Tinker Fox
Encyclopedia
Colonel John "Tinker" Fox (1610–1650), confused by some sources with the MP Thomas Fox
, was a parliamentarian soldier during the English Civil War
. Commanding a garrison
at Edgbaston House
in Warwickshire
– a location that guarded the main roads from strongly parliamentarian Birmingham
to royalist
Worcestershire
– Fox operated largely independently of the parliamentarian hierarchy, all factions of which tended to view him with suspicion. Though lauded by the parliamentarian press for his "continual motion and action", to royalist propagandists Fox became an icon of dangerous and uncontrolled subversiveness, being decried as a "low-born tinker
" whose troops "rob and pillage very sufficiently". By 1649 Fox's notoriety was such that he was widely, though wrongly, rumoured to be one of the executioners of Charles I
.
, Staffordshire
on 1 April 1610 and is recorded marrying in the same church 1634. He probably worked in the metal trades of nearby Birmingham
– the origin of his caricature as a tinker
– before serving as a captain in the Roundhead
cavalry under Lord Brooke
from February 1643.
By October 1643 Fox had recruited a garrison to occupy Edgbaston Hall
, to the south east of Birmingham, a town whose puritan
traditions had made it a bastion of support for Parliament
, and whose metal trades provided Fox with a fertile recruiting ground. Fox was commissioned as a colonel
by the Earl of Denbigh
in March 1644 to command the regiment at Edgbaston, which by June 1644 consisted of 256 horse
, dragoon
s and scouts
, and by July was made up of three separate troops commanded by Fox himself, his brother Reighnold and his brother-in-law Humphrey Tudman. The royalist newspaper Mercurius Aulicus
quickly sought to capitalise on Fox's background:
Fox's garrison was highly active: his men probably took part in the attack on Aston Hall
on 28 December 1643, removing the main royalist base in the Birmingham area, and Fox's troops would regularly patrol local roads to intercept merchants heading towards royalist areas. On 3 May 1644 sixty of Fox's troops raided the royalist garrison at Bewdley
, taking forty prisoners including Sir Thomas Lyttelton
, the royalist governor.
Fox also had a very capable intelligence network which regularly passed timely information onto the Earl of Denbigh: predicting Prince Rupert of the Rhine
's rendezvous at Bloxwich
and subsequent move to Newark
on 18 March 1644 and passing on the location of the King himself on 8 July. In December 1644, Fox raided Dudley
a matter of hours after the departure of its royalist garrison.
Thomas Fox (1622–1666)
Thomas Fox was an English politician. He was the MP for Tamworth, Staffordshire in 1660, the year of the Restoration of the Monarchy. On 28 September 1654, he bought the Moat House, and shortly after he married Judith Boothby....
, was a parliamentarian soldier during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. Commanding a garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
at Edgbaston House
Edgbaston House
Edgbaston House is a highrise commercial building in on Duchess Place, Birmingham. It was built by Laing Development Co Ltd. and the consulting engineers were Ove Arup. Construction cost £1,720,000. It was the result of work by Calthorpe Estates to attract businesses to the Hagley Road and Five...
in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
– a location that guarded the main roads from strongly parliamentarian Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
to royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
– Fox operated largely independently of the parliamentarian hierarchy, all factions of which tended to view him with suspicion. Though lauded by the parliamentarian press for his "continual motion and action", to royalist propagandists Fox became an icon of dangerous and uncontrolled subversiveness, being decried as a "low-born tinker
Tinsmith
A tinsmith, or tinner or tinker or tinplate worker, is a person who makes and repairs things made of light-coloured metal, particularly tinware...
" whose troops "rob and pillage very sufficiently". By 1649 Fox's notoriety was such that he was widely, though wrongly, rumoured to be one of the executioners of Charles I
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...
.
Life and career
Fox was baptised in the parish church of WalsallWalsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
, 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...
on 1 April 1610 and is recorded marrying in the same church 1634. He probably worked in the metal trades of nearby Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
– the origin of his caricature as a tinker
Tinsmith
A tinsmith, or tinner or tinker or tinplate worker, is a person who makes and repairs things made of light-coloured metal, particularly tinware...
– before serving as a captain in the Roundhead
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
cavalry under Lord Brooke
Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke
Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke was an English Civil War Roundhead General.Greville was the cousin and adopted son of Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, and thus became 2nd Lord Brooke, and owner of Warwick Castle. He was born in 1607, and entered parliament for Warwickshire in 1628...
from February 1643.
By October 1643 Fox had recruited a garrison to occupy Edgbaston Hall
Edgbaston Hall
Edgbaston Hall is a country house in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England.Early in the Civil War, Edgbaston Hall, along with Hawkesley House, now the site of a council housing estate in Longbridge, was a stronghold of Colonel John Fox, the so-called "Jovial Tinker"...
, to the south east of Birmingham, a town whose puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
traditions had made it a bastion of support for Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
, and whose metal trades provided Fox with a fertile recruiting ground. Fox was commissioned as a colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
by the Earl of Denbigh
Basil Feilding, 2nd Earl of Denbigh
Basil Feilding, 2nd Earl of Denbigh was the eldest son of William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh.Like his father, the son was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He was summoned to the House of Lords as Baron Feilding in March 1629...
in March 1644 to command the regiment at Edgbaston, which by June 1644 consisted of 256 horse
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
, dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
s and scouts
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
, and by July was made up of three separate troops commanded by Fox himself, his brother Reighnold and his brother-in-law Humphrey Tudman. The royalist newspaper Mercurius Aulicus
Mercurius Aulicus
Mercurius Aulicus was one of the "most important early newspapers" in England, famous during the English Civil War for its role in Royalist propaganda.-Creation:...
quickly sought to capitalise on Fox's background:
Fox's garrison was highly active: his men probably took part in the attack on Aston Hall
Aston Hall
Aston Hall is a municipally owned Jacobean-style mansion in Aston, Birmingham, England. Washington Irving used it as the model for Bracebridge Hall in his stories in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon.-History:...
on 28 December 1643, removing the main royalist base in the Birmingham area, and Fox's troops would regularly patrol local roads to intercept merchants heading towards royalist areas. On 3 May 1644 sixty of Fox's troops raided the royalist garrison at Bewdley
Bewdley
Bewdley is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England, along the Severn Valley a few miles to the west of Kidderminster...
, taking forty prisoners including Sir Thomas Lyttelton
Sir Thomas Lyttelton, 1st Baronet
Sir Thomas Lyttelton, 1st Baronet was the eldest son of John Lyttelton and inherited the family estates in Frankley, Halesowen, Hagley, and Upper Arley from his mother, Meriel daughter of Sir Thomas Bromley, Lord Chancellor of England, to whom the estates had been restored by James I, after their...
, the royalist governor.
Fox also had a very capable intelligence network which regularly passed timely information onto the Earl of Denbigh: predicting Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, 1st Duke of Cumberland, 1st Earl of Holderness , commonly called Prince Rupert of the Rhine, KG, FRS was a noted soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman, colonial governor and amateur artist during the 17th century...
's rendezvous at Bloxwich
Bloxwich
Bloxwich is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England, with a population of around 40,000 people.-Early history:Bloxwich has its origins at least as early as the Anglo-Saxon period, when the place name evidence suggests it was a small Mercian settlement named after the...
and subsequent move to Newark
Newark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. It stands on the River Trent, the A1 , and the East Coast Main Line railway. The origins of the town are possibly Roman as it lies on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way...
on 18 March 1644 and passing on the location of the King himself on 8 July. In December 1644, Fox raided Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
a matter of hours after the departure of its royalist garrison.