Colonel John Downes (1609 – c. 1666) was a commissioner who signed the death warrant of
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 ...
. After the
English Restoration
The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...
he was found guilty of
regicide
Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...
and imprisoned for life.
Background
John Downes' family had moved southwards from Cheshire to Warwickshire. They were said to be able to trace their Cheshire lineage back to 864 AD, according to
John Parsons Earwaker's ''History of East Cheshire''. It is said that when the King came hunting in Macclesfield Forest, a Downes held the King's stirrup whilst he mounted, while Lord Stanley was to hold that of Downes. Stanley refused on the basis of rank, instead pointing his whip at Downes' stirrup.
As far back as 864 AD there is mention of the family.
It is said that certain Cheshire estates belonged to the ‘Ancient Family of Downes and Taxall’ which did service to Earl Edwin of Chester, brother in law to Harold, one of the Saxon kings of Mercia.
The historian, Ormerod states that for many centuries these estates ‘were for many centuries owned by the ancient family of Downes and Taxall’.
According to Ormerod in 1339 year Queen Isabella of France granted, that in consideration of the fine which " Edmund, son of Edmund de Downes has made to us, we have pardoned to him as much as in us lies, the transgression which he made in taking to himself and his heirs, from his father, Edmund, a certain bailiwick \ballivani\ of Forestry in our Forest of Macclesfield
The Downes held various manors in Cheshire and Lancashire from as early as the 12th century. They were an ancient Forester family, like the Stanleys, Egertons and other Cheshire families whom they married into. They held the manors of Overton, Taxall, Shrigley, Sutton Downes and Wardley.
Ormerod in his 'History of Macclesfield states that a Downes, styled the Great Lord of Downes, was Royal Forester to King Harold, the Saxon king of Mercia. This legend recounts how the Downes family acquired the coat of arms of the white stag. The King was hunting in Macclesfield Forest and became lost. Whilst all went to look for him, the Royal Forester, Downes, was resting when a white stag approached and led him to the King. The white stag was given to Downes by the King and became the family's arms. Ormerod claims the Downes family held their lands by a blast of the horn on Midsummer's Day and had many curious medieval rights including one to hang draw and quarter.
One member of the family, Roger Downes, a friend of the notorious libertine
Lord Rochester, was killed in a London brawl, with his head apparently being sent to the family home at Wardley Hall. The Hall is supposed to be haunted by his ghost. They acquired Wardley Hall through marriage to a Worsley heiress.
Some of the Downes family were well known for their adherence to the Catholic faith, though in later centuries they remained Anglican. It was Francis Downes who retrieved the head of his martyred cousin
Ambrose Barlow
Ambrose Edward Barlow, O.S.B. (1585 – 10 September 1641) was an English Benedictine monk who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He is one of a group of saints canonized by Pope Paul VI who became known as the Forty Martyrs of En ...
.
Biography
John Downes was born at
Manby
__NOTOC__
Manby is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, and lies approximately east from Louth.
Manby contains a village post office. Other amenities, including a primary school, The Manby Arms pu ...
in
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
. He was grandson of Rev George Downes of Nuneaton, 'descended out of Cheshire'.
He was appointed an auditor of the Duchy of Cornwall in 1633 and was elected MP for Arundel, Sussex in December 1641.
A lawyer, he studied at the Inner Temple and was called to the bar in 1642. He did not fight in 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 ...
but amassed a fortune dealing in the confiscated
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 ...
estates. He was a close friend 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 Ki ...
and received substantial land grants in Ireland and England.
John Downes was arrested on 18 June 1660. When soon afterwards he petitioned
King Charles II for an appointment, Robert Howcott stated that he was a servant of Mr Almery who was a relation of "Collonell Downes of Hampstead". A warrant had been issued by
Sir Edward Nicholas
Sir Edward Nicholas (4 April 15931669) was an English officeholder and politician who served as Secretary of State to Charles I and Charles II. He also sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1629. He served as secretary ...
for Downes to be arrested. Robert Howcott discovered and apprehended Downes before bringing him before the King who ordered Howcott to take Downes to
General Monke, who passed him on to the "martiall Generall".
[The National Archives: SP29/9]
On being found guilty of
regicide
Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...
, John Downes was condemned to death in October 1660, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment because he had tried to intervene on the King's behalf and only signed the death warrant after being intimidated by the other commissioners.
Downes spent the rest of his life a prisoner in 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 ...
.
References
External links
''John Downes, Regicide''
*
ttp://www.hcourt.gov.au/speeches/kirbyj/kirbyj_charle88.htm The ''Trial of King Charles I - Defining Moment for Our Constitutional Liberties'', by The Hon Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG
{{DEFAULTSORT:Downes, John
1609 births
1660s deaths
Regicides of Charles I
Prisoners in the Tower of London
English MPs 1640–1648
English politicians convicted of crimes
People from East Lindsey District