George Goring, 1st Earl of Norwich (28 April 1585 – 6 January 1663) was an English soldier and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

between 1621 and 1628 when he was raised to the peerage.

Biography

Goring was the son of George Goring of Hurstpierpoint and Ovingdean, Sussex, and his wife Anne Denny, sister of Edward Denny, 1st Earl of Norwich. He matriculated from

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

in 1600, and may subsequently have spent some time in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-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, la ...

. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1608, became a

favourite A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In Post-classical Europe, post-classical and Early modern Europe, early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated signifi ...

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

and benefitted from successful overseas policy and monopolies granted by King Charles I. In 1621 he was elected Member of Parliament for

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

.Browne Willis ''Notitia parliamentaria, or, An history of the counties, cities, and boroughs in England and Wales: ... The whole extracted from mss. and printed evidences'' 1750 pp176-239
/ref> He was made Knight Marshal in 1623. He was re-elected MP for Lewes in, 1624, 1625, 1626 and 1628. In 1628 he was created Baron Goring. He became a privy councillor in 1639 and Vice-Chamberlain of the Household. One year later the troubles between Charles and his

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 ...

became acute and Goring devoted his fortune freely to the royal cause; the king in November 1644 recreated for him the title which he created in 1628 for Lord Denny, Earl of Norwich, his uncle, which had just become extinct on his death. He went with Queen

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France (French language, French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to K ...

to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in 1642 to raise money for the king, and in the autumn of the next year he was seeking arms and money from

Cardinal Mazarin Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...

in Paris. His acts were revealed to the parliament in January 1644 by an intercepted letter to Henrietta Maria. He was consequently

impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

but prudently remained abroad until 1647, albeit deprived of his lands and income, when he received a pass from parliament under a pretext of seeking reconciliation. GoringArms

Thus he was able to take a prominent part in the Second

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

of 1648. He commanded the

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

ish levies, which Fairfax dispersed at

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

and elsewhere and was forced to surrender unconditionally at

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

. Norwich's refusal to surrender, even after the cause was known to be hopeless and the people of the town begged him to surrender, was considered to be against the rules of war. Two of his commanders were executed after the siege for their part in it.Michael Braddick, God's Fury, England's Fire: A New History of the English Civil Wars, London, Allen Lane, 2008, pp545-548 Norwich was condemned to exile in November 1648 by a vote of the

, but the next month the vote was annulled. Early in the next year a court formed under John Bradshaw and tried: Norwich, the

Duke of Hamilton Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Duke of Rothesay, Dukedom of Rothesay held by the sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the pr ...

, Lord Capel, the Earl of Holland and Sir John Owen. Each received a death sentence on 6 March 1649, but petitions for mercy were presented to parliament, and Norwich's life was spared by the Speaker's casting vote. Shortly after his liberation from prison in May 1649, he joined the exiled court of Charles II who employed him in fruitless negotiations with the

duke of Lorraine The kings and dukes of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were ...

. He became captain of the king's guard at the Restoration, and in consideration of the fortune he had spent or income he had foregone in the king's service a pension of 2000 pounds per year was granted him. Norwich died at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

on 6 January 1663.

Children

By his wife Mary Nevill (died 1648), daughter of Edward Nevill, 8th Baron Bergavenny and Rachel Lennard, he had four daughters and two sons: George, Lord Goring; and

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

, who fought in the Civil War, succeeded his father in the

earldom Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

, and died without heirs in March 1671. *Lady Elizabeth Goring (d. c. Nov. 1687), who married William Brereton, 2nd Baron Brereton *Lady Catherine Goring, who married Edward Scott of Scot's Hall and had several children whose paternity her husband refused to acknowledge, on the grounds of her notorious infidelity (

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...

was said to be one of her lovers); her son Thomas succeeded to the estates after Edward belatedly acknowledged him as his lawful son. Thomas married in 1663 Caroline Carteret, daughter of Sir George Carteret, 1st Baronet. *Lady Lucy Goring, who married Sir Drue Deane *Lady Diana Goring, who married firstly Thomas Covert of Slaugham, Sussex, and secondly

George Porter George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham, (6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002) was a British chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967. Education and early life Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, in the then West ...

, eldest son of the noted courtier Endymion Porter *

George Goring, Lord Goring George Goring, Lord Goring (14 July 1608 – 1657) was an English Cavalier, Royalist soldier. He was known by the Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title ''Lord Goring'' as the eldest son of the George Goring, 1st Earl of Norwich, ...

(14 Jul 1608 – 25 Jul 1657) * Charles Goring, 2nd Earl of Norwich (c. 1615 – 3 Mar 1671)

References

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Norwich, George Goring, 1st Earl Of 1585 births 1663 deaths Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge 17th-century English soldiers English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 English prisoners sentenced to death Earls of Norwich George Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War Impeached British officials 17th-century English diplomats