Sir Henry Belasyse (1648 – 14 December 1717), also spelt Bellasis, was an English military officer from
County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly â€About North East E ...
, who also sat as
MP for a number of constituencies between 1695 and 1715.
Beginning his military career in 1674 under
William of Orange, he proved an effective soldier who was trusted with a variety of senior commands, but was unpopular with his contemporaries. In the
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...
of November 1688, he helped secure the north of England for William, before fighting in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
in the 1688 to 1697
Nine Years War
The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...
.
During the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
in 1702, he was held responsible for the looting that followed the
Battle of Cádiz, an event seen as having badly damaged the
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
cause. As a result, he was dismissed from the army in 1703; he never held active command again, although he was appointed
Governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed
Below is a list of those who have held the office of Governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed, including the garrison at Holy Island (during English occupation of the Royal Burgh):
Governors of Berwick-upon-Tweed
For Scotland
* 1295 -1296 Sir William D ...
from 1713 to 1715.
First returned to
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
for
Morpeth
Morpeth may refer to:
*Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia
** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales
* Morpeth, Ontario, Canada
* Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK
** Morpeth (UK ...
in 1693, he began his political life as a
Whig, but was elected for
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
in 1701 with
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
support. He was MP for Durham from 1701 to 1708, and from 1710 to 1712, then for
Mitchell, in Cornwall from 1713 to 1715; he did not stand in the
1715 election. He died in London on 14 December 1717 and was buried in
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
.
Personal details
Henry Belasyse was born in 1648, at
Biddick House in
County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly â€About North East E ...
, son of Sir Richard Belasyse (1612–1651) of
Potto, North Yorkshire, and his second wife, Margaret (d. after 1670). He had an elder half brother William, who died in 1681 and a sister, Catherine.
The Belasyse were a prolific family, long-established in Durham and
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
; his paternal grandfather, Sir William, was
High Sheriff of Durham
This is a list of the High Sheriffs of County Durham, England.
In most counties the High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. In the Palatinate of Durham the officeholder was appointed by and was accountable to the Bishop of D ...
from 1625 to 1640. Unlike many of his relatives, his father favoured
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
in the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities united in a pers ...
and emerged with his estates largely intact. The majority backed
Charles I of England
Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...
, including
Viscount Fauconberg
Viscount Fauconberg, of Henknowle in the Bishopric of Durham, was a title in the Peerage of England held by the head of the Belasyse family. This family descended from Sir Henry Belasyse, High Sheriff of Yorkshire from 1603 to 1604, who was creat ...
(1577–1653) and
Lord John Belasyse (1614–1689). His maternal grandfather, Sir William Lambton, was also a
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 governme ...
, killed at the
Battle of Marston Moor
The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639 – 1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters und ...
in 1644.
In 1680, Belasyse married Dorothy Benson (1636–1696), a widow and mother of the politician
Robert Benson, Baron Bingley; they had three children, Mary, Thomas and Elizabeth, all of whom predeceased their father. In 1707, he married Fleetwood Shuttleworth (1676–1732); they had two children, Margaret, who died young and William (1697–1769).
Military career
![1stDukeOfLeeds](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/1stDukeOfLeeds.jpg)
Belasyse graduated from
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...
, in 1667, before a period spent at legal school in the
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...
, then considered part of a gentleman's education. In 1674, he raised a company of men for the
Scots Brigade
The Scots Brigade, also referred to as the Anglo-Dutch Brigade or the Anglo-Scots Brigade, was an infantry brigade of the Dutch States Army. First formed in 1586, by the late 17th century it usually comprised six infantry regiments, three recruit ...
, a mercenary unit in the
Dutch States Army
The Dutch States Army ( nl, Staatse leger) was the army of the Dutch Republic. It was usually called this, because it was formally the army of the States-General of the Netherlands, the sovereign power of that federal republic. This mercenary army ...
, whose origins went back to the 1580s, which normally contained three Scots and three English regiments. The latter were withdrawn in 1672 when England
allied with France in the 1672–1678
Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...
but restored after the 1674
Treaty of Westminster ended their involvement. Henry's company was recruited for one of the restored English regiments, which eventually became the
6th Foot
The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer Wa ...
.
He fought at
Cassel in 1677 and shortly afterwards replaced Thomas Ashley as Colonel of the regiment. Wounded at
Saint-Denis in 1678, the final battle in the Franco-Dutch War, he was knighted at some point between 1678 and 1681. He accompanied the Brigade when
William of Orange sent it to England in 1685 to help
James II suppress the
Monmouth Rebellion, although it returned in August without seeing action. In early 1688, James demanded the repatriation of the entire Brigade; William refused to comply but used the opportunity to remove officers of doubtful loyalty.
For reasons that are unclear, Belasyse fell out of favour with William; he returned to England in April 1688 and his unit taken over by
Philip Babington. He returned to Yorkshire, where he became a close associate of
Lord Danby, a moderate Tory and one of the signatories of the 1688
Invitation to William
The ''Invitation to William'' was a letter sent by seven notable English nobles, later called "the Immortal Seven", to stadtholder William III, Prince of Orange, received by him on 30 June 1688 (Julian calendar, 10 July Gregorian calendar). In ...
, asking him to assume the English throne. After William landed at
Torbay
Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...
on 5 November 1688, Belasyse was part of a force under Danby that secured first
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, the most important city in Northern England, then
Hull, its largest port.
![John Mulvany - The Battle of Aughrim](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/John_Mulvany_-_The_Battle_of_Aughrim.jpg)
He was rewarded with promotion to
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
in April 1689 and in September appointed Colonel of a
Regiment of Foot. which took part in the 1689–1691
Williamite War in Ireland
The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá RĂ, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...
, including
The Boyne,
Aughrim and
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
in August 1691. After
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
surrendered on 26 July, Belasyse was appointed governor and awarded estates in
County Kerry
County Kerry ( gle, Contae ChiarraĂ) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...
confiscated from their previous
Jacobite owners. He was also elected in 1692 as MP for
Galway Borough in the Parliament of Ireland, although he was on active service in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
during his tenure.
While in London in early 1691, he was badly injured in a duel with Colonel
Richard Leveson, allegedly over an incident in Ireland. Although duelling was common in this period, Belasyse does not seem to have been popular,
Marlborough
Marlborough may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Marlborough, Wiltshire, England
** Marlborough College, public school
* Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England
* The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England
Austral ...
describing him as 'not loved but is a good officer.'
Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt
Prince George Louis of Hessen-Darmstadt (1669 – 13 September 1705) was a Field Marshal in the Austrian army. He is known for his career in Habsburg Spain, as Viceroy of Catalonia (1698–1701), head of the Austrian army in the War of the Spani ...
, who also served in Ireland, described him as 'mediocre and avaricious'; on the other hand, Sir Henry was consistently promoted by William, who was generally reluctant to have English officers in senior commands, regarding them as less trustworthy or competent than the Dutch or Germans.
With the war in Ireland at an end, Henry transferred to
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
to fight in the
Nine Years War
The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...
and was given command of a brigade; at the
Battle of Landen
The Battle of Landen, also known as Neerwinden, took place on 29 July 1693, during the Nine Years' War near Landen in modern Belgium. A French army under Marshal Luxembourg defeated an Allied force led by William III.
By 1693, all combata ...
in 1693, he and
Thomas Tollemache
Thomas Tollemache, also spelt Talmash or Tolmach, (c. 16511694) was an Kingdom of England, English soldier and Member of Parliament. Beginning his military career in 1673, in 1686 he resigned his commission in protest at the introduction of C ...
managed to extract the defeated Allied infantry in good order. In October 1694, he was promoted to
lieutenant-general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
and his brigade was part of Vaudémont's screening force during the 1695 Allied
siege of Namur. The French commander
Villeroy achieved local superiority over Vaudémont but their attack on 14 July failed to break his line; this allowed the Allies to conduct an orderly withdrawal, Belasyse helping cover the retreat. In October 1695, he supervised the court-martial of officers who had surrendered
Diksmuide
(; french: Dixmude, ; vls, Diksmude) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, N ...
and
Deinze
Deinze () is a city and a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders. It comprises the city of Deinze, and the towns of Astene, Bachte-Maria-Leerne, Gottem, Grammene, Hansbeke, Landegem, Meigem, Merendree, Nevele, Petegem-aan-de-Leie, ...
; Ellenberg, commander at Diksmuide, was executed, eight others were dismissed.'
![Map of the Battle of Cadiz 1702](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Map_of_the_Battle_of_Cadiz_1702.png)
The 1697
Treaty of Ryswick
The Peace of Ryswick, or Rijswijk, was a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Rijswijk between 20 September and 30 October 1697. They ended the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War between France and the Grand Alliance, which included England, ...
which ended the Nine Years' War left unresolved the question of who would succeed the ailing and childless
Charles II of Spain
Charles II of Spain (''Spanish: Carlos II,'' 6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700), known as the Bewitched (''Spanish: El Hechizado''), was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. Best remembered for his physical disabilities and the War o ...
, an issue that had dominated European politics for over 30 years; as a result, it was viewed by all sides as only a pause in hostilities. Despite this, the
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
majority in
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
was determined to reduce costs and by 1699, the English military had been cut to less than 7,000 men. England, Ireland and Scotland were then separate entities with their own Parliaments and funding; to mitigate these cuts, a number of regiments were transferred onto the Irish military establishment, including Belasyse's regiment.
Just before the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
began in July 1701, Belasyse exchanged regiments with
William Selwyn after his unit was assigned to
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, a notoriously unhealthy posting and became Colonel of the
2nd Foot. Selwyn died of disease in April 1702, while Belasyse was appointed second-in-command to the
Duke of Ormonde
The peerage title Earl of Ormond and the related titles Duke of Ormonde and Marquess of Ormonde have a long and complex history. An earldom of Ormond has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland.
History of Ormonde titles
The earldo ...
, commander of the Anglo-Dutch force sent to Spain in 1702 to support the Habsburg candidate,
Archduke Charles
Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Ă–sterreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...
. He and Major-General
Charles O'Hara commanded the force that successfully seized
Port St Mary
Port St Mary ( gv, Purt le Moirrey or ''Purt-noo-Moirrey'') is a village district in the south-west of the Isle of Man. The village takes its name from the former Chapel of St Mary ( gv, Keeill Moirrey) which is thought to have overlooked Chap ...
in 1702; however, after its capture, the town was looted and burned.
Aware of the damage done to his cause, Archduke Charles demanded the commanders be punished, and in December,
Queen Anne issued an order requiring the return of any plunder taken from Fort St Mary. O'Hara, a long-time client of the Ormonde family, was charged with failing to prevent the looting, and although censured, he retained his position and later became Lieutenant-General. Belasyse was accused of active participation; he claimed parliamentary immunity, but was dismissed from the army, ending his active military career.
Political career and later life
In 1693, Belasyse purchased the estate of Owton in County Durham from his nephew Richard. He was elected
MP for the nearby constituency of
Morpeth
Morpeth may refer to:
*Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia
** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales
* Morpeth, Ontario, Canada
* Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK
** Morpeth (UK ...
in 1695, generally voting with the
Whigs. In 1701, he purchased
Brancepeth Castle and was returned for the nearby seat of
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
in the
November election with Tory support.
Although he did not stand in the
1708 election, he was once again returned for Durham in the Tory landslide of
1710. However, he was forced to resign as MP in 1712 after accepting a commission to investigate military expenditure in Italy and Spain; when this ended in early 1713, he replaced Richard Belasyse as MP for the
rotten borough
A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...
of
Mitchell, in Cornwall. He was also appointed
Governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed
Below is a list of those who have held the office of Governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed, including the garrison at Holy Island (during English occupation of the Royal Burgh):
Governors of Berwick-upon-Tweed
For Scotland
* 1295 -1296 Sir William D ...
but like many Tories lost this position when
George I George I or 1 may refer to:
People
* Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631)
* George I of Constantinople (d. 686)
* George I of Antioch (d. 790)
* George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9)
* George I of Georgia (d. 1027)
* Yuri Dolgor ...
became king in October 1714 and did not stand in the
1715 election. He died in London in 1717 and was buried in
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Belasyse, Henry
1648 births
1717 deaths
People from Chester-le-Street
Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge
Members of the Middle Temple
Knights Bachelor
English generals
Williamite military personnel of the Williamite War in Ireland
British military personnel of the Nine Years' War
British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession
Queen's Royal Regiment officers
Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers
Cheshire Regiment officers
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Galway constituencies
Irish MPs 1692–1693
English MPs 1695–1698
English MPs 1698–1700
English MPs 1701
English MPs 1701–1702
English MPs 1702–1705
English MPs 1705–1707
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for City of Durham
Members of the Parliament of England for City of Durham
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Morpeth
British MPs 1707–1708
British MPs 1710–1713
British MPs 1713–1715