Charles Trevanion, 1594 to 1660, was an English landowner and politician, who was MP for

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

in 1625 and Sheriff from 1633 to 1634. He supported the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

cause during 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 Anglo ...

, during which his eldest son John Trevanion was killed.

Personal details

Charles Trevanion was born around 1594, eldest son of Charles Trevanion (died 1601) of

Caerhays Castle Caerhays Castle or Carhayes Castle (translation of ''caerhays'' into English: "enclosed castle") is a semi-castellated country house built in 1808, south of the village centre, St Michael Caerhays, Cornwall, England. It overlooks Porthluney Cove ...

and his wife Joan Wichalse ( 1568–1598). One of the largest landowners in

, his father controlled several seats in

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. Th ...

, served as Vice-Admiral of Cornwall and was High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1596. When he died in 1601, Trevanion inherited nearly 8,000 acres of land around the village of St Michael Caerhays. Sometime before 1613, he married Amia Mallet, daughter of Sir John Mallet of Enmore; they had two sons and a daughter, including John Trevanion (1613-1643), who was killed at the

Storming of Bristol The Storming of Bristol took place from 23 to 26 July 1643, during the First English Civil War. The Royalist army under Prince Rupert captured the important port of Bristol from its weakened Parliamentarian garrison. The city remained under ...

Career

Trevanion attended Oriel College, Oxford in 1611 and became a local Justice of the Peace in 1617. Elected for

1625 Events January–March * January 17 – Led by the Duke of Soubise, the Huguenots launch a second rebellion against King Louis XIII, with a surprise naval assault on a French fleet being prepared in Blavet. * February 3 – ...

, he did not stand again but his extensive estates gave him influence over the Parliamentary seats of

Grampound Grampound ( kw, Ponsmeur) is a village in Cornwall, England. It is at an ancient crossing point of the River Fal and today is on the A390 road west of St Austell and east of Truro.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 ''Truro & Falmouth'' ...

Tregony Tregony ( kw, Trerigoni), sometimes in the past Tregoney, is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Tregony with Cuby, in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies on the River Fal. In the village there is a post office (now ...

and St Mawes. This made him a substantial player in Cornish politics for the next thirty years. Although Trevanion supported

against

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

in the 1628 debate over the

Petition of Right The Petition of Right, passed on 7 June 1628, is an English constitutional document setting out specific individual protections against the state, reportedly of equal value to Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights 1689. It was part of a wider ...

, in May 1641 his son John was one of 59 MPs named as "betrayers of their country" for voting against the

Bill of Attainder A bill of attainder (also known as an act of attainder or writ of attainder or bill of penalties) is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of people, guilty of some crime, and punishing them, often without a trial. As with attai ...

for Strafford. When the

began in August 1642, like most of the Cornish gentry Trevanion remained loyal to the king, and the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...

was a

stronghold throughout the war. In August 1643, he succeeded Sir

Nicholas Slanning Sir Nicholas Slanning, 1 September 1606 to August 1643, was a soldier and landowner from Devon who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1642. He served in the Royalist army during the First English Civil War and was mortally wounded at Bri ...

as Vice Admiral of South Cornwall, after the latter was killed along with his son John at Bristol. This was a largely nominal post, since the Parliamentarian navy dominated the sea lanes, but Trevanion also raised an infantry regiment. Between 1643 and 1645, this unit took part in the

Siege of Plymouth The siege of Plymouth took place during the First English Civil War, when Royalist forces besieged Plymouth, in Devon, held by a Parliamentary garrison. With the exception of a brief interlude in July 1644, the town was isolated for most of the ...

, and fought at the

Battle of Torrington The Battle of Torrington (16 February 1646) was a decisive battle of the south-western campaign of the First English Civil War and marked the end of Royalist resistance in the West Country. It took place in Torrington, Devon. Prelude After ...

in February 1646. It surrendered along with the remnants of the Royalist army in the West shortly afterwards. During the 1648

Second English Civil War The Second English Civil War took place between February to August 1648 in Kingdom of England, England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639-1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which include the 1641� ...

, Trevanion was suspected of involvement in an abortive Royalist rising in Cornwall, and briefly arrested in 1650. He retained considerable local influence and regained control of his estates in 1651, where he lived quietly until dying sometime between 1654 and 1660. The exact date is unknown, as no will or similar legal document survives.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trevenion, Charles Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Cornwall High Sheriffs of Cornwall English MPs 1625 Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War Military personnel from Cornwall English justices of the peace