Sir Edmund Verney (1 January 1590 or 7 April 1596 – 23 October 1642) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

politician, soldier and

favourite A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated si ...

of King Charles I. At the outbreak 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 England's governance and issues of re ...

he supported the Royalist cause and was killed at 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 K ...

Life

Edmund Verney was the son of Sir Edmund Verney of

Pendley Manor Pendley Manor is a hotel, conference and function centre near Tring, Hertfordshire, UK. It is a historic country house and is Listed building, Grade II listed as an important example of Victorian architecture. History A village of Pendley (or '' ...

near

Tring Tring is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Central London. Tring is linked to ...

, Buckinghamshire and his third wife Mary Blakeney. He was the grandson of Hon. Elizabeth Verney, second daughter of the first

Baron Braye Baron Braye, of Eaton Bray in the County of Bedford, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1529 for Edmund Braye, 1st Baron Braye. However, the family originally originate from Normandy, they are direct descendants of Chevalier ...

. He had two elder half-brothers Sir Francis Verney who died in 1615, and

Ambrose Turvile Sir Ambrose Turvile, (1581-1628), Courtier and cupbearer to Anne of Denmark. Some older genealogy references refer to him as Sir Thomas Turville. He was the son of Geoffrey Turville, of Towerbank, All Hallows, Barking, London, and Mary Blakney or ...

who died in 1628, and two elder half-sisters on his mother's side, Ann Turvill (who married Sir John Leeke of

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

), and Ursula St. Barbe, who married her stepbrother Sir Francis Verney.

Knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

King James I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

in 1611, Edmund was sent to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, and returned to join the household of

Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (19 February 1594 – 6 November 1612), was the eldest son and heir apparent of James VI and I, King of England and Scotland; and his wife Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuar ...

, to which his uncle Francis Verney was one of the falconers. Upon Henry's death in 1612, Edmund became a gentleman of the

privy chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

to Charles, Duke of York, later Charles I. From 1620 he made his family home at

Claydon House Claydon House is a English country house, country house in the Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, England, near the village of Middle Claydon. It was built between 1757 and 1771 and is now owned by the National Trust for Places of Historic Interes ...

Middle Claydon Middle Claydon is a village and civil parish in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, England. The village is about south of Buckingham and about west of Winslow. The toponym "Claydon" is derived from the Old English for "clay hill". ...

, Buckinghamshire (which the Giffard family had held by lease from the Verneys), where he was the near neighbour of

Sir Thomas Chaloner Sir Thomas Chaloner (1559 – 17 November 1615) was an English courtier and Governor of the ''Courtly College'' for the household of Prince Henry, son of James I. He was also responsible for introducing alum manufacturing to England. He was Mem ...

Steeple Claydon Steeple Claydon is a village and civil parish in the Buckinghamshire district of the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. The village is about south of Buckingham, west of Winslow and northwest of Waddesdon. The 2011 Census recorde ...

. His financial sense was poor, and he was severely indebted by the early 1620s. In 1623, he accompanied Charles and the

Duke of Buckingham Duke of Buckingham held with Duke of Chandos, referring to Buckingham, is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been earls and marquesses of Buckingham. ...

to Spain to court the Infanta Maria. While there, he protected a dying Englishman from a Catholic priest by punching the priest in the face, which did not endear him to the Spaniards. Upon his return, he was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

in 1624, and for

New Romney New Romney is a market town in Kent, England, on the edge of Romney Marsh, an area of flat, rich agricultural land reclaimed from the sea after the harbour began to silt up. New Romney, one of the original Cinque Ports, was once a sea port, w ...

in 1625. After the coronation of Charles that year, he was appointed Knight Marshal of England for life, the duties of which office required him to be extensively at court. He was returned for

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

in 1629. Despite his income from the Knight Marshalsy, several business ventures ended in failure, and his debts were largely unrelieved. With the approach of the

, he found himself in a painful conflict. While personally loyal to the King, he resisted the

Laudian Laudianism was an early seventeenth-century reform movement within the Church of England, promulgated by Archbishop William Laud and his supporters. It rejected the predestination upheld by the previously dominant Calvinism in favour of free will, ...

religious policies. Verney was returned to the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on the 20th of February 1640 and sat from 13th of April to the 5th of May 1640. It was so called because of its short life of only three weeks. Aft ...

and then the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

as member for Wycombe, and often found himself in opposition to the King. Upon the outbreak of war, Verney remained true to his master and friend, King Charles, while his eldest son

Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

joined the Parliamentary forces. Made

standard-bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

of the royal army, Verney was killed at the

. According to the tradition of his family, his body was never identified, except for his severed hand, found still grasping the banner.

Family

He married Margaret Denton, daughter of Sir Thomas Denton of

Hillesden Hillesden is a village and civil parish in north-west Buckinghamshire, England, about south of Buckingham. The village name is Anglo-Saxon in origin, and means 'Hild's hill'. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the village was recorded as ''Ilesdo ...

, Buckinghamshire on 14 December 1612, with whom he had ten surviving children, including: * Sir Ralph Verney, 1st Baronet (1613–1696), married Mary Blacknall (1616–165) *Thomas Verney (1615–1707) * Sir Edmund Verney (1616–1649) who commanded the Royalist infantry at the

Siege of Drogheda The siege of Drogheda or the Drogheda massacre took place 3–11 September 1649, at the outset of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The coastal town of Drogheda was held by the Irish Catholic Confederation and English Royalists under ...

and was slain during the final assault (mentioned in Cromwell's letter to John Bradshaw, Esquire, President of the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

, dated 16 September 1649).Thomas Carlyle, ''Oliver Cromwell's letters and speeches: including the supplement to the first edition,'', Volume 1, Harper & brothers, 1868. pp. 380,381 *Sir Henry Verney (1618–1671) *John Verney (1619) *Susannah Verney (1621–51), married Richard Alport *Penelope Verney (1622–1695), married Sir John Osborne *Margaret Verney (1623–1667), married Thomas Elmes *Cary Verney (1626–1704), married firstly Sir Thomas Gardiner and secondly John Stewkeley *Mary Verney (1628–1684), married Robert Lloyd *Richard Verney (1629) *Elizabeth Verney (1633–1721), married Reverend Charles Adams

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verney, Edmund 1590s births 1642 deaths Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War Knights Bachelor English army officers English military personnel killed in action

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

People killed in the English Civil War English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 People from Tring Military personnel from Hertfordshire