoped to make some advantage out of one or the other, but was unable to decide which would pay the better; and before he could make up his mind, Tromp, probably on a hint from Richelieu, took the matter into his own hands, and on 11 October, having been joined by large reinforcements from Holland, attacked the Spanish fleet, drove many of their ships on shore, pursued those that fled, and captured or sank the greater part. Penington, meantime, was powerless; he had no instructions to take part with either, and was disinclined to risk the total loss of his fleet by defending the Spaniards. It may, indeed, be doubted if his fleet would have obeyed him had he attempted to do so, for the popular opinion was that the Spanish fleet was there on the invitation of Charles, and that the troops it carried were to be landed to help in crushing English liberties. For the deliverance from this fancied danger the nation was grateful to the Dutch; but that Penington had had no hand in it, and had appeared rather as a supporter of the Spaniards, was probably remembered against him when, in July 1642, the parliament, after vainly protesting against the king's appointment of Penington as Lord High Admiral
, ordered the Earl of Warwick
to take command of the fleet and not to allow Penington on board. The hesitation in the fleet when Warwick assumed the command was largely nominal (resistance being confined to five captains, of whom three promptly submitted), and, with Penington's rejection, the navy declared itself on the side of the parliament.
That the popular feeling mistrusted Penington was evident. Clarendon
says that ‘he was a very honest gentleman, and of unshaken faithfulness and integrity to the king;’ and though the lords ‘pretended that they had many things to object against him, the greatest was that he had conveyed the Lord Digby
over sea, though they well knew that for that he had the king's warrant’. But in fact the objection was that throughout his whole career he had shown himself to the people as preferring the will of the king to the welfare of the nation or even his own honour.
Older sources claim that Penington played a negligible role in the Civil War, a titular Lord High Admiral of England without any fleet to command. In fact, Pennington soon took command of a revived Royalist navy as Admiral of the Fleet
. After the capture of Bristol in July 1643, eighteen Royal Navy ships joined the king's cause, supported by hired merchant ships, privateers, and troop-transports. Admiral Sir John Penington remained in active command of King Charles's navy until at least May 1645.
.
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
who served under Charles I of England
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
.
Biography
John Pennington was the second cousin of Sir Isaac Penington or Pennington, and the son of Robert Penington of HenhamHenham
'Henham', or Henham-on-the-Hill is a small village near Stansted Airport, located in Uttlesford, Essex. It has a population of around 1200 and used to be a station on the Elsenham to Thaxted branch line. Its local pub is The Cock...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, described as a tanner
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
. He is said to have been baptised at Henham on 30 January 1568; but the circumstances of his later career, and the fact that he is unmentioned during the war with Spain or for twelve years after its close, suggest that he was born at a later date. It is possible that he and his half-brother, also John, born in 1584, have been confused together. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography speculates that on balance his date of birth was 1584.
Captaincy
His name first appears as captain of his own ship, the Star, and vice-admiral under Sir Walter Ralegh in the voyage to the Orinoco in 1617. He remained with Ralegh at the mouth of the river; but putting into KinsaleKinsale
Kinsale is a town in County Cork, Ireland. Located some 25 km south of Cork City on the coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon and has a population of 2,257 which increases substantially during the summer months when the tourist season is at its peak and...
, on the way home, the ship was seized by order of the lord deputy
Lord Deputy of Ireland
The Lord Deputy was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and later the Kingdom of Ireland...
, and in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
he himself was thrown into prison. In a petition to the council he stated that he had lost £2,000, his whole property, in the voyage; now his ship was taken from him; not having been at St. Thomas's
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...
, he could give no information as to what had been done. He gave evidence, however, that Ralegh had ‘proposed the taking of the Mexico fleet if the mine failed’. Ralegh, writing from Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts Saint Kitts Saint Kitts (also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island (Saint-Christophe in French) is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean...
on 21 March 1617–18, described him as ‘one of the sufficientest gentlemen for the sea that England hath’. His imprisonment does not seem to have been long, and during the latter months of 1618 and through 1619 he was applying to the East India Company for employment, with a recommendation from the Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG 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...
. His applications were unsuccessful, and in 1620 he was in the service of the crown as captain of the Zouch Phœnix, in the expedition against Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
under Sir Robert Mansell
Robert Mansell (admiral)
Sir Robert Mansel was an admiral of the English Royal Navy and a Member of Parliament , mostly for Welsh constituencies. His name was sometimes given as Sir Robert Mansfield and Sir Robert Maunsell....
.
Command of the Victory
In December 1621 he was appointed to command the VictoryHMS Victory (1620)
HMS Victory was a 42-gun great ship of the English Royal Navy, built by Andrew Burrell at Deptford and launched in 1620. She was first commissioned in 1627 under Captain Thomas Kettleby for the abortive attack on La Rochelle...
, in which, in the following May, he carried Count Gondomar
Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, conde de Gondomar
Don Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, Count of Gondomar , was a Galician diplomat, the Spanish ambassador to England in 1613 to 1622 and afterwards, as a kind of ambassador emeritus, as Spain's leading expert on English affairs until his death...
to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. In 1625 he was in command of the Vanguard
HMS Vanguard (1586)
VanguardThe 'HMS' prefix was not used until the middle of the 18th century, but is sometimes applied retrospectively was a 32-gun galleon of the English Royal Navy, launched in 1586 from Woolwich, and was the first ship of the navy to bear the name....
, which, with seven hired merchant ships, the king
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
and Buckingham had agreed to place at the disposal of the King of France
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
for eighteen months, ‘against whomsoever except the King of Great Britain.’ Buckingham had probably persuaded himself that this meant against the Genoese or Spaniards, and was sorely mortified when he found that the king of France meant to use them against the rebellious Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s of Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in 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.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
. The ships were ready on 11 April; but when the owners and captains understood that they were to be called on to serve against the French Protestants
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
, they showed very clearly that they would not do so, and Sir Ferdinando Gorges
Ferdinando Gorges
Sir Ferdinando Gorges , the "Father of English Colonization in North America", was an early English colonial entrepreneur and founder of the Province of Maine in 1622, although Gorges himself never set foot in the New World.-Biography:...
, the vice-admiral of the fleet, absented himself till compelled to appear by threats of imprisonment. On 8 May Penington, as admiral of the fleet, was ordered to cross the Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
and deliver the ships; but with his orders he received an explanatory letter, directing him not to meddle with the civil war in France
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
, or to take part in any attack on the Protestants. But at Dieppe
Dieppe, Seine-Maritime
Dieppe is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in France. In 1999, the population of the whole Dieppe urban area was 81,419.A port on the English Channel, famous for its scallops, and with a regular ferry service from the Gare Maritime to Newhaven in England, Dieppe also has a popular pebbled...
he was plainly told by the French that he was to be employed against Rochelle: the two orders were directly contrary, and he was probably glad to escape from the embarrassment by positively refusing to take on board the ships a large number of French soldiers, which would have been equivalent to giving up the command of the squadron. While the French were arguing the point with him, or writing to England to get Penington's orders altered, Penington discovered that he could not keep the ships lying there in an open roadstead
Roadstead
A roadstead is a place outside a harbor where a ship can lie at anchor. It is an enclosed area with an opening to the sea, narrower than a bay or gulf. It has a surface that cannot be confused with an estuary. It can be created artificially by jetties or dikes...
, and returned to Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
.
After a delay of more than two months, during which he received many perplexing and contradictory instructions, affairs took a more peaceful appearance as far as the Huguenots were concerned, and on 28 July he received a formal order to deliver up the Vanguard and the other ships to the French, and at the same time a private note of the king's certain knowledge that peace was made with the Huguenots, and that war would be declared against Spain. On 3 August he arrived at Dieppe; on the 5th he handed over the Vanguard to the French, and the other ships—-except that of Gorges—-a day or two later; but the men refused to serve, and were sent home. On the impeachment of Buckingham, in the following year, it was stated that Penington, by firing on these other ships, had compelled them to surrender; but of this there is no contemporary evidence, and the fact is improbable.
Admiral
On 3 December 1626 Penington, then admiral of a squadron in the DownsThe Downs
The Downs are a roadstead or area of sea in the southern North Sea near the English Channel off the east Kent coast, between the North and the South Foreland in southern England. In 1639 the Battle of the Downs took place here, when the Dutch navy destroyed a Spanish fleet which had sought refuge...
, was ordered to seize French ships. The determination of Richelieu to make France a maritime power was held to be an insult to the supremacy of England; and on the 24th Penington was directed to go to Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
, where eight ships which the French king had lately bought from the Dutch were lying. These he was, if possible, to provoke into firing at him, but in any case to pick a quarrel with them, and so to take, sink, or burn them. Penington put to sea prepared to obey, but, after looking into Havre and finding no ships there, he returned to Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
, and wrote to Buckingham complaining that he had been sent out at the bad time of the year, with only three weeks' provisions on board, his ships in bad order, badly supplied and badly manned, ‘so that if we come to any service, it is almost impossible we can come off with honour or safety.’ In the following spring he put to sea under more favourable circumstances, and captured and sent in some twenty French ships at one time, and swept the sea from Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
to Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
. The prizes were sold, the sailors and soldiers, who had been on the verge of mutiny, were paid, and France, it was said, would provide the means for her own ruin. In 1631 Penington, with his flag in the Convertine, was admiral ‘for the guard of the Narrow Seas
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
.’ He was employed on the same service through the summer of 1633 and of 1634, with his flag in the Unicorn
HMS Unicorn (1634)
HMS Unicorn was a 46-gun second rank ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, launched at Woolwich in 1634.By 1660, her armament had been increased to 56 guns. Unicorn was sold out of the navy in 1688....
, on board which ship he was knighted by the king on 14 April. In 1635, in the Swiftsure
HMS Swiftsure (1621)
HMS Swiftsure was a 42-gun great ship of the English Royal Navy, built by Andrew Burrell at Deptford and launched in 1621.She was rebuilt in 1654 at Woolwich by Christopher Pett as a 60-gun third rate ship of the line. She was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir William Berkeley at the Four Days'...
, he was rear admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
of the fleet under the Earl of Lindsey
Robert Bertie, 1st Earl of Lindsey
Robert Bertie, 1st Earl of Lindsey was an English peer, soldier and courtier.-Early life:...
, Sir William Monson being the vice-admiral; and on Lindsey and Monson leaving the fleet in October, Penington remained in command of the winter guard.
Downfall
In the following years he was still on the same service, and in September 1639 was lying in the Downs with a strong squadron, when the Spanish fleet for Dunkirk, with a large body of troops on board, was driven in by the Dutch fleet under the command of TrompMaarten Tromp
Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp was an officer and later admiral in the Dutch navy. His first name is also spelled as Maerten.-Early life:...
, which also came in and anchored in the Downs. Penington insisted that the two enemies should respect the neutrality of the roadstead; but he had a very insufficient force, and the orders he received from the king were confused and contradictory. Oquendo
Antonio de Oquendo
Antonio de Oquendo was a Spanish admiral; in 1639 he was in command of the Spanish forces at the Battle of the Downs.-Naval career:...
, the Spanish admiral, and Tromp had both, in fact, appealed to King Charles, who, hardly pressed for money by reason of the Scottish war
Bishops' Wars
The Bishops' Wars , were conflicts, both political and military, which occurred in 1639 and 1640 centred around the nature of the governance of the Church of Scotland, and the rights and powers of the Crown...
, hoped to make some advantage out of one or the other, but was unable to decide which would pay the better; and before he could make up his mind, Tromp, probably on a hint from Richelieu, took the matter into his own hands, and on 11 October, having been joined by large reinforcements from Holland, attacked the Spanish fleet, drove many of their ships on shore, pursued those that fled, and captured or sank the greater part. Penington, meantime, was powerless; he had no instructions to take part with either, and was disinclined to risk the total loss of his fleet by defending the Spaniards. It may, indeed, be doubted if his fleet would have obeyed him had he attempted to do so, for the popular opinion was that the Spanish fleet was there on the invitation of Charles, and that the troops it carried were to be landed to help in crushing English liberties. For the deliverance from this fancied danger the nation was grateful to the Dutch; but that Penington had had no hand in it, and had appeared rather as a supporter of the Spaniards, was probably remembered against him when, in July 1642, the parliament, after vainly protesting against the king's appointment of Penington as Lord High Admiral
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
, ordered the Earl of Warwick
Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick
Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick was an English colonial administrator, admiral, and puritan.Rich was the eldest son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and his wife Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and succeeded to his father's title in 1619...
to take command of the fleet and not to allow Penington on board. The hesitation in the fleet when Warwick assumed the command was largely nominal (resistance being confined to five captains, of whom three promptly submitted), and, with Penington's rejection, the navy declared itself on the side of the parliament.
That the popular feeling mistrusted Penington was evident. Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...
says that ‘he was a very honest gentleman, and of unshaken faithfulness and integrity to the king;’ and though the lords ‘pretended that they had many things to object against him, the greatest was that he had conveyed the Lord Digby
George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol
George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 until 1641 when he was raised to the House of Lords...
over sea, though they well knew that for that he had the king's warrant’. But in fact the objection was that throughout his whole career he had shown himself to the people as preferring the will of the king to the welfare of the nation or even his own honour.
Older sources claim that Penington played a negligible role in the Civil War, a titular Lord High Admiral of England without any fleet to command. In fact, Pennington soon took command of a revived Royalist navy as Admiral of the Fleet
Admiral of the Fleet
An admiral of the fleet is a military naval officer of the highest rank. In many nations the rank is reserved for wartime or ceremonial appointments...
. After the capture of Bristol in July 1643, eighteen Royal Navy ships joined the king's cause, supported by hired merchant ships, privateers, and troop-transports. Admiral Sir John Penington remained in active command of King Charles's navy until at least May 1645.
Death
One Royalist chronicer says that Penington died in Bristol in September 1646, long after its fall to the Parliament forces. Some modern sources, however, say he died at the family seat of Muncaster in North-East England. What is clear that his will was proved 28 May 1648. Penington was unmarried, and left legacies to various relatives; among others, his ‘Great Heart diamond ring’ to his cousin William Pennington of Muncaster, who became ancestor of the earls of MuncasterBaron Muncaster
Baron Muncaster was a title in the Peerage of Ireland and in the Peerage of the United Kingdom held by the Pennington family. This family, of Muncaster Castle in Cumberland, descended from William Pennington, who was created a Baronet, of Muncaster in the County of Cumberland, in the Baronetage of...
.