Sir Marmaduke Roydon (also Rawdon and Rawden, with Royden a contemporary spelling) (1583 – 28 April 1646) was an English merchant-adventurer and colonial planter, known also as 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 ...

army officer. Marmaduke Roydon Hertocks

Life

The son of Ralph Roydon or Rawdon of Rawden Brandesby in

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 ...

, by Jane, daughter of John Brice of Stillington, he was baptised at Brandesby on 20 March 1583. At sixteen years of age he went to London, where he was apprenticed to Daniel Hall, a

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

merchant, who sent him as his factor to France. He returned to London about 1610 and was elected a common councilman. Soon afterwards he was presented with the freedom of the

Clothworkers' Company The Worshipful Company of Clothworkers was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1528, formed by the amalgamation of its two predecessor companies, the Fullers (incorporated 1480) and the Shearmen (incorporated 1508). It succeeded to the position of t ...

, and made captain of the city militia. In 1614 Roydon joined a mercantile venture (with John Buley, George Langam and William Skelton) to the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

coast, sending out two ships under Thomas Hunt and John Smith, which sailed from the Downs on 3 March 1614. He was also interested in the discovery of the

North-West Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arct ...

. He was an active member of the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

and stood against

John Venn John Venn, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, FSA (4 August 1834 – 4 April 1923) was an English mathematician, logician and philosopher noted for introducing Venn diagrams, which are used in l ...

for election as captain-leader of the company in 1631; both were disappointed by the impositon of a candidate favoured by the Crown. Roydon was one of the first planters in

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

. With two others, he was granted 10,000

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

s in Barbados, in April 1628, by

James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle KB (c. 1580March 1636) was a British noble. Life A Scot, he was the son of Sir James Hay of Fingask, second son of Peter Hay of Megginch (a branch member of Hay of Leys, a younger branch of the Erroll family) an ...

. This award set off a sharp struggle between Roydon's followers, and those supporting the claims of

William Courten Sir William Courten or Curteen (1572–1636) was a wealthy 17th century merchant, operating from London. He financed the colonisation of Barbados, but lost his investment and interest in the islands to the Earl of Carlisle. Birth and upbringing ...

. In the end Carlisle's grant was upheld. Roydon, however, is said to have lost £10,000. Roydon also ventured to other parts of the West Indies and to Spain, Turkey, and the Canary Islands. In 1622 Roydon built

Rawdon House Rawdon House is a former residence in the High Street of Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, England. It was built as a house in 1622 by Marmaduke Rawdon, and extended in 1879. The Jacobean and Victorian wings of the building are Listed building, Grade II* ...

Hoddesdon Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon is ...

. The year 1626 saw him accused of belonging to a cartel trying to monopolise the wine trade of London. In 1628–9 he became MP for

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...

. In 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 Anglo ...

he fought on the King's side, raised a regiment at his own cost, and took part in the defence of Basing House (1643). On 28 December of the same year he was knighted. In 1645 he was made governor of

Faringdon Faringdon is a historic market town in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, south-west of Oxford, north-west of Wantage and east-north-east of Swindon. It extends to the River Thames in the north; the highest ground is on the Rid ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, where he died on 28 April 1646.

Family

In 1611, while a clothworker in All Hallows,

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Thorowgood of Hoddesdon,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. Their son Thomas fought as a colonel in the Royalist army, and after 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 ...

went into exile in the Canaries. His nephew, the younger

Marmaduke Rawdon Sir Marmaduke Roydon (also Rawdon and Rawden, with Royden a contemporary spelling) (1583 – 28 April 1646) was an English merchant-adventurer and colonial planter, known also as a Royalist army officer. Life The son of Ralph Roydon or Rawdon o ...

, lived in his house for some years from 1626.

Martha Moulsworth Martha Moulsworth (10 November 1577), born Martha Dorsett, was an English writer who spent much of her life in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. Her only known literary work, ''Memorandum of Martha Moulsworth, Widow'' (1632), an autobiographical poem, is ...

the poet was Elizabeth's stepmother. Her ''Memorandum of Martha Moulsworth Widdowe'' (1632) is believed to have passed in manuscript to Roydon and then his nephew.Evans, pp. 152–3.

References

*Robert C. Evans, ''A Silent Woman Speaks: "The Memorandum of Martha Moulsworth, Widowe"'',The Yale University Library Gazette Vol. 69, No. 3/4 (April 1995), pp. 149–162. Published by: Yale University, acting through the Yale University Library. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40859118

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Roydon, Marmaduke 1583 births 1646 deaths Honourable Artillery Company officers English merchants English MPs 1628–1629 Cavaliers Kingdom of England people in Barbados Kingdom of England expatriates in France