Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland, 4th Baron Percy,
KG,
JP (29 September 160213 October 1668) was an
English aristocrat, and supporter of the
Parliamentary cause in the
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the A ...
.
The Percies had been the leading family in Northern England for centuries, and one of the richest, a combination that made them both essential to a stable regime, and dangerous. His ancestors included
Henry "Hotspur", who led two rebellions, and died at
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'S ...
in 1405; his great-uncle was executed for treason in 1537, as was his uncle, the
Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...
, in 1601. His
grandfather
Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genet ...
died in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sepa ...
, where his father
Henry Percy was held from 1605 to 1621. From 1569 to 1630, the Percies were barred from visiting their estates in the North.
This made his support, and that of his cousin, the
3rd Earl of Essex, an important asset for
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...
when the civil war began in 1642. His position as
Lord High Admiral also helped secure the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
, a decisive factor in winning the war.
While contemporaries acknowledged this was driven by a genuine belief in
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies di ...
, his innate caution meant he could appear unreliable. He supported peace moves in 1643, then the war party headed by
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...
, followed by a number of changes in allegiance. The breaking point was his refusal to support the execution of
Charles I in 1649. During the 1649 to 1660
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and e ...
, he lived on his estates.
Attempts to re-enter politics after the
1660 Restoration failed, although he held several minor positions under
Charles II. He died at
Petworth House in October 1668.
Biographical details
Algernon Percy was the third, but eldest surviving, son of
Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, the so-called 'Wizard Earl.' His mother
Dorothy was sister of
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, Knight of the Garter, KG, Privy Counsellor, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was ...
, executed for treason in 1601. The marriage was not a success; Henry claimed the terms of the marriage contract had not been fulfilled, and considered his wife a bad influence on his sons. In 1605, he was accused of complicity in the
Gunpowder Plot, and imprisoned in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sepa ...
, where he remained until 1621.
His sister,
Lucy Hay ''née'' Percy, dowager
countess of Carlisle, and his younger brother,
Henry Percy, were members of the household of
Charles I's queen,
Henrietta Maria.
Another sister,
Dorothy, was married to
Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester.
In 1629, Algernon married Lady Anne Cecil, daughter of
William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury; his father considered it a bad match, allegedly because he blamed
Anne's grandfather for his imprisonment. Before her death in 1637, they had five daughters, two of whom lived to adulthood; Anne (died 1654), and
Elizabeth (1636–1718), who married
Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex.
His second marriage to Lady Elizabeth Howard (died 1705) produced his son and heir
Josceline (1644-1670).
Career; 1615–1642
Despite his imprisonment, Percy spent long periods with his father, who attempted to supervise and control his education, which followed the normal path for nobility of the period. from 1615 to 1618, he attended
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. Th ...
, then studied law at the
Middle Temple in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
In 1618, he and his tutor, Edward Dowse, began a six-year tour of Europe, including visits to the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
.
After returning to England in 1624, he was elected
MP for
Sussex, then
Chichester
Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...
.
In March 1626, he
moved to the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...
, becoming known as "Lord Percy." When his father died in 1632, he succeeded to his title.
In November 1626, he was appointed joint
Lord Lieutenant of
Cumberland,
Westmorland, and
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a ceremonial counties of England, county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Ab ...
. Percy became a leader in the House of Lords of the faction opposed to
Charles I's favourite,
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 28 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and possibly also a lover of King James I of England. Buckingham remained at t ...
.
Naval career
Throughout the early 1630s, the 10th Earl attempted to ingratiate himself with Charles I's court, initially unsuccessfully, although his family connections in the queen's household did manage to get him admitted to the
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the Georg ...
in 1635. By 1636–1637, he was in good enough standing at court to be appointed
admiral of the
ship money
Ship money was a tax of medieval origin levied intermittently in the Kingdom of England until the middle of the 17th century. Assessed typically on the inhabitants of coastal areas of England, it was one of several taxes that English monarchs co ...
fleet. Northumberland attempted to initiate naval reforms, often bypassing the
lords of the admiralty and submitting his proposals directly to Charles I and the
Privy Council. Although most historians would not consider Northumberland a
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...
, he did enforce the
Oath of Supremacy
The Oath of Supremacy required any person taking public or church office in England to swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Failure to do so was to be treated as treasonable. The Oath of Supremacy was ori ...
on his fleet and removed three
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
officers who refused to take the oath.
Northumberland's first expedition as admiral in 1636 was to force
Dutch ships fishing in waters claimed by England to purchase English fishing licences, in exchange for which the English fleet would offer protection from the
Dunkirkers. If Dutch sea captains refused to purchase the licences, their nets were cut.
Northumberland was less enthusiastic about his second expedition as admiral, which was to transport Spanish money to the Netherlands in 1637. His political faction was strongly pro-French and anti-Spanish, so he rankled at the thought of aiding the Spaniards.
Lord High Admiral
In 1638, two of Northumberland's prominent supporters at court —
Thomas Wentworth and
Archbishop of Canterbury William Laud
William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 16 ...
— used their influence at court to have him made
Lord High Admiral of England, a position which had been vacant since the assassination of the 1st Duke of Buckingham in 1628. At the time he was appointed, it was understood that Charles I's son
James would become Lord High Admiral upon attaining his majority, although the Civil Wars occurred before this could happen and Charles removed Northumberland from the post in 1642.
Events leading to the Civil Wars
In response to the rise of the Scottish
Covenanters, who opposed the attempt to introduce the
Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 ...
in Scotland in 1637, Charles I appointed an eight-man subcommittee of the Privy Council to deal with the issue. Northumberland's patron, Thomas Wentworth, favoured war with Scotland, while Northumberland did not want to go to war, and feared that his estates in northern England would be occupied during the hostilities. As such, when Wentworth had Northumberland appointed general of the English forces during the second of the
Bishops' Wars in January 1640, Northumberland was happy to let illness prevent him from joining the army in the field, and Northumberland was entirely defeatist about the prospect of defeating the Covenanters militarily. In May 1640, Northumberland was one of only two members of a subcommittee of the Privy Council who opposed the dissolution of the
Short Parliament, a move that confirmed his break with Wentworth (whom Charles had recently named Earl of Strafford) and earned him the displeasure of the king.
When the
Long Parliament met, Northumberland became one of the leading critics of royal policy. During Strafford's trial for
high treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
and the subsequent
bill of attainder against him, Northumberland gave evidence at his trial which, though favourable on the important point of bringing the Irish army to England, was on the whole damaging.
Northumberland's brother Henry was involved in the
First Army Plot of 1641, an attempt to rescue Strafford from the Tower of London and to forcibly dissolve the Long Parliament. Northumberland encouraged his brother to write a letter exposing the royalist plot to rescue Strafford, and then, at
John Pym's urging, agreed to allow
Denzil Holles and
John Hampden to publish this letter.
The English Civil War, 1642–1649
Northumberland's role in the First English Civil War, 1642–1646
Break with the king
With the coming of the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...
, Northumberland became the highest-ranking member of Charles I's government to side with the
Parliamentarians.
His first action in open defiance of royal authority came in November 1641, when he obeyed
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...
's instruction to prepare four ships to take men and arms under parliamentary control to
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
to suppress the rebellion there. He did not, however, support the
Grand Remonstrance. However, when
James Stewart, 1st Duke of Richmond suggested in January 1642 that the parliament adjourn for six months, Northumberland led a protest which favoured sanctioning Richmond for breach of privilege. In February, Parliament named Northumberland
Lord Lieutenant of Sussex,
Pembrokeshire, and
Anglesey
Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a Local government in Wales, principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strai ...
.
Northumberland subsequently voted in favour of the
Militia Ordinance
The Militia Ordinance was passed by the Parliament of England on 15 March 1642. By claiming the right to appoint military commanders without the king's approval, it was a significant step in events leading to the outbreak of the First English Ci ...
. During the subsequent fighting between royalist and parliamentary forces, Northumberland's control of the navy was a crucial factor in securing parliamentary victory. As a result, Charles I removed Northumberland from the post of Lord High Admiral in late June 1642 and Northumberland relinquished the position. In July, he accepted a position on the parliamentary
committee of public safety
The Committee of Public Safety (french: link=no, Comité de salut public) was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution ...
.
Northumberland's support for the war wavered shortly thereafter, however, in the wake of setbacks faced by parliamentary forces in 1642–1643; he was also disappointed that Parliament chose
Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick rather than himself as the new Lord High Admiral. He was apparently appalled by the violence of the
Battle of Edgehill
The Battle of Edgehill (or Edge Hill) was a pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642.
All attempts at constitutional compromise between ...
and the
Battle of Turnham Green, and became the leader of a party favouring peace by early-to-mid-1643.
Second marriage
Northumberland's first wife died of
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) ce ...
in 1637. In October 1642, he remarried, to Lady Elizabeth, daughter of
Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk
Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, (13 August 15843 June 1640) was an English nobleman and politician.
Born at the family estate of Saffron Walden, he was the son of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, by his second wife, Catherine Knyve ...
and thus his first wife's cousin.
Conversion to the peace faction
In April 1643, Northumberland headed the parliamentary delegation to negotiate with Charles I at
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...
, but Charles was willing to grant little. Returning to London, Northumberland's peace party was increasingly attacked by the party favouring continued war: for example, in June, he was accused of complicity in
Waller's Plot, though he was never prosecuted. In August, a leading hawk,
Isaac Penington, the
Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...
instigated a plot whereby a number of lords were physically threatened, in the hopes that he would be able to have Northumberland arrested. After Northumberland was unable to convince his cousin,
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex to support further peace negotiations with the royalists, he retired to his estates at
Petworth—unlike other "peace lords", who joined the king at Oxford at this time.
Conversion to the war party
Northumberland did not remain at Petworth for long, though. Although he had opposed an alliance between parliament and Scotland against the king, following the passage of the
Solemn League and Covenant
The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians in 1643 during the First English Civil War, a theatre of conflict in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. On 17 August ...
in September 1643, Northumberland returned to the capital and took the Covenant. He was soon appointed to the newly created
Committee of Both Kingdoms, serving as its first chairman. Northumberland would gain a reputation as a supporter of the Scots on the committee – many speculated that this was because Scottish forces were occupying his lands in the north. Thus, although he continued to favour negotiations with Charles I, he was quickly coming around to the war party's position. Northumberland was one of only four lords to vote in favour of the
Self-denying Ordinance. Soon, he would prove to be one of the greatest supporters of the
New Model Army, with his servant
Robert Scawen
Robert Scawen (1602–1670) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1670. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War.
Scawen was the second son of Robert Scawen of Molinick, ...
chairing parliament's army committee.
In March 1645, Parliament made Northumberland guardian of Charles' two young children,
Princess Elizabeth and the
Duke of Gloucester (and also the
Duke of York
Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs. ...
in July 1646), and there was talk that Northumberland might be made king if negotiations with Charles failed. Following the failure of the negotiations at
Uxbridge, Northumberland was thoroughly behind the war party, now known as the
Independents. In spite of Northumberland's political conversion, he did not vote in favour of the bill of attainder against his old patron, Archbishop Laud.
1647: Between the First and Second English Civil War
In early 1647, Northumberland sided with
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester and the Presbyterian party against the Independents as they attempted to draw up terms acceptable to the king.
In the emerging dispute between parliament and the army, Northumberland sided with the army, and in July 1647, he was one of nine peers who left Parliament for the army following riots around Westminster. Meetings were subsequently held between Northumberland and the army at his property,
Syon House
Syon House is the west London residence of the Duke of Northumberland. A Grade I listed building, it lies within the 200-acre (80 hectare) Syon Park, in the London Borough of Hounslow.
The family's traditional central London residence h ...
.
Northumberland led a final attempt to negotiate with Charles I in December 1647, but this failed.
Role in the Regicide
Northumberland opposed the
Vote of No Addresses in January 1648 and backed the continuation of attempts to agree terms with Charles I, along with former members of the Peace Party in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
, such as
Denzil Holles. Attitudes on both sides hardened following Royalist defeat in the February to August 1648
Second English Civil War and a significant section of Parliament and senior officers of the
New Model Army, including
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...
, concluded further negotiation with Charles I was pointless. In December 1648,
Pride's Purge excluded those MPs who wanted to continue talks, creating the so-called
Rump Parliament which voted to
put the king on trial. Northumberland led the Lords in opposing the
Execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649.
Life during the English Interregnum, 1649–1660
Northumberland withdrew from public life following the execution of Charles I. In May 1649, he was relieved of responsibility for the king's children and no longer had any official duties. He was briefly placed under house arrest in 1655 after
John Thurloe accused him of encouraging his northern tenants to participate in the
Penruddock uprising.
Northumberland refused requests from both
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...
and
Richard Cromwell
Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell.
On his father's death ...
to sit in the upper house of their parliaments.
Life following the Restoration, 1660–1668
With the coming of the
Restoration in 1660, Northumberland attempted to re-enter politics by organizing the
Suffolk House cabal, which included
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester,
Denzil Holles,
Oliver St John, and
William Pierrepont, and which hoped to force on
Charles II the terms offered to Charles I at Newport. This cabal collapsed when
General Monck chose to support the
Convention Parliament in April 1660.
With Charles II's return to England in May 1660, Northumberland rushed to curry favour with the new king. He did however oppose the bill to execute the
regicides responsible for Charles I's death.
Charles II appointed Northumberland to his Privy Council in late May 1660, and he was named
Lord Lieutenant of Sussex in August and
Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland in September. His return to politics was completed with his service as
Lord High Constable of England at Charles II's
coronation in April 1661. Northumberland gained a reputation as a diligent enforcer of the
Clarendon Code and as an efficient organizer of the militias.
During the period of Restoration politics, Northumberland's closest ally at court was
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester, while
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon remained a constant enemy, a rivalry which climaxed with Northumberland voting in favour of Clarendon's impeachment in 1667.
Northumberland died at Petworth on 13 October 1668 and was buried there in September 1668.
His son Josceline succeeded him as
11th Earl of Northumberland.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Northumberland, Algernon Percy, 10th Earl Of
1602 births
1668 deaths
Knights of the Garter
10
Lord High Constables of England
Lord-Lieutenants of Cumberland
Lord-Lieutenants of Northumberland
Lord-Lieutenants of Sussex
Lord-Lieutenants of Westmorland
Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland
Lay members of the Westminster Assembly
English subscribers to the Solemn League and Covenant 1643
English MPs 1624–1625
English MPs 1625
Roundheads
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
Lord High Admirals of England