Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Cleveland (159125 March 1667), was an English landowner and
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 ...
general 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 England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities united in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 B ...
, described by one historian as a "much under-rated field commander". A distant relative of
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, (13 April 1593 ( N.S.)12 May 1641), was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1 ...
, executed by
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
in May 1641, his son
Thomas Wentworth, 5th Baron Wentworth, also served in the Royalist army and predeceased him in March 1665.
Early life
Thomas Wentworth was born in 1591 in
Nettlestead, Suffolk
Nettlestead is a dispersed village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England.The surrounding villages of Nettlestead include Somersham (the closest), Little Blakenham, Baylham, Barking, Willisham and Offton.
I ...
. He was the eldest son of
Henry Wentworth, 3rd Baron Wentworth (1558–1593), who owned an estate near Nettlestead, and his wife Anne Hopton (1561–1625). He had a younger brother, Henry, and sister Jane, as well as a number of half-siblings from his mother's second marriage to William Pope,
Earl of Downe.
Career
Wentworth attended
Trinity College, Oxford
(That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody)
, named_for = The Holy Trinity
, established =
, sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge
, president = Dame Hilary Boulding
, location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH
, coordinates ...
along with his younger brother Henry and was created
Knight of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as on ...
in 1610. He inherited an estate near
Toddington, Bedfordshire
Toddington is a large village and civil parish in the county of Bedfordshire, England. It is situated 5 miles north-north-west of Luton, north of Dunstable, south-west of Woburn, and 35 miles north-north-west of London on the B5120 ...
in 1614, which replaced Nettlesham as his principal residence. At some point in the next few years, he became part of the
patronage network associated with
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, whose personal relationship with both
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
and his son
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
made him extremely powerful. With his support, Wentworth was appointed
Custos Rotulorum of Bedfordshire in 1618, then
Lord Lieutenant in 1625, while Charles made him
Earl of Cleveland in 1626.
He remained close to Buckingham, taking part in the failed attack on
Saint-Martin-de-Ré in 1627 and was present when the latter was assassinated in August 1628. Extravagant spending took him into debt and despite mortgaging some of his estates, by 1637 he owed his creditors more than £19,000, an enormous sum for the time. His participation in the 1639 to 1640
Bishops' Wars, during which he raised several troops for 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, increased these to over £60,000 and he was eventually forced to sell Nettlesham Manor in 1643.
During the trial of his distant kinsman
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, (13 April 1593 ( N.S.)12 May 1641), was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1 ...
, he appeared as a witness for the defence and was present at his execution in May 1641. He supported Charles I in his struggle with
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
, joined his army when 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 ...
began in August 1642 and was almost certainly present at
Edgehill in October. Wounded at
First Newbury in September 1643, he was later given command of a cavalry brigade in the
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
field army and at the
Battle of Cropredy Bridge
The Battle of Cropredy Bridge was fought on 29 June 1644 near Banbury, Oxfordshire during the First English Civil War. In the engagement, Sir William Waller and the Parliamentarian army failed to capture King Charles.
The site was placed ...
in June 1644, led a charge that routed the
Parliamentarian horse and captured their artillery.
He subsequently took part in the
West Country
The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...
campaign that culminated in a significant Royalist victory at
Lostwithiel
Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increas ...
in September; the Parliamentarian infantry were forced to surrender but most of their cavalry escaped, despite a vigorous pursuit by Wentworth. At
Second Newbury in October, he was captured and held 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 sep ...
until 1647, when he was allowed out on
bail
Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required.
In some countrie ...
; after the
Execution of Charles I
The execution of Charles I by beheading occurred on Tuesday, 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House on Whitehall. The execution was the culmination of political and military conflicts between the royalists and the parliamentarians in E ...
in January 1649, he joined his son Thomas and
Charles II in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
. At the
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell d ...
in 1651, he led a series of cavalry charges that bought enough time for Charles to make his escape.
Later life
Captured in
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
two weeks later, Wentworth narrowly escaped execution and was held in the Tower until 1652, when he was released. Although suspected of involvement in the 1659
Booth's Uprising
Booth's Uprising, also known as Booth's Rebellion or the Cheshire Rising of 1659, was an unsuccessful attempt in August 1659 to restore Charles II of England. Centred on North West England and led by George Booth, it took place during the politi ...
, he lived quietly until the 1660
Stuart 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 ...
, when he regained his positions as Custos Rotulorum and Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire and was made
Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners. However, he was financially ruined and by the time he died in 1667, very few of his estates remained.
Personal life
In 1611, he married Anne Croft, a daughter of Sir
John Crofts
John Crofts was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1653 and in 1656. He fought in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War.
Crofts was of Nether Swell, near Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire. His origins are obsc ...
, of Little Saxham, and the former Mary Shirley (a daughter of Sir Thomas Shirley, of Wiston). Before her death in January 1638, they were the parents of two children:
*
Thomas Wentworth, 5th Baron Wentworth (1612–1665), who married Philadelphia Carey, daughter of Sir Ferdinando Carey and granddaughter of
Sir Edmund Carey.
*
Lady Anne Wentworth (1623–1697), who married
John Lovelace, 2nd Baron Lovelace
John Lovelace, 2nd Baron Lovelace (February 1616 – 25 November 1670) was a British peer and Royal servant.
Life
John was born in Hurley, Berkshire the son of Richard Lovelace, 1st Baron Lovelace and his wife, Margaret, the daughter of London ...
.
After the death of his first wife, he remarried to Lucy Wentworth, a daughter of
Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet, of Gosfield Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet ( – October 1631), of Gosfield, was an English aristocrat.
Easly life
He was the eldest of two sons born of John Wentworth of Gosfield Hall, and the former Cicely Unton.Cokayne, George Edward, editor, ''The Comple ...
, in October 1638. They were the parents of one daughter:
[Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.'' ]Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
, U.S.A.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
: Burke's Peerage
Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great ...
(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 2, page 2442.
* Lady Catherine Wentworth (1639–1670), who married William Spencer, brother of
Nicholas Spencer
Colonel Nicholas Spencer, Jr. (1633–1689) was a merchant, planter and politician in colonial Virginia. Born in Cople, Bedfordshire, Spencer migrated to the Westmoreland County, Virginia, where he became a planter and which he represente ...
.
Lord Cleveland died at Toddington on 25 March 1667 and was buried at the
Church of St George, Toddington, Bedfordshire on 4 April. Since his son predeceased him in 1665, the earldom of Cleveland became extinct, although his granddaughter
Henrietta Maria
Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...
, became Baroness Wentworth ''
suo jure
''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...
''.
Sources
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*
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland, Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl Of
Earls in the Peerage of England
*04
English generals
Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford
Lord-Lieutenants of Bedfordshire
1591 births
1667 deaths
Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms
Prisoners in the Tower of London
Military personnel from Suffolk
Cavaliers
Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War
People from Mid Suffolk District