Henry Ireton ((baptised) 3 November 1611
[OND]
/ref> – 26 November 1651) was an English general in the Parliamentarian army during 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 the son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...
. He died of disease outside 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 November 1651.
Personal details
Ireton was the eldest son of a German Ireton of Attenborough, Nottinghamshire
Attenborough is a village in the Borough of Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire, England. It forms part of the Greater Nottingham area, and is to the southwest of the city of Nottingham, between Long Eaton (to the southwest) and Beeston (to the n ...
, and was baptised in St Mary's Church on 3 November 1611. He became a gentleman commoner of Trinity College, Oxford, in 1626, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in 1629, and entered the Middle Temple the same year.
English Civil War
On the outbreak of 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 A ...
, he joined the parliamentary army, fighting 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 ...
in October 1642, and at the Battle of Gainsborough in July 1643. He was made deputy-governor of the Isle of Ely by Cromwell and served under Earl of Manchester in the Yorkshire campaign and at the second Battle of Newbury, afterwards supporting Cromwell in his accusations of incompetency against the Earl.
On the night before the Battle of Naseby, in June 1645, Ireton succeeded in surprising 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 ...
army and captured many prisoners. The next day, on the suggestion of Cromwell, he was made commissary-general and appointed to the command of the left wing, with Cromwell himself commanding the right. The wing under Ireton was completely broken by the impetuous charge of Rupert
Rupert may refer to:
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* Rupert (name), various people known by the given name or surname "Rupert"
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*Rupert River, Quebec
*Rupert' ...
, and Ireton was wounded and taken prisoner, but Cromwell charged and successfully routed the Royalists, freeing prisoners including Ireton.
Ireton was at the siege of Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...
in September 1645, and took part in the subsequent campaign that succeeded in overthrowing the royal cause. On 30 October 1645, Ireton entered parliament as member for Appleby. On 15 June 1646, during the siege of Oxford he married Bridget Cromwell
Bridget Cromwell (1624 – June 1662) was Oliver Cromwell's eldest daughter. She married General Henry Ireton and after he died General Charles Fleetwood.
Life
She was born to Elizabeth (born Bouchier) and Oliver Cromwell in 1624. Cromwell com ...
, eldest daughter of Oliver Cromwell. The marriage brought Ireton's career into parallel with Cromwell's.
Political views and debates over the future of the monarchy
Ireton was initially a moderate. At the Putney Debates
The Putney Debates, which took place from 28 October to 8 November 1647, were a series of discussions over the political settlement that should follow Parliament's victory over Charles I in the First English Civil War. The main participants we ...
, he opposed extremism, disliked the views of the Republicans and the Levellers, which he considered impractical and dangerous to the foundations of society, and wished to retain the constitution of King, Lords
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*Traci Lords (born 1 ...
, and Commons. He argued for these in the negotiations of the army with Parliament, and in the conferences with the king, being the person chiefly entrusted with the drawing up of the army proposals, including the manifesto called "The Heads of the Proposals", which proposed a constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies di ...
. He tried to prevent the breach between the army and parliament, but when it happened, he supported the negotiations with the king until his actions made him unpopular.
Ireton finally became convinced of the hopelessness of dealing with King Charles
King Charles may refer to:
Kings
A number of kings of Albania, Alençon, Anjou, Austria, Bohemia, Croatia, England, France, Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Ireland, Jerusalem, Naples, Navarre, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sardinia, Scotland, Sicily, Sp ...
, and after the king's flight to the Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
, treated his further proposals with coldness and urged the parliament to establish an administration without him. Ireton served under Thomas Fairfax in the second civil war in the campaigns, in Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
and 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 ...
, although Fairfax, as Lord General, and not Ireton as is sometimes believed, was responsible for the executions of Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle at Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colc ...
. After the rejection by the king of the last offers of the army, Ireton zealously supported bringing him to trial. He wrote the Army's statement about the regicide—the Remonstrance of the Army—with Hugh Peters. He was active in the choice to purge rather than re-elect Parliament and supported the second Leveller ''Agreement of the People Agreement may refer to:
Agreements between people and organizations
* Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law
* Trade agreement, between countries
* Consensus, a decision-making process
* Contract, enforceable in a court of law
** Meeting o ...
''. He sat on the king's trial and was one of the commissioners who signed the death warrant.
Irish campaign and death
Ireton's regiment was chosen by lot to accompany Cromwell in his Irish campaign. Ireton arrived in Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
two days after Cromwell on 17 August 1649, with 77 ships full of troops and supplies. Ireton was appointed major-general and after the conquest of the south of Ireland, Lord President of Munster. He went over with John Cook with a brief to reform the law of Ireland, to anglicise it, and to make it a model for a new settlement of English law.
In May 1650, Cromwell was recalled to England to command a Parliamentary force preparing to invade Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
, and Ireton assumed command of the New Model Army in Ireland with the title and powers of Lord Deputy to complete the conquest of the country. This he proceeded to do, becoming noted as much by the savagery of his methods as for his military skill. By the middle of 1650, Ireton and his commanders faced two problems. One was the capture of the remaining cities held by the Irish Confederate and Royalists forces. The other was an escalating guerrilla war in the countryside as Irish fighters called tories attacked his supply lines. Ireton appealed to the English Parliament to publish lenient surrender terms for Irish Catholics, to end their resistance, but this was refused.
His first action after the refusal was to mount a counter-guerrilla expedition into the Wicklow Mountains early in June 1650, to secure his lines of supply for the Siege of Waterford in south-east Ireland. Ireton then blockaded Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
, mapsize = 220px
, pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe
, pushpin_relief = 1
, coordinates ...
into surrender by August 1650. Ireton systematically constructed trenches to bring his siege guns within range of the walls and stationed a parliamentary fleet off the city to prevent it being supplied. Thomas Preston surrendered Waterford after a three-month siege. Ireton then advanced to 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 ...
by October, but had to call off the siege due to cold and bad weather. Early in 1651, Ireton ordered that areas harbouring the guerrillas should be systematically stripped of food – a scorched-earth policy that caused a famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accom ...
in Ireland by the end of the year. Ireton returned to Limerick in June 1651 and besieged the city for five months until it surrendered in October 1651. At the same time, parliamentarian forces conducted the Siege of Galway, and Ireton rode to inspect the command of Charles Coote, who was blockading that city. The physical strain of his command took hold on Ireton and he fell ill.
After the capture of Limerick, Ireton had dignitaries of Limerick hanged for their defence of the city, including Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...
Thomas Stritch, Bishop Turlough O'Brien
Turlough O'Brien is a Gaelic football manager. He managed Carlow between 2014 and 2020.
In the 2018 National Football League, O'Brien led the team out of Division 4. This was their first promotion in more than three decades.
In the 2018 Lein ...
, and an English Royalist officer, Colonel Fennell. He also wanted the Irish commander, Hugh Dubh O'Neill hanged, but Edmund Ludlow
Edmund Ludlow (c. 1617–1692) was an English parliamentarian, best known for his involvement in the execution of Charles I, and for his ''Memoirs'', which were published posthumously in a rewritten form and which have become a major source ...
cancelled the order after Ireton's death.
Ireton fell ill of the plague that was raging through the town, and died on 26 November. His loss reportedly "struck a great sadness into Cromwell" and he was considered a great loss to the administration. There are various anecdotes about his demise from Irish ecclesiastical and English royalist sources. Thus, his death has been depicted as divine punishment for the execution of Bishop O'Brien, who prior to his death had called upon Ireton to answer at God's judgment seat for his murders; the Hibernica Dominicana claims that on his death bed, Ireton was "privately muttering to himself 'I never gave the aid of my counsel towards the murder of that bishop; never, never; it was the council of war did it… I wish I had never seen this popish bishop'." Philip Warwick stated that among Ireton's last words were "blood! blood! I must have more blood!".
At Ireton's funeral, 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 ...
, John Watson and others wore new tabards that replaced the royal arms with the new arms of the commonwealth.[H. Stanford London, 'The Heralds' Tabards under the Commonwealth', ''Notes and Queries'', Vol.198, 1953, p. 276-8]
Family
By his wife, Bridget Cromwell, Ireton left one son, Henry Ireton (''circa'' 1652–1711), and four daughters, one of whom, Bridget Bendish
Bridget Bendish (née Ireton) (1650–1726), was a daughter of General Henry Ireton and Bridget, Oliver Cromwell's eldest daughter. She was born in Attenborough, Nottinghamshire, England. She married Thomas Bendish, a distant relative of Sir Tho ...
(she married Thomas Bendish in 1670) is said to have compromised herself in the Rye House Plot of 1683, as did Henry. Ireton's widow Bridget afterwards married General Charles Fleetwood. Another daughter, Elizabeth, married Thomas Polhill; their son was David Polhill
David Polhill (1674 – 15 January 1754), of Chipstead, Kent, was an English landowner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1710 and 1754. He was one of the signatories of the Kentish petition in 1701. ...
.
Posthumous execution
On 30 January 1661, following the Restoration of the English monarchy of 1660, Charles II had Ireton's corpse exhumed from Westminster and mutilated in a posthumous execution, along with those of Cromwell and John Bradshaw, in retribution for signing his father's death warrant. The date was symbolic, being the 12th anniversary of the execution of Charles I.
Memorials
A blue plaque was affixed to Ireton's birthplace at Church Lane in Attenborough, on 22 June 2011, by the Beeston and District Local History Society with the following text:
"General Henry Ireton lawyer, confederate and son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell born here 1611 died Limerick 1651".
The town of Ireton, Iowa, United States was named after Henry Ireton.
Ireton Avenue in Beeston near to Attenborough is named after General Ireton. Ireton Road in Market Harborough was also named after Henry Ireton, whilst Ireton Way is now a very straight part of the A142 between Ely and Chatteris, built by Ireton when he was commanding East Anglian forces as a causeway across the flooded Fens around the Ouse river to rush troops and supplies over when resisting Royalist attack from Lincolnshire and the Midlands.
Ireton Street in Walton, Liverpool sits off County Road (A59) in between (William) Lenthall Street and (John) Hampden Street.
There is an Ireton Street in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which runs parallel to a Cromwell Road. Also, an Ireton Road is in Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colc ...
. This adjoins Honywood Road, named after Sir Thomas Honywood, who led the Essex forces at the Siege of Colchester under the command of Thomas Fairfax.
An Ireton Avenue exists in Walton-on-Thames
Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ...
as well as 'Ireton's House' on the high street. 'Ireton's House' was gifted to Henry Ireton by Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...
after the marriage to Bridget Cromwell
Bridget Cromwell (1624 – June 1662) was Oliver Cromwell's eldest daughter. She married General Henry Ireton and after he died General Charles Fleetwood.
Life
She was born to Elizabeth (born Bouchier) and Oliver Cromwell in 1624. Cromwell com ...
.
His portrait continues to hang in the dining hall of Trinity College, Oxford.
Fictional portrayals
In the 1970 film '' Cromwell'', Michael Jayston plays Ireton as a subtle but well-meaning manipulator who hates Charles I and pushes Cromwell into actions, which Cromwell at first considers neither desirable nor possible, but then pursues all the way. This version of Ireton is ready to denounce the king and plunge England into civil war before Cromwell becomes convinced that this is a necessary step. In the film, Cromwell and he are also among the five members whom Charles I attempts to arrest on the eve of the war (when in fact they were not), and after the King is executed, is upbraided by Cromwell as being too ambitious. No mention is made in the film of Ireton marrying Cromwell's daughter.
Ireton is portrayed as a minor character in Rosemary Sutcliff's 1953 historical fiction
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ...
novel '' Simon''.
Ireton is the main character in John Attenborough's 1987 historical fiction novel ''Destiny Our Choice'', which gives a generally positive view of Ireton, claiming that he was influential in saving the life of Hugh O'Neill after the Siege of Limerick in 1650–51.
Notes
References
* Firth, C. H. in '' Dictionary of National Biography''. Citing:
** Wood's ''Ath. Oxon.'' iii 298
** Cornelius Brown's ''Lives of Noted Worthies'', 181
** ''Clarke Papers'' published by the Camden Society
** Gardiner Gardiner may refer to:
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;Canada
* Gardiner, Ontario
;United States
* Gardiner, Maine
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...
's ''History of the Civil War and of the Commonwealth''
** Article by Barbara Taft in Jason Peacey 'Regicide and Republicanism'
** Dean, J.L. (1990): Henry Ireton, the Mosaic Law, and Morality in English Civil Politics from April 1646 to May 1649, Cambridge University M. Litt Dissertation
* Hayton, David ''et al'' (2002). ''The House of Commons, 1690-1715'', Volume 1, Cambridge University Press, ,
* David Farr, ''Henry Ireton and the English Revolution'' (Woodbridge, Boydell & Brewer, 2006).
;Attribution
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ireton, Henry
New Model Army generals
English revolutionaries
Cromwellian Ireland
Roundheads
Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford
People from Attenborough, Nottinghamshire
Regicides of Charles I
People convicted under a bill of attainder
1611 births
1651 deaths
English MPs 1640–1648
Lords Lieutenant of Ireland
Parliamentarian military personnel of the English Civil War
Members of the Middle Temple
Military personnel from Nottinghamshire
17th-century deaths from plague (disease)