Charles Radclyffe (3 September 1693 – 8 December 1746), titular 5th

Earl of Derwentwater Earl of Derwentwater (pronounced "Durwentwater") was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1688 for Francis Radclyffe, 1st Earl of Derwentwater, Sir Francis Radclyffe, 3rd Baronet. He was made Baron Tyndale, of Tyndale in the Coun ...

, was one of the few English participants in the Risings of

1715 Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire i ...

and

1745 Events January–March * January 7 – War of the Austrian Succession: The Austrian Army, under the command of Field Marshal Károly József Batthyány, makes a surprise attack at Amberg and the winter quarters of the Bavaria ...

. The Radclyffes were

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

from

Northumberland Northumberland () is a 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 Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, with long-standing links to the exiled

Stuarts The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...

; sentenced to death in 1716, he escaped and spent the next 30 years in Europe. He was captured at sea along with his eldest son in November 1745 en route to Scotland and executed on 8 December 1746, under the warrant issued in 1716. His son

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

was released and later settled in Slindon, West Sussex.

Life

Charles was born 3 September 1693 in

Little Parndon Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, third and youngest son of Edward, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater (1655–1705) and

Lady Mary Tudor Lady Mary Tudor, Countess of Derwentwater (16 October 1673 – 5 November 1726) was an actress and natural daughter of King Charles II of England by his mistress, Mary "Moll" Davies, an actress and singer. Biography Early life and title M ...

(1673–1726), an illegitimate daughter of Charles II. He had two brothers and a sister; James, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater (1689–1716), Francis (1691–1715) and Mary (1697–1756). His brother Francis died in France, in May 1715. On 24 June 1724, he married Charlotte Maria Livingston (1694–1755), daughter of the 2nd

Earl of Newburgh The title Earl of Newburgh (pronounced "''New''-bruh") was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1660 for James Livingston, 1st Viscount of Newburgh, along with the subsidiary titles Viscount of Kynnaird and Lord Levingston. The viscountcy o ...

and widow of Thomas Clifford. Their children included

, who inherited his mother's title in 1755, and Mary (1732–1798). He also had a daughter, Jane (1715–1755) from a relationship with Margaret Snowden (1697–1723). She is the main character in the 1962 novel '' Devil Water'' by

Anya Seton Anya Seton (January 23, 1904 – November 8, 1990), born Ann Seton, was an American author of historical fiction, or as she preferred they be called, "biographical novels". Career Seton published her first novel, '' My Theodosia'', in 1941. Seto ...

that also features Radclyffe.

Career

The Radclyffes were Roman Catholics, with long-standing links to the Stuarts; his grandfather Sir Francis Radclyffe (1625–1697) was created Earl of Derwentwater by Charles II upon his son, Edward Radclyffe, marrying Lady Mary Tudor. His grandmother, Catherine Fenwick, came from another long-established Northumberland family; her brother Sir John Fenwick was executed in 1697 for conspiracy to assassinate

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

P360 Execution of Lord Derwentwater on Tower Hill

His elder brother James was educated at the exile court in

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...

, where he was companion to

James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales from ...

. Allowed to return to England in 1709, he and Charles joined the 1715 Rising, with a troop of 70 servants and friends. Captured at Preston, they were both found guilty of

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 condemned to death. Witnesses at the trial claimed Charles was in command, but despite efforts to save him, James was executed at

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher grou ...

in February 1716 and his title died with him. In December 1716, Charles escaped from

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

with 13 other prisoners when a door was left open, and made his way to France. He spent many years in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, the location of the Stuart court post-1718, including a period as private secretary to

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

. His nephew John, de jure 4th Earl Derwentwater, died in 1731, leaving a legacy to "my kinsman, Mr Thompson", which may refer to an alias used by Charles, who now styled himself 5th Earl Derwentwater. He visited London and Essex in 1733 and 1739, reputedly with the knowledge of the government. Like many Jacobites, he was a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, who reportedly served as Grandmaster of the

Grande Loge de France Grande Loge de France (G∴L∴D∴F∴) is a Masonic obedience based in France. Its conception of Freemasonry is spiritual, traditional and initiatory. Its ritual is centred on the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. It sees itself as occupying a ...

in 1738. He is also listed as an officer in the Order of the Fleur de Lys, one of several organisations claiming to inherit the legacy of the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

; the Order still exists, although the more fantastic assertions have since been disproved. In November 1745, during the

Jacobite Rising , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

, Charles and his son James boarded a French ship taking arms and supplies from

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Montrose. It was intercepted in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

by HMS Sheerness and the two were taken to 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 separa ...

. Charles had been commissioned into

Dillon's Regiment Dillon's Regiment ( French: ''Régiment de Dillon'') was first raised in Ireland in 1688 by Theobald, 7th Viscount Dillon, for the Jacobite side in the Williamite War. He was then killed at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691. Williamite War Dillon' ...

, part of the Franco-Irish Brigade, a common technique used in hopes of being treated as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

if captured, rather than a rebel.

Francis Towneley Francis Towneley (9 June 1709 – 30 July 1746) was an English Catholic and supporter of the exiled House of Stuart or Jacobitism, Jacobite. After service with the Kingdom of France, French army from 1728 to 1734, he returned to England and ...

, colonel of the

Manchester Regiment The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and the 96th ...

, also employed this defence but the authorities carefully scrutinised such claims and rejected the vast majority. Lord Chancellor Hardwicke used the 1716 warrant to execute Charles in December 1746; although technically not a peer, he was beheaded, rather than being

hanged, drawn and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under Edward III of England, King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the rei ...

, the normal fate for those found guilty of

. If he had not escaped in 1716, Charles would in all probability have been pardoned, but the government was particularly harsh on families and individuals seen as habitual or repeat offenders. In a letter to his wife Charlotte the night before his execution, Charles refers to "Fanny, that other mother of my dear children." This is generally taken to refer to Lady Frances Clifford, Charlotte's sister-in-law from her first marriage, who may have assisted in bringing up Radclyffe's own children. He was buried in the church of St Giles in the Fields, Camden. James was released and pardoned under the 1747 Act of Indemnity; in 1749, he married Barbara Kempe, another Roman Catholic, whose family owned Slindon House near Slindon, West Sussex. He unsuccessfully petitioned for the return of the Derwentwater estates, which reverted to the government after the death of John Radclyffe in 1731 and the income assigned to the Greenwich Hospital. He succeeded his mother as Earl of Newburgh in 1755.

References

Sources

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Radclyffe, Charles 1693 births 1746 deaths People executed by the Kingdom of Great Britain Executed people from Essex Executions at the Tower of London English Freemasons English Jacobites Jacobite military personnel of the Jacobite rising of 1745 People of the Jacobite rising of 1715 Younger sons of earls