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Hampshire Chapter 1 | THE Civil War in Hampshire (1642-45) AND THE STORY OF BASING HOUSE BY REV. G. N. GODWIN, B.D.Chapter III - Isle of Wight Troubles-Carsibrooke Castle taken-Difficulties at Southampton(use "control F" to search text) After the death of Richard, Lord Weston, who was created Earl of Portland in 1633, and died at Wallingford House, Westminster, in the following March, his son Jerome, Earl of Portland, was appointed Captain of the Island, which office he honourably discharged until the year 1642. He was a man of very affable manners, and of very generous hospitality. Clarendon says that " the Parliament threatened the Earl of Portland, who, with extraordinary vivacity, crossed their consultations that they would remove him from his charge and government of the Isle of Wight (which they afterwards did de facto, by committing him to prison, without so much assigning a cause), and to that purpose objected all the acts of good fellowship, all the waste of powder, all the waste of wine, in the drinking of healths, and other acts of jollity, whenever he had been at his government, from the first hour of his entering upon it" Ever since the days of Edward VI. and Elizabeth the dwellers in the Isle of Wight had furnished themselves with a parochial artillery ; each parish provided one piece of light brass ordnance, which was commonly kept in the church, or in a small house built for the purpose close by the church. Towards the end of the eighteenth century some sixteen or eighteen of these guns were still preserved in the island ; they were of low calibre, some being six-pounders, and all the rest one-pounders. One of these guns is still preserved at Nunwell House, near Brading. The islanders, by frequent practice, are said to have made themselves excellent artillerymen. The gun-carriages and ammunition were provided by the parishes, and particular farms were charged with the duty of finding horses to draw them. A lieutenant of the Military Company at Norwich who visited the island in 1635, says that Carisbrooke Castle was well guarded with arms, but not with men, " for in the armoury in one room were 500 good corslets, and in another room, by the other, 700 or 800 muskets." The same writer speaks of two generous knights. Sir E. Denning and Sir F. Oglander, lieutenants, and fourteen gentle and expert captains, who had under their command 2000 men, with arms for 2000 more. The Island was defended by Yarmouth Castle (Captain Burley), built by Sir R. Worsley when Captain of the Island, against Hurst Castle (Lieutenant Gorge) ; "Carey's Sconce, or Sharpnose Fort, one mile west of Yarmouth, built by Sir George Carey (temp. Eliz.), to replace the decayed Worsley Tower, just west of the Sconce, opposite Hurst Castle " ; Cowes Castle (Captain Tarry) against Calshot Castle (Captain James), built of stone with a half-moon battery ; by Gurnard Castle (Captain Barret) against Leap; by Ryde, against Portsmouth; and by the Needles and Sandown Fort (Captain Buck). Sandown Castle, a square fort, with a bastion at each angle, and a wet ditch, had a captain at 4s. per diem ; an under-captain at 2s. ; thirteen soldiers at 6d. each per diem ; a porter at 8d ; a master gunner at 8d. ; and seven gunners at 6d. each per diem. The whole annual Cost of maintenance was £363 6s. 8d. The Captain and Steward of the Isle of Wight received £47 7s. 6d. per annum. The mother and many of the friends of the Earl of Portland were Roman Catholics ; and he himself was believed to, at least, favour the Church of Rome. To rebut this charge an address was signed by the principal inhabitants of the island in favour of their " noble and much-honoured and beloved Captain and Governor," in which, dropping all allusion to his waste of ammunition, &c., they confined themselves to the more important question of his religious faith, stating that not only was he a principal benefactor to the weekly lecture at Newport, but also that there was not one professed Papist or favourer of Papacy in the whole Isle of Wight. The House of Commons disregarded this petition, whereupon twenty-four knights and squires signed on August 8, 1642, a declaration of their determination to support with their lives and fortunes the Protestant religion, and to "admit no foreign power, or forces, or new government, except his Majesty, by advice of his Parliament, upon occasion that may arise, shall think it necessary to alter it in any particulars for the good and safety of the Kingdom." When Goring declared for the King at Portsmouth, on August 2, 1642, he had already received ;£9000 from Mr. Weston, the brother of the Earl of Portland ; and on August 16 the House of Commons resolved that " Mr. Nicholas Weston did ill service to the Parliament in the business of Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight," and he, in consequence, lost his seat in the House as member for Newton, I.W. No election was to take place in his stead. The Earl of Portland had been committed to the custody of Sheriff Garrett, and was not released until January 2, 1643, on his own petition, and went to Oxford. He afterwards took part in the siege of Weymouth for the King. On Saturday, August 6, the Earl of Warwick, the Parliamentary Admiral, stopped the sending of supplies from the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth, which Goring was then holding for the King. The Earl of Pembroke was now appointed to succeed the Earl of Portland as Captain of the Island. Clarendon says: "And when they were resolved no longer to trust the Isle of Wight in the hands of the Earl of Portland, who had long been the King's Governor there, and had an absolute power over the affections of that people, they preferred the poor Earl of Pembroke to t, by an Ordnance of Parliament, who kindly accepted it as a testimony of their favour, and so got into actual rebellion, which he never intended to do. It is a pity to say more of him, and less could not be said to make him known." Colonel Brett then assumed command at Carisbrooke Castle, by virtue of a commission from the King. On August 13, 1642, the Earl of Warwick was ordered by Parliament to supply the town of Newport, in the Isle of Wight, with thirty barrels of powder, to be used for the defence of the island, as thought desirable by the Mayor (Mr. Moses Read)f Mr. Bunckley, Mr. Thomas Bowreman, of Brook, who was the captain of 115 militiamen, and Mr. Robert Urry, of Freshwater. Mr. Venn and Mr, Vassall were to thank the Mayor and others " for their care of the safety of that place and respects to the House." Sir Robert Dillington, " for intending to send provisions into Portsmouth and for putting his hand to a declaration " in favour of the King, was sent for as a delinquent, but was released on bail September 8, 1642. Lieut.-Colonel Buck, Captain Burleigh, who afterwards tried to rescue the King at Carisbrooke, Colonel Brett, and Captain Humphrey Turney (of Cowes) were also sent for. They surrendered to the Sergeant-at-Arms, were brought before the Committee of Examinations, and on September 26 " shall be forthwith discharged from their attendance." The Parliament had many friends in the Island ; although, as we have already seen, many of the leading men in it were favourable to the King. This was especially the case with the Governors of the fortresses. Captain Burley, at Yarmouth, the Governor and Porter of Hurst Castle, and the Countess of Portland at Carisbrooke, left no doubt as to which cause they favoured. Sir Robert Dillington tried to send over corn to Portsmouth ; but it was intercepted on the way by Master Bunckley. The adherents of the Parliament sent up a petition for horse and arms, saying that " they would serve the King in a Parliamentary way only." Whereupon 500 foot and two troops of horse wete ordered to march to their aid, and to besiege Portsmouth. The arrival of the Earl of Pembroke was anxiously awaited, so that the malcontents might take active measures against Goring and his Cavaliers. On August 16 the Cavaliers made an attempt to secure the Isle of Wight under cover of darkness. The precise locality of the attack is not specified, but the people assembled, and Captain Johnson, " a man of most puissant courage," sallied from the town with 300 very well-armed men. The assailants opened fire, wounding two men, but were at length obliged to retire. About 9 a.m. they began to show themselves in battle array, and " after some parley, they fell to it like furious lions, and when they had felt the angry bullets on both sides they rested for the space of two or three hours, and then fell on again with as much fury as they did at first." After a long skirmish the Cavaliers fled, having many killed and wounded. Only six or seven of Captain Johnson's men needed the aid of a surgeon. The defences of Newport were but weak, and Carisbrooke Castle was in sad want of ammunition and other necessaries. The Earl of Pembroke was ordered to proceed thither at once, and he accordingly started from Wiltshire on Monday, August 29. One of the men-of-war then blockading Portsmouth was commanded by a Scotch nobleman, who, throughout the operations, did good service for the Parliament. On Tuesday, August 16, he sent out his long boat and captured Captain Turney, the Governor of " Cowes Castle," and two other gentlemen, one of whom was brother to the Earl of Portland. These prisoners being safely secured, a body of seamen was landed, who took possession of the Castle, placing in it a garrison favourable to the Parliament. This same Scotch nobleman kept back provisions from Portsmouth, and captured a boat going to the Island laden with light horses, saddles, and equipments for the use of Cavaliers. The boatman saying that his fare was nine shillings, this active commander paid him, telling him at the same time that if he would bring the horses alongside he would give him another freight. This nobleman went on shore, and threatened Captain Newland, " a great, fat, tall man of a very heathenish behaviour," who had sent some corn to the garrison of Portsmouth, that if he offended again he should be sent up to the Parliament as a prisoner. " A captain that is possessed of a castle near the Cows " (no doubt Colonel Brett, at Carisbrooke), persuaded the Island Militia to entrust him with their arms for safe keeping against the Cavaliers. He then declined to surrender them until the ubiquitous but nameless Scotch nobleman threatened to batter the castle about his ears. This threat had the desired effect. Moses Read, the Mayor of Newport, now represented to Parliament the great danger occurring to the State from the Countess of Portland being allowed to continue in Carisbrooke Castle, with her five children and her husband's brother and sister, with Colonel Brett as her warder. Read was soon ordered to adopt any measures he might think necessary for the safety of the Island, and the captains of ships anchored near the Island were directed to afford him every assistance. Read, expecting no resistance, marched the Newport Militia, with 400 naval auxiliaries, 200 of whom were landed by Captain Swanley, and an equal number from the fleet of the Earl of Warwick, against the Castle where Brett had not above twenty men, many well- wishers to him being deterred from assisting them by the menaces of the populace, who threw off all respect for their superiors. Harby, the Curate of Newport, a man under peculiar obligations to the Earl of Portland, distinguished himself by stirring up the feelings of the besiegers against the Countess and her children, saying that she was a Papist, and exhorting them, in the canting phraseology of the times, to be valiant, as they were about " to fight the battle of the Lord." The Castle had not at that time three days* provision for its small garrison ; yet the Countess, with the magnanimity of a Roman matron, went to the platform with a match in her hand, vowing she would fire the first cannon herself, and defend the Castle to the utmost extremity, unless honourable terms were granted. After some negotiations, articles of capitulation were agreed on, and the Castle surrendered. It was agreed that Colonel Brett and Master Nicholas Weston, with their servants and the garrison, should have quarter and might go anywhere within the Island ; but they were not to visit Portsmouth, which was then held by Goring for the King. The Countess and her family were to reside in the Castle, with the use of a few rooms, until Parliament should otherwise order. On September 2 the House ot Lords was urged to remove her and her family from the Island ; and she was at once ordered to depart, with only two days' notice. No inhabitant of the Island would convey her to the main- land, since she was suspected of favouring Popery ; and she was at last indebted to the kindness of some merchant seamen for a passage across the Solent. Master Nicholas Weston, her husband's brother, accompanied her. Captain Browne Bushell, who had, a few days before, captured the Henrietta Maria^ pinnace, at Portsmouth, and landed ship's guns to batter the town, was placed in charge of Carisbrooke Castle by Captain Swanley, who afterwards saw service at Southampton and on the coast of Ireland, until further orders of Parliament ; and on August 27, 1642, a letter from Newport ends thus : " So now our whole Island is at peace ! " The other forts on the Island were seized at the same time as Carisbrooke Castle; and on the arrival of the Earl of Pembroke at Cowes, he received an address of welcome signed by the principal gentlemen and farmers. No other attempt was made at resistance ; and, though somewhat agitated by Charles's residence in Carisbrooke a few years later, the Wight remained fairly tranquil during the whole of the Civil War. This fortunate circumstance invited many families from the neighbouring counties, which were exposed to the horrors of warfare, to go and settle there ; in consequence of which the rents of farms rose in proportion of from £20 to £100, and did not find their ordinary level until the Restoration. Carisbrooke Castle was used as a State prison both by Cromwell and by Charles II. Towards the end of the Commonwealth period Sir William Davenant was confined here, and here completed his "Gondibert," a poem which probably no ten men now living have read from beginning to end. At Osborne resided Eustace Mann, a staunch royalist, who, according to a vulgar tradition, buried a large sum of money during the troubles ot the Civil War in an adjacent wood, still known as " Money Coppice," and, not marking the spot, was never able to recover his treasure. He gave the fine seventeenth-century communion service to Newport Church, part of it in 1630 and the remainder probably about 1698. Sir William Lisle, a gallant Cavalier, who faithfully followed Charles II. in his exile, is buried in Wootton Church. On September 26, 1642, Sir J. Lee was ordered to the Isle ot Wight, having been appointed Colonel of a regiment by the Earl of Pembroke ; and on Debember 1 2 twenty men, at Zd. per diem, were to garrison Carisbrooke Castle. Mr. Peter Gard, collector in the Isle of Wight, is mentioned, January 14, 1643 ; and on February 11, Captain Richard Swanley wrote a letter to the House of Commons on board " H.M.S. Charles^ riding at Cowes." He stated that a royal proclamation in 1639 had forbidden Englishmen " to sail with other nations." He had, therefore, sent his boatswain to " Captain Whittavell, Vice-Admiral to Van Tromp, now in Cowes Road, bound for East India," to demand the surrender of all EngHsh sailors. The Dutchman twice refused, whereupon Swanley ordered the Captain of Cowes Castle and the Mayor and Corporation of Newport to stop all supplies to the Dutch Fleet. Sir H. Vane, junr., and Mr. Lisle were ordered to write to Captain Swanley, bidding him countermand these orders without delay ; and Mr. Pym was to write to Mr. Strickland " that he may satisfy the States herein." On Saturday, January 11, 1643, the Isle of Wight was to provide £500 worth of food "for the garrison of Portsmouth, which is to have all desired clothes," and on February 15 measures were taken for the relief of " such poor distressed Irish Protestants as are come out of Ireland into the Isle of Wight." On Monday, February 27, 1643, a petition from the Isle of Wight was presented to ParHament. It stated that the defences of the Island were very weak, and that there was good cause for fearing a foreign invasion, and asked that all monies raised in the Island for purposes of defence might be expended within its limits. A supply of heavy guns, muskets, match, powder, bullets, corslets, &c., was requested for immediate issue to the various forts and castles, together with a guard of ships. The petitioners were also anxious that the troops on the mainland of Hampshire might be warned to hasten to their assistance as soon as an alarm was given. The subscribers to the fund for the defence ot the Island seem to have been numerous; and on Monday, April 4, 1643, a Committee was appointed by Parliament to carry their wishes into effect, consisting of Sir Henry Worsley, Bart,, Colonel Thomas Came, John Lisle and John Bulkley, Esqs., all Deputy-Lieutenants of the Isle of Wight. Mr. Davies says, " In the trouble of this period the authorities of Southampton seem to have sympathised generally with the Royalists. It appears, however, that a rising in the opposite interest took place on November 7, 1642, on the pretext of which, on November 8, Colonel Whitehead sought entrance for his troops, agreeing to be responsible for their payment, whether he brought three, four, or five hundred men for the quiet of the town. On the 13th November 100 men were sent by sea from Portsmouth, and were received by the Mayor at the Water-gate. The Mayflower also was anchored in the river, whilst within the walls the usual guard of burgesses was set in the wards, who had the authority to sound the alarm, and to rouse the inhabitants by beating drums at any threatening of assault." A garrison for South- ampton was voted by Parliament on November 29, and the members for the town were on the same day ordered " to attend the service of the House, all delays and excuses set apart." Three regiments of volunteers, to be commanded by Colonels Ruthen, Bamfield, and some other commander, were on December 5, 1642, voted to be raised for Parliament service in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Wilts, and Hants. The Deputy-Lieutenants of these counties were ordered to disarm all Trained Band soldiers who refused to join this force, which had the power of martial law, and to give their arms to the newly-raised regiments. "The authorities of Southampton on December 7 respited the enquiry into the commotion of November 7, for fear of another rising, which might bring forces on the town from the ships of war at hand in the Parliamentary interest," under the command of the Earl of Warwick. There was a good deal of anxiety felt in Southampton about this time. Captain Richard Swanley, of H.M.S. Charles, an active partisan of the Parliament, who had played an active part in the attack upon Carisbrooke Castle, was giving trouble. On December 9, 1642, Master Goter, of Southampton, sent a letter "to a merchant of good quality in Lombard Street," telling how the Mayor and Corporation had met to discuss a letter received by them from Captain Swanley, and which Mr. Davies gives in full. Captain Swanley stated that on December 3 he was in possession of Calshot, and had disabled Nutley (Netley) and St. Andrew's Castles, and that he had also stopped the boats going with provisions to Southampton from Hythe and the Isle of Wight. Some other letters followed, which Mr. Davies has given in extenso, and at last a deputation was sent to Portsmouth to declare that the town would henceforth submit to the authority of the Parliament. Master Goter says that the Mayor and some of the richer burgesses were inclined to favour the royal cause, and that the discussion upon Captain Swanley's letters was of a very lively character. With reference to the submission to the demand for a surrender, Goter adds : " Yet every man underwrit it not : it was thought that Swanley would have come up the river with his ships, and beat the town about our ears." When Alderman Gollop and Mr. Le Gay had, as a matter of self-interest, signified at Portsmouth the fidelity of Southampton to the Parliament, Calshot Castle, which was then considered to be a strong fortress, was duly supplied with shot. The town of Lymington, which contained friends to both the contending parties, about this time sent its records to Hurst Castle for safe custody. On December 30, 1642, Captain Swanley and others were ordered to be rewarded and held harmless for their services in the Isle of Wight and at Ports- mouth. They were also to be commissioned to land men and guns, and to do hostile acts on occasion for the service of the King and Parliament.
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