THE FORTRESS

CHAPTER 12

ROYALIST REBELLIONS AND THE RESTORATION

The international and regional trade that was so vital to the city’s economy and future prosperity had been so badly affected during the Civil War, that the assembly was forced to sell the city’s treasures in order to meet the fines and levies imposed by the new regime. Every source of civic revenue was exploited and exhausted in an effort to settle the debts that were laid at the city’s door and it was usually the less fortunate that paid the highest price. Financial provisions for the poor and the sick within the city were diverted away by the authorities to pay for the settlement of these accumulated liabilities and leaving the city’s worst off in an even worse condition.

By the end of February 1646 and with the city only just beginning to come to terms with its previous 20 weeks of total siege, the city was once again used by the new government as a mustering and provisioning point for its forces that were destined for Ireland. With the city streets still filled with filth and a shortage of both food and clean drinking water, the city also had to find supplies to satisfy the thousands of troops that were gathering in Chester throughout the period. The assembly was forced to introduce regulations which would help to guarantee the price and availability of stores, so that the troops could be fully provisioned and any profiteering by unscrupulous traders fully eliminated

In June 1646 matters were brought to a head when another round of plague broke out in the city and its already limited resources were stretched to breaking point. Thought to have been introduced by a number of the soldiers that passed through the city on their way to the port at Parkgate, the disease decimated the local population as well as those that were simply visiting the area. In a little over 12 months the death toll was said to have exceeded over 2000 people, with a majority of the fatalities being from the poor and working classes within the city.

By the middle of the following year the city was finally beginning to turn the corner in terms of its latest outbreak of plague and many of the wealthier people that had fled Chester to escape the illness were starting to return and slowly but surely the local economy began to grow again. Trade had changed though and the regulations introduced by the corporation to help control the price and supply of critical food stores was just the beginning. Many of the merchants and traders that now conducted business in and around Chester were not local businessmen, but merely agents for outside merchants or simply visitors to the city. In many cases the profits that were made from buying and selling did not remain in the city, but instead went to the home towns of these visiting agents or traders.

Damage caused to the historic corn grinding mills on the Dee and the general slow down in trade with Ireland, no doubt in response to the continuing military activity there, were both instrumental in suppressing trade within the city. Over time the cereal trade and wine importation from the continent did begin to recover, but the livestock trade, upon which Chester’s leather industries relied continued to be slow, with a corresponding slowdown in production.

This reduction in the city’s wealth continued to have a directly negative effect on the very poorest within the community and during the period from 1644 through to 1648 there was little if any assistance for the city’s beggars or the unemployed. The workhouse which had existed outside of the northern defenses had been demolished during the city’s siege and the food and shelter that it had afforded its former residents had disappeared almost overnight. The public and private monies that in usual times would have supported such charitable organizations had either been diverted to the defense of the city or else had left the city with its rich benefactors.

Substantial damage to the very fabric of Chester had been extensive, both during and after the siege itself. Tyrer’s Water Tower, the city’s walls, the Dee Mills and St John’s church were just a small number of the vitally important and historic buildings that had suffered as a direct result of the city’s bombardment. Several of the city’s finest churches had been systematically vandalized by gangs of Parliamentary soldiers who took exception to their fine stained glass, crosses, fonts and altars and regarded them as nothing more than “papist” accessories that had no place in a house of God. The city’s High Cross, which had been used as a rallying point for Chester’s citizenry for hundreds of years, was torn down by these same Parliamentarian forces and was only finally restored to its rightful place some 300 years later.

Throughout the length of the city’s defensive walls, there were sections that had been both battered and breached and yet despite their harsh treatment had remained largely intact. Six years earlier in 1641 a report for the assembly had noted that the walls were in an extremely poor state and in some places had actually fallen down. It is a testament to the skills of the men that rebuilt these ruinous sections that a short time later these same walls would survive relatively intact having been subjected to the best that modern siege guns could throw at them.

Following the surrender of the city, Chester retained a relatively small military presence, no doubt to ensure that it remained in Parliamentary hands and because of the large numbers of troops that were mustering in the city prior to leaving for Ireland. Though Chester itself had been subdued, there were still occasional outbreaks of fighting and civil unrest throughout the country right through to 1651. In December 1647 Charles was reported to have fled to Scotland and in return for his promise to reform the legislation that he had enacted against the Scottish churches, was given forces that might help him defeat the new model army. In July of the following year Charles was said to have led this army into England, but was met and defeated yet again by the new Parliamentarian forces.

At the time and despite his decision to employ foreign forces against the English people, Parliament had still hoped to return Charles to the throne, after having agreed new constitutional changes with the monarch. There were extremist elements within the army however, that believed that the king was no longer worthy to rule the country and set in motion a series of events that would end the rule of Charles I forever. An army officer, Sir Thomas Pride, was said to have arrested a number of MP’s and prevented 146 others from attending a session of Parliament that would call for the king to be tried for treason. The 75 MP’s that were permitted to attend this “rump” Parliament were far more sympathetic to the army’s wish for an end to Charles and so with little or no opposition to their debate a call for the king to be tried for treason was passed.

Despite Charles’ assertion that he ruled by divine right and that therefore the court did not have the authority to try him, events had progressed too far for them to be undone. The court, not surprisingly, found the king guilty of treason against the people and imposed the only possible sentence. On the 13^th of January 1649, Charles I the anointed King of England was taken out and beheaded as a traitor to both his country and to his people.

History would later record that it was a Cheshire-born man that played an unplanned, yet pivotal role in the temporary abolition of the English monarchy and the rise of the Parliamentary system. John Bradshaw was said to have been born at Wibbersley Hall in Malpas, Cheshire in December 1602; although some records suggest that his actual birthplace was “Peace Farm” in Stockport, Cheshire. He was reported to have been the youngest son of one Henry Bradshaw, a member of a minor county family and his wife Catherine Winnington, daughter of Ralph Winnington.

His parents had six children, although their first born son, William, died within a few months of his birth in 1597. John’s remaining siblings were Dorothy born in 1598, Anne born in 1599, Henry born in 1601 and Francis who was born in 1604. Sadly, their mother died while delivering Francis and so their father Henry was left to bring up the 5 children alone.

John’s early education was thought to have been undertaken at the local grammar schools at Bunbury and later at Macclesfield. He was then said to have studied under a local attorney in Congleton, having developed an interest in the legal profession. Bradshaw later studied at Grays Inn from 1622 and was thought to have been called to the Bar in 1627, at the age of 25. He was known to have practiced as a fairly successful lawyer for a decade or so, before being appointed as Attorney General for Cheshire and Flintshire in 1637, the same year he was elected as Mayor of Congleton in Cheshire.

Three years later he was said to have moved to London and been appointed as a Judge in the Sheriff’s Court at the city’s Guildhall. It was around this same time that a number of high profile legal cases brought him public recognition. He acted for the prosecution against the Irish Rebel Lords, McGuire and McMahon, which led to their executions in 1644. He was then said to have acted as the defense barrister for John Lilburne in his appeal against the sentence which had been imposed on him by the Star Chamber, 8 years earlier.

In 1645 he was reported to have been appointed as Junior Counsel for Parliament and the following year was nominated as the Commissioner of the Great Seal, although this nomination was later blocked by his political opponents. Shortly afterwards Bradshaw was appointed as Chief Justice of Cheshire and Flintshire in 1647. The same year he was involved in the prosecution of Judge Jenkins, who was tried by Parliament for High Treason.

During the first English Civil War itself, Bradshaw himself was not directly involved in the military conflict, but was said to have carried on his legal duties, dispensing justice to one and all. In 1648 he was appointed as Sergeant at Law by the Rump Parliament that had made the decision to try the king Charles I for High Treason.

In 1649 Bradshaw was offered the post of President of the High Court of Justice, which many of his contemporaries had chosen to refuse. Despite his best efforts to avoid the appointment he reluctantly accepted the post, determined that justice should be done, regardless of the accused persons status or role.

Inevitably, he was required to preside over the Parliamentary Commission that would try Charles I and which would consider the evidence that was brought against the monarch. It was a task that Bradshaw undertook in a diligent and thoughtful manner. When the commission finally reached its almost pre-determined decision, it fell to Bradshaw to publicly announce its verdict, that the king had been found guilty of treason and that the sentence was death. His final onerous task in respect of the monarch was to sign the Death Warrant and he was thought to be the first member of the commission to do.

Following the kings execution, Bradshaw was rewarded with the first presidency of the Council of State in 1649 and was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Cornwall. He was also re-appointed as Chief Justice of Cheshire and was granted large sums by Parliament to support and manage his great public offices. It was also Bradshaw’s fate to preside over the trials of the Royalist leaders of the second Civil War, which saw him judge and condemn to death Hamilton, Capel and Holland. 

Seemingly, a highly principled individual later in his career, he came into direct conflict with Oliver Cromwell, particularly with the Protector’s decision to close Parliament by force of arms, which Bradshaw publicly condemned. His public admonishment of Cromwell was never forgiven by his former ally and in later years Bradshaw found his position constantly undermined by the Protector and his supporters. Despite Cromwell’s opposition to him, Bradshaw was elected to Parliament as Member for Cheshire and sat in the Protectorate Parliaments throughout the 1650’s.

In Cheshire itself, Bradshaw’s religious and political radicalism was said to have made him extremely unpopular with a number of the county’s leading family’s and was thought to have been a contributing factor in George Booth’s uprising in 1659. It was only Bradshaw’s failing health at the beginning of 1659 that finally forced him to finally surrender many of his heavy and onerous duties. But as his life drew to a close he was unrepentant regarding the role he had played in the late monarch’s death. He also remained scathing about Cromwell and the Lord Protectors decision to suppress Parliament and to initiate his singular, seemingly unopposed rule of the country.

Bradshaw died in October 1659, aged 57 and was reported to have been interred at Westminster Abbey. However, following the later restoration of Charles II his remains, along with those of Cromwell and Ireton were reported to have been hung in chains on the Gibbet at Tyburn. In an act of political spite their heads were also removed and publicly displayed as “Regicides” in Westminster Hall, supposedly for a period of more than 20 years. The rest of their remains were thought to have been burned, with the ashes buried beneath the gallows.

In the same year that his father had been executed Charles II was said to have been crowned in Scotland and immediately set about trying to recover the English throne. At the head of a large Scottish army he was said to have invaded England in 1650, but was met in the September by Oliver Cromwell and his new professional army who quickly overcame the invading forces. Despite this defeat, Charles II along with the remainder of his force continued to push forward into England and it was only at Worcester on 3^rd September 1651 that they were finally stopped by Cromwell. Following this final defeat and the near total destruction of his army the new king and his surviving retinue were compelled to flee the country and to seek sanctuary on the European continent.

The English Parliament now held total control of the country and with the Royalist cause temporarily stifled there were hopes that the country could be reconciled and the people’s hopes and expectations fulfilled. But the Parliament was still divided by competing groups who sought to exploit its power and authority for their own advantage and in the process achieved no real benefits for the people that they governed. Because of this stalemate within the legislature and the blatant misrule of the country, elements of the army under the control of Oliver Cromwell were reported to have marched on Westminster to dissolve the Parliament. Having been appointed as Lord Protector, Cromwell ultimately introduced new laws, suppressed rebellion in the country and helped establish the foundations for the English Commonwealth system which remains with us today.   

Following its eventual capture by the Parliamentarians and in spite of its national importance as a major logistical centre which handled the passage of thousands of troops going to Ireland, Chester did not seem to warrant any special consideration in terms of its continued security from the national authorities. Given the relatively small military presence in the city at the time, it is perhaps hardly surprising that this particular situation would be exploited at some time by one of the many Royalist factions that still existed in the country.

Roger Whitley was said to have served as a Royalist Colonel during the English Civil War and was reported to have married Charlotte, the sister of Charles, Lord Gerrard, later the Earl of Macclesfield. Along with his brother-in-law, Whitley was thought to have served under Prince Rupert during the national conflict and in the later siege at Chester. Charlotte was reported to have died in 1662, but bore Whitley 3 daughters and 2 sons. His daughter Elizabeth was thought to have married into the wealthy and influential Mainwaring family, marrying Sir John Mainwaring in 1656.

His other two daughters were Henrietta Maria and Charlotte. His two sons were Thomas, who lived at the family home at Aston Hall in Hawarden. The second son, also called Roger, was reported to be constantly in debt and thought to have spent much of his time trying to avoid his creditors.

Whitley was said to have attended Charles II while he was exiled in France and played a part in George Booth’s unsuccessful uprising, which was defeated at Winnington Bridge. Following the restoration of the king in 1660, he was handsomely rewarded for his services to the monarch, including being appointed as Deputy Postmaster, an important post that would subsequently bring him into conflict with both the king and Parliament.

He was also known to have been appointed as the warden of the hospital of St John the Baptist in Chester, following the restoration and it was during his tenure that the building was largely rebuilt. A highly active politician, both locally and at a national level, Whitley served in Parliament throughout the 1680’s, as well as 1695 and was accused of being involved in Monmouth’s Rebellion of 1683, which he always vigorously denied.

Because he was under suspicion by both the king and Parliament, following the Rye House Plot in 1683, Whitley’s home was searched for contraband. Later in the same year, he and his sons, along with the Earl of Macclesfield and Lord Brandon were forced to provide security for their future conduct. These undertakings were made in front of Sir George Jeffrey’s, the Chief Justice of Chester, who would later be remembered for his “Bloody Assizes”. Brandon was later charged with Treason and the Earl of Macclesfield fled the country, rather than face the authorities.

Despite his occasional misfortunes, Whitley was elected to Parliament once again in 1689 and was said to have been appointed as a “Gentleman of the Privy Chamber”, by the monarch William of Orange in around 1690. William III had replaced King James II in a bloodless coup, having landed at Torbay in 1688 and found that the English army and Parliament supported his claim to the throne. For his part, James II had met with William shortly after he had landed and by December 1689 was on his way to exile in France.   

In June 1690, the new English king, William of Orange was reported to have stayed at Whitley’s Cheshire home, Peele Hall, while on his way to Ireland and the famous Battle of the Boyne, a victory still celebrated by Irish Protestants some 300 years later.

Whitley was finally elected as Mayor of Chester in 1693 and served subsequent terms until 1696 when he decided to retire from public office. Before leaving office however, Whitley was reported to have made a large contribution to the cost of Chester’s new Exchange Building, which was the predecessor to today’s Town Hall. Whitley was said to have died in 1697, just a year after retiring from the post of Mayor and 12 months before the new Exchange building was completed. 

In common with most of Cheshire’s leading family’s Sir James Stanley the 7^th Earl of Derby was a faithful subject of Charles I at the time of the Civil War and following the monarch’s later execution actively supported and campaigned for his son’s claim to the English throne. This particular member of the family is often referred to as the “Great Stanley” and was thought to have succeeded Sir William Stanley who died at Chester in 1642. 

It was reported that around 1651, Sir James along with a force of 300 supporters had left the Isle of Man to meet with the exiled Charles II at Worcester. Along the way he was said to have recruited additional men from both the counties of Cheshire and Lancashire and with this force attacked the town of Wigan. There he was met by a large force of Parliamentary Dragoons and battle ensued between the two forces. Despite being hit several times by enemy fire and having his mount shot from underneath him, Stanley was reported to have still managed to escape the field, as his force was defeated by their enemy. 

Together with his remaining forces Stanley was then said to have made his way back into Cheshire, where they were unexpectedly intercepted by another Parliamentary force and subsequently forced to surrender themselves.

Tried by a Parliamentary court for Treason, the Lord Stanley and a number of his supporters were found guilty of their crime and condemned to die. While being held at Chester’s medieval castle however, the Earl almost succeeded in escaping his fate after supporters managed to get a rope into the prison with which he might escape. Having successfully scaled the walls of the castle and then reached the river where a boat was waiting to spirit him away, his escape was said to have been discovered and following a brief search he was soon recaptured and taken back into custody.

Rather than risk any further attempts to free Stanley, the Parliamentary authorities decided to move him to his home town of Bolton the following day. A short time later, Sir James Stanley, the Earl of Derby was said to have been beheaded by the Royal executioner in the marketplace in Bolton. It was a similar fate to that which befell his ally Sir Timothy Featherstonehaugh, who was said to have been similarly executed at Chester’s marketplace, outside of the Abbey’s gateway, a day or so earlier.

Charles Stanley, the Earl of Derby was the former Lord Strange who succeeded to the title of Earl of Derby following the death of his father, James, who was executed at Bolton in 1651. Born in 1627, Charles was said to have accompanied his late father to the mustering of King Charles I Royalist forces at Preston in 1642, when he was only 15 years old. Around 1650 he was reported to have married Dorothea Helena, who was the maid of honor to the Queen of Bohemia. This marriage was undertaken without his father’s permission and it was said to have been a cause of continued conflict between the two men.

In spite his father’s active participation in the first English Civil War, Charles himself appears to have taken very little part in the struggle and was thought to have remained relatively neutral throughout. Following his father’s execution, the new Earl and his Countess had chosen to remain at Bidston Hall in Cheshire, the house which had been built by his grandfather, William Stanley, the 6^th Earl of Derby.

Regardless of his own relative inactivity during earlier Royalist campaigns, Stanley was said to have been an active participant in the uprising led by Sir George Booth in 1659. Booth seized Chester during the rebellion against Parliamentary rule, but was subsequently defeated at Winnington Bridge by General Lambert. The Earl of Derby was reported to have raised a large body of men in Lancashire to support Booth’s rebellion, but these too were defeated at the same time. Following their defeat by Lambert, Booth and Derby were both arrested and held prisoner, but the later Restoration of Charles II saw both men released and restored to their earlier positions.

During the reign of Charles II, Stanley and his Countess continued to live relatively quiet lives at their home at Knowsley and set about restoring their family’s seriously diminished fortunes. Records suggest that Stanley was later appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Liverpool by the restored Charles II.

In around 1659, George Booth was said to have been commissioned by the still exiled Charles II to take military control of Cheshire as well as the city of Chester. In collusion with a number of the city’s corporation, who were all opposed to the Parliamentary regime, he managed to gain access to the city at the head of an armed force of some 3000 men and to take control of its inner precincts. The military Governor, Colonel Thomas Croxton along with his small regular force were thought to have been forced to withdraw to the castles defenses and await the arrival of a relief force

As a child, Booth was reported to have been orphaned fairly early in life and was then brought up by his grandparents instead. His grandfather was also called George Booth, whose family home was at Dunham Massey, on the outskirts of Chester. Shortly after reaching his majority, the young Booth was reported to have taken up arms in support of Parliament during the first English Civil War and was said to have been elected as MP for Cheshire in 1645.

Nine years later he was reported to have been appointed as a Commissioner during the rule of the Major General’s and was known to be a highly critical opponent of the system which was introduced by the national authorities. He was also vocal in his opposition to the religious and political radicalism of John Bradshaw, a fellow MP and the President of the Council of State.

In 1659 and having become totally disillusioned with the Parliamentary cause of the Cromwell’s, Booth was said to have become involved with Royalists factions that were seeking to restore the monarchy to England. Booth himself led the local rebellion against Parliamentary rule in Cheshire, a part of which involved his seizing Chester for the cause. His fellow conspirators within the city were thought to have included the Mayor Gerard Jones, the Sheriff William Heywood and the city Recorder John Ratcliffe. It was said to have been Heywood that arranged for the city’s gates to be left open, in order that Booth’s forces could enter Chester unopposed.

Having taken control of the city and isolated the small military contingent within the castle, Booth then set about recruiting Chester’s inhabitants to his cause and along with his confederates within the corporation was said to have managed to raise 3 companies of foot soldiers to support him. They were said to have held control of the city for about 3 weeks, until Booth and his irregular forces were met and defeated by the Parliamentarians under General Lambert at Winnington Bridge on the 16th August 1659. Booth himself was reported to have escaped the field in disguise, but was later taken at Newport Pagnall and sent to the Tower of London. Colonel Croxton and his defenders in the castle were thought to have finally been relieved by Colonel John Lambert shortly afterwards and the rebellion within the city was thought to have collapsed almost immediately afterwards.

As punishment for their part in the rebellion the city corporation was said to have been ordered to be dissolved and its status as a county town revoked by the Parliamentarians. These penalties were never applied however, as the Parliamentary authorities did not stay in power long enough to enforce the sanctions.

Fortunately for Booth and his companions, the tide of Political and Puritanical radicalism which had earlier swept the country was itself beginning to wane and it was calmer voices that prevailed in England. Released on bail, Booth was shortly afterwards elected to the Convention Parliament and was chosen as one of its representatives to invite the exiled Charles II to return to England as its king. Richly rewarded by the restored monarchy for his services to the crown, Booth was later created Lord Delamere at the coronation of King Charles II in April 1661.    

The following year 1661 saw yet another reoccurrence of the dreaded plague within the city and the historic Michaelmas fair was said to have been cancelled in order to prevent visitors spreading the disease to the wider region. As with the earlier outbreaks, the city’s poorer inhabitants seem to have taken the full force of the epidemic and the city’s economy was once again hit by the restrictions that were imposed to prevent further outbreaks. Overseas trade was now being depressed by a number of continental conflicts and piracy on the high seas was thought to be increasing. Chester was having to rely more heavily on coastal trading within England itself, but fortunately for the city the trade in lead and ore from North Wales remained relatively stable.

In common with much of the city, the cathedral of Christ and the Blessed Virgin was said to have been in a seriously poor condition at the beginning of the 1660’s. The lack of investment in its maintenance and repair was added to by the deterioration of the soft red sandstone that formed the bulk of its structure. In 1664 the house of the Earls of Shrewsbury which lay in the southern part of the city close to the Bridgegate, had to be rebuilt, and immediately afterwards became an Inn, which stands today as the Bear and Billet. In the same year Charles II was said to have awarded Chester its new royal charter and once again confirmed its status as a county town. The 1660’s were said to have ended with the dismantling of the great spire which stood atop St Peter’s church at the city’s High Cross. This ancient church which could trace its foundation back to the time of the Saxon kings was thought to be so badly neglected that its steeple was regarded as a danger to the inhabitants of the city that it had served for so long.

For the next 20-odd years or so Chester was reported to be busy rebuilding its shattered infrastructure and it seems allowing many of its historic buildings to decay even further. It was only with the arrival of James II in 1687 that the city once again became an important logistical centre for the Crown and it was thought that the Cathedral had been improved sufficiently for the king to attend services there during his visit. It was also notable that his presence in Chester was marked by a decision to build a new armory at Chester castle and enhance its fighting capabilities. In the following year the city once again played host to English troops, only this time they were returning to the mainland in order to support an unstable monarchy. Troops serving in Ireland were said to have been recalled by James II to join soldiers from Lancashire which he intended to use to reinforce his claim to the throne of England.

His counter-claimant for the English Crown was the Dutch monarch William of Orange who disputed James’ right to rule and it was clear that their differences would ultimately have to be resolved by force of arms. James it seems was not that confident of victory and towards the end of 1688 was said to have fled the country and in doing so handed the Crown to his adversary. Chester’s governor and its leading citizens on the corporation were not slow to endorse the new foreign monarch and all immediately proclaimed their allegiance to the new king.

Lord Delamere, the son of Sir George Booth was an active supporter of William of Orange in his claim for the English throne and was said to have marched his forces to meet the new king as he came ashore in Britain. The city of Chester itself was seized by Lord Molineux and Lord Aston, but following James’ flight out of the country it proved to be unnecessary precaution. Despite the relatively bloodless exchange of monarch the country continued to be a restless and turbulent place, with any number of occasional rebellions and uprisings taking place throughout the period.

The native peoples of both Ireland and Scotland were thought to have shared a common grievance against the English monarchy, the feudal system that it supported and the crown’s continuing oppression and dispossession of their lands. A relatively small number of titled English landowners were known to have held great swathes of land in both countries, gifted to them or their ancestors by the Crown as rewards for their service or loyalty. When these English families took possession of these Irish or Scottish estates they simply expelled the native peoples who had lived there for generations and in doing so planted the seed of insurrection in their souls.

The Scottish people had a second reason to fight the new monarch that had succeeded James II to the English crown. James was first and foremost a Scot and as such his sympathies were very much with his native people. The usurping of his throne by William of Orange, a foreign king, was as good a reason for them to oppose English rule whenever and however they possibly could.  

In 1689 the Irish people were reported to have rebelled against the English forces that remained in their lands and the Crown was once again compelled to send additional British troops to reinforce their overstretched military garrisons. As before Chester became a central mustering and provisioning point for these forces prior to their embarkation from the Dee ports. The sick and wounded troops from the conflict were also said to have been returned to the city and treated at a temporary hospital that was established there in 1691. A number of prisoners of war and alleged spies were also known to have been held at Chester castle during the period of the emergency.

A number of those involved in a Lancashire based Jacobite plot were also said to have been held at the castle during 1694 and 20 years later these same cells were used to house some of the ring leaders of the 1715 Jacobite Uprising. The conditions within the castle’s gaol were said to be so severe that most of the ring-leaders did not survive long enough to stand trial, but succumbed to the cold and fever that were prevalent at the time. Most of those that did survive the rigors of Chester’s gaol were later reported to have been sentenced to transportation to the British colonies and would never see their homeland again.

These 3 separate Jacobite Rebellions were known to have had their foundations in the period which saw James II and William of Orange dispute their individual entitlement to the throne of England. They were also thought to be a direct result of the divisions and hatred which existed between the Catholic, Protestant and Presbyterian faiths that each particular party represented.

James II of England had come to the throne in 1685 following the death of his brother Charles II and was almost immediately involved in a dispute for the crown with James Scott, the Duke of Monmouth. He was the illegitimate son of the late king Charles and believed that he, rather than James, was the legal heir to the throne. In any event the uprising led by Monmouth and his supporters was quickly quelled by James, but the incident left its mark on him. Eager to fully secure his authority and position, the new monarch set about appointing Roman Catholic supporters to key positions and effectively isolating the Protestant faithful, which only served to cause even greater resentment towards the crown.

James’ later introduction of the “Declaration of Indulgence” which permitted all religious groups, apart from the Protestants, to worship their God without intervention further compounded the sense of injustice which was felt by the Protestant faithful and effectively handed their allegiance to his counter-claimant for the English and Scottish crown, the Protestant William of Orange. In 1688 James was reported to have made an allegiance with the Catholic king of France and as part of this agreement had arranged for a number of leading clergymen to be arrested. He was then said to have converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism and when his second wife produced a male heir, the largely Protestant English Parliament were faced with the prospect of a Roman Catholic sitting on the English throne, a situation they judged to be intolerable.

William of Orange was Europe’s leading Protestant monarch and throughout his reign had dedicated himself to reducing the influence of the predominantly Roman Catholic kings of France and Spain. He was married to James’ daughter Mary and his mother was Mary Stuart, a daughter of Charles I, so William was directly related to his rival for the English throne both by marriage and by blood. The English Parliament was said to have approached William directly and pleaded with him to rescue England from the prospect of a Catholic monarch.  

In November 1688 William was said to have arrived in England with his highly professional European army to pursue his claim and found that the majority of the British army and citizenry were already sympathetic to his cause, so he faced little if any opposition to his claim. James was thought to have retreated from England with a guarantee of safe conduct from his son-in-law and made his way to France and yo permanent exile. In what has often been referred to as the “Glorious Revolution” William, Prince of Orange had managed to claim the throne of England without any real blood having been spilt.

Following the successful ousting of James II the English Parliament then hoped to adopt Williams’s wife Mary as the new English monarch, with her husband being appointed as Prince Consort. However, Mary was always subject to her husband and so a compromise had to be found which would satisfy each party’s requirements.  

An equitable arrangement was reached shortly afterwards which saw William and Mary succeed to the throne as co-rulers and to be known as King William III and Queen Mary II, or more commonly as simply William and Mary. The English Parliament was to get its wish by default, as William was soon back on the continent fighting the Protestant cause, leaving Mary to reign as the monarch in her home country. She was reported to have died of smallpox in 1694 with William surviving her by eight years and finally succumbing to the injuries he received in a riding accident in 1702.

With the passing of these two Protestant monarchs the right of succession was then said to have passed to the line of Princess Sophia of Hanover. She was a grand-daughter of James I and a niece to Charles I and perhaps more importantly for the English Parliament a Protestant, as was her son who would later become George I

Large parts of Scotland were known to be Roman Catholic and these people generally supported the ousted king James II, but the Scottish Parliament itself was said to have been controlled by influential supporters of the Protestant and Presbyterian faiths. They managed to arrange for the legislature to officially condemn James II for his behavior and his “papist” legacy. The two continental countries that supported James’ right to the English throne were France and Spain, both of which were sworn enemies of Britain and both Roman Catholic by nature. Having such allies was unlikely to help James endear himself to the highly skeptical and religiously orthodox population that inhabited Britain.

The first of the “Jacobite” Rebellions was said to have been led by John Graham, the Viscount Dundee, who was a staunch supporter of the ousted James II. In April 1689 Graham proclaimed for James and was immediately supported by a number of the Scottish highland clans who joined his campaign. A little over two months later Graham’s army met and defeated a government force that had been sent to meet them. Unfortunately for the “Jacobite” cause, Graham himself was killed during the battle and lacking his leadership his army dispersed quickly afterwards. In the same year the “Bill of Rights” was enacted by the English Parliament which finally eliminated the “Royal Prerogative” which had allowed earlier monarchs to determine and implement any policy that they chose to employ. The new Bill prevented a monarch from maintaining an army without Parliamentary consent, granted the Crown an annual income for the maintenance of the office and established the Bank of England to deal with the country’s finances.

In 1690 James II was said to have landed in Ireland to attack William’s forces and rapidly assembled a force of some 20,000 men to face his enemy. On the banks of the River Boyne, James’ army was then met by over 30,000 of William’s supporters and after having been defeated by this force James was forced to retreat to France. Today, in modern day Northern Ireland this victory is still a cause for celebration amongst the “Orange” orders that exist within the local Protestant communities and is a reminder of the strident sectarianism that existed over 300 years ago and is still with us today.

Throughout the decade that followed the “Battle of the Boyne” Roman Catholics in both Scotland and Ireland were said to have been cruelly persecuted by the Protestants and Presbyterians that held sway within their countries. In 1701 James II was reported to have died in France and was then succeeded by his son James III, who was then proclaimed by Louis XIV of France, despite his having been exiled from England.

In order to finally resolve the issue over the rights of succession, the English Parliament passed the “Act of Settlement” in 1701 which restricted any accession to the English throne to the House of Hanover or to the heirs of the Protestant Queen Anne, the last of the Stuarts. It also established Parliamentary supremacy over both the country and the monarchy and forbade the declaration of war without Parliaments approval.

The Act also prevented non-indigenous people from holding Public Office and subjected Ministerial Appointments to Parliamentary approval and removed Judges from royal punishment, so that in future years they had to be formally impeached by Parliament. The people’s representatives also gained the right to name the successor to the English and Scottish thrones, thus ensuring that a Roman Catholic would never again reign as the English or Scottish Sovereign. In 1707 the “Act of Union” which tied the monarchies of the two countries together was orchestrated by members of the Protestant and Presbyterian faiths and effectively ended any hopes of a Roman Catholic Stuart ascending to the throne of either country.

In 1708 James III was said to have led a brief invasion of Scotland, but was compelled to retire to France after coming under threat from government forces. Five years later England and France signed the Treaty of Utrecht, part of which prohibited the harboring of James III and forcing the exiled monarch to move to Spain. In 1714 Queen Anne the last protestant Stuart died and was succeeded to the English throne by George I, a foreign king from the House of Hanover, who couldn’t speak a word of English.

A Scottish Lord, the Earl of Mar, who was opposed to the new foreign king raised the colors of the exiled James III. He was said to have rallied the highland clans to his cause and sent word to the banished monarch informing him of the new attempt to restore him to the throne. Mar and his forces moved on Perth and soon captured the city and later used it as their headquarters. Meanwhile a second “Jacobite” force was being assembled in the south of the country, which instead of reinforcing the northern rebels, turned south and invaded Lancashire where they were soon defeated by a government army at Preston.

The Earl of Mar was said to have mustered a force of about 12,000 men to his cause and on November 13^th 1715 saw his supporters beaten by a government army led by the Duke of Argyle. The remaining rebel forces were thought to have been beaten and in retreat even before their king James III had set foot on Scottish soil. When he finally did arrive in December 1715 there was little he could do, but avoid capture and a few weeks later was forced to retire back to the continent. A Scottish nobleman, Lord Charles Murray and a number of his accomplices were held at Chester’s medieval castle following their unsuccessful uprising, but once again many were reported to have died because of the terrible conditions within the gaol. The English government in response to these rebellions and in an effort to stamp out any further uprisings introduced the “Disarming Act” in 1716, which forbade highlanders from owning or indeed carrying weapons.

There was yet another short-lived attempt at rebellion in 1719 led by supporters of James III, but this too was doomed to failure and ultimately resulted in greater repression of the highlands by the English. Under a Major General George Wade military communications were reported to have been improved and extensive military bases constructed at both Fort Augustus and Fort William.

In 1720, James’ wife delivered a son who was called Charles and 5 years later a second son called Henry was delivered. 25 years after his birth, the king’s first son Charles would lead the final and most disastrous rebellion against the English crown. In 1745 .he would see his highland forces decimated by the English at the Battle of Culloden and he would forever be known as Bonny Prince Charlie. As with the uprising of some 30 years earlier, a number of those that survived the slaughter at Culloden were later taken to and held at Chester’s historic castle, prior to being tried for their act of rebellion.

The end of the 17^th Century was a turning point in English history, marking as it did an end to the many royal and military disputes that had continued to wrack the country for hundreds of years. For its part, the city of Chester was busy trying to identify new sources of income and a new way of life for its citizens as the country began to prepare for the unknown times that lay ahead.

(Next Chapter)

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