HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Bishopsgate mutiny occurred in April 1649 when soldiers of Colonel
Edward Whalley Edward Whalley (c. 1607 – c. 1675) was an English military leader during the English Civil War and was one of the regicides who signed the death warrant of King Charles I of England. Early career The exact dates of his birth and death are u ...
's regiment of the
New Model Army The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...
refused to obey orders and leave London. At the end of the
mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among memb ...
one soldier, a supporter of the Levellers,
Robert Lockyer Robert Lockyer (sometimes spelled Lockier) (1625 – 27 April 1649) was an English soldier in Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army. A Leveller, he was the only soldier executed for his involvement in the Bishopsgate mutiny. Lockyer has been identifi ...
, was executed by firing squad. In January 1649
Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after ...
was tried and executed for treason against the people. In February the
Grandee Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ...
s (senior officers) banned petitions to Parliament by soldiers. In March eight Leveller troopers went to the Commander-in-Chief of the New Model Army, Lord
Thomas Fairfax Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented command ...
, and demanded the restoration of the right to petition. Five of them were cashiered out of the army. 300 infantrymen of Colonel
John Hewson John Robert Hewson AM (born 28 October 1946) is an Australian former politician who served as leader of the Liberal Party from 1990 to 1994. He led the Liberal-National Coalition to defeat at the 1993 Australian federal election. Hewson wa ...
's regiment, who declared that they would not serve in Ireland until the Leveller programme had been realised, were cashiered without arrears of pay, which was the threat that had been used to quell the
Corkbush Field mutiny The Corkbush Field Mutiny (or Ware Mutiny) occurred on 15 November 1647, during the early stages of the Second English Civil War at the Corkbush Field rendezvous, when soldiers were ordered to sign a declaration of loyalty to Thomas Fairfax, the co ...
. When Soldiers of the regiment of Colonel
Edward Whalley Edward Whalley (c. 1607 – c. 1675) was an English military leader during the English Civil War and was one of the regicides who signed the death warrant of King Charles I of England. Early career The exact dates of his birth and death are u ...
stationed in
Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bisho ...
London made similar demands they were ordered out of London. They refused to go fearing that once outside the City of London they too would be given the choice of obey or be cashiered without arrears of pay. The mutineers surrendered after a personal appeal by Fairfax and
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 ...
. Fifteen soldiers were arrested and court martialed, of whom six were sentenced to death. Five were pardoned but
Robert Lockyer Robert Lockyer (sometimes spelled Lockier) (1625 – 27 April 1649) was an English soldier in Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army. A Leveller, he was the only soldier executed for his involvement in the Bishopsgate mutiny. Lockyer has been identifi ...
, a former
Agitator Agitator may refer to: Politics *A person who carries out political agitation; see agitation *A member of the Agitators, political movement and elected representatives of soldiers during the English Civil War * Levellers, also called Agitators ...
within the regiment, was executed by
firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...
in front of St Paul's Cathedral on April 27, 1649. Like the funeral of Colonel
Thomas Rainsborough Thomas Rainsborough, or Rainborowe, 6 July 1610 – 29 October 1648, was an English religious and political radical who served in the Parliamentarian navy and New Model Army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. One of the few contemporaries wh ...
the previous year, Lockier's funeral was a massive Leveller-led demonstration in London, with thousands of mourners wearing the Levellers' ribbons of sea-green and bunches of rosemary for remembrance in their hats.


Also See

* 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 England's governance and issues of r ...
* The
Banbury mutiny The Banbury mutiny was a mutiny by soldiers in the English New Model Army. The mutineers did not achieve all of their aims and some of the leaders were executed shortly afterwards on 17 May 1649. Background The mutiny was over pay and politic ...
17 May 1649. Conflicts in 1649 New Model Army Levellers Mutinies 1649 in England 17th century in London {{England-stub