Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (29 March 1584 – 14 March 1648) was an English politician and army officer who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

at various times between 1614 and 1648. He was a commander in the Parliamentarian army in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. His son,

Thomas Fairfax Sir Thomas Fairfax (17 January 1612 – 12 November 1671) was an English army officer and politician who commanded the New Model Army from 1645 to 1650 during the English Civil War. Because of his dark hair, he was known as "Black Tom" to his l ...

, commanded the

New Model Army The New Model Army or New Modelled 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 t ...

Early life

He was born in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, the eldest son of Ellen Aske and Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron, whom Charles I in 1627 created Lord Fairfax of Cameron in the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland (; ) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union 1707, Treaty of Union, the Kingdom of Scots and the ...

and received a military education in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Two of his brothers were Henry Fairfax and Charles Fairfax. Four others were killed on military service overseas.

Political career

He served as member of the

English parliament The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised th ...

for Boroughbridge during the six parliaments which met between 1614 and 1629 and also during the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on 20 February 1640 and sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640. It was so called because of its short session of only three weeks. After 11 years of per ...

of 1640. In May 1640 he succeeded his father as Lord Fairfax, but being a Scottish peer he sat in the English House of Commons as one of the representatives of

during the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...

from 1640 until his death. He took the side of the parliament, but held moderate views and desired to maintain the peace. His main seat was Denton Hall in

Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated at source in North Yorkshire and then flows into West Yorkshire and forms the upper valley of the River Wharfe. Towns and villages in Wharfedale (downstream, from west to east) includ ...

, Yorkshire.

Military service

In the first Bishops' War Fairfax had commanded a regiment in the king's army; then on the outbreak of the

in 1642 he became commander of the parliamentary forces in Yorkshire, with Newcastle as his opponent. Hostilities began after the repudiation of a treaty of neutrality entered into by Fairfax with 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 gove ...

s. At first Fairfax met with no success. He was driven from

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, where he was besieging the Royalists, to

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse. At the 2021 Census, it had a population of 17,193. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; from 1974 until 2023, ...

; then in 1643 to

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

; and after beating off an attack at that place he was totally defeated on 30 June 1643 at the

Battle of Adwalton Moor The Battle of Adwalton Moor occurred on 30 June 1643 at Adwalton, West Yorkshire, during the First English Civil War. In the battle, the Royalists loyal to Charles I of England, King Charles led by the William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcast ...

. He escaped to Hull, which he successfully defended against Newcastle from 2 September until 11 October 1643, and by means of a sally caused the siege to be raised. Fairfax was victorious at

on 11 April 1644, and joining the Scots, besieged York, after which he was present at the Battle of Marston Moor (2 July 1644), where he commanded the infantry and was routed. He was subsequently, in July 1644, made Governor of York and charged with the further reduction of the county. In December 1644 he took the town of

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...

, but failed to secure the castle. During his command in Yorkshire, Fairfax engaged in a paper war with Newcastle, and wrote "The Answer of Ferdinando, Lord Fairfax, to a Declaration of William, Earl of Newcastle" (1642; printed in Rushworth, pt. iii. vol. ii. p. 139); he also published "A Letter from . . . Lord Fairfax to . . . Robert, Earl of Essex" (1643), describing the victorious sally at Hull.

Later life

Fairfax resigned his command on the passing of the

Self-denying Ordinance The Self-denying Ordinance was passed by the Parliament of England, English Parliament on 3 April 1645. All members of the House of Commons or Lords who were also officers in the Parliamentary army or navy were required to resign one or the ot ...

, but remained a member of the Committee for the Government of Yorkshire and was appointed, on 24 July 1645, steward of the manor of Pontefract. He died from an accident which caused gangrene in his foot on 14 March 1648 and was buried at All Saints' Church, Bolton Percy, in Yorkshire.

Marriages and issue

Fairfax married twice. By his first wife, Mary Sheffield, daughter of Edmund Sheffield, 3rd Baron of Sheffield (afterwards 1st Earl of Mulgrave), he had six daughters and two sons:

, who succeeded him as the third Lord Fairfax, and Charles, a colonel of horse, who was killed at Marston Moor. He married his second wife, Rhoda Chapman, widow of Thomas Hussey, in October 1646: they had one child, a daughter Ursula.

References

External links

* Archival Material at Attribution: * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairfax, Ferdinando, 02 Lord Fairfax of Cameron 1584 births 1648 deaths Roundheads Ferdinando Members of the Parliament of England for constituencies in Yorkshire Parliamentarian military personnel of the English Civil War English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 Lords of Parliament (pre-1707) Lords Fairfax of Cameron