John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt
Encyclopedia
He was born in Lowick
Lowick
Lowick may refer to:*Lowick, Cumbria*Lowick, Northamptonshire*Lowick, Northumberland...
, the second son of John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough
John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough
-Life:He was the eldest son of Henry Mordaunt, 4th Baron Mordaunt, a Roman Catholic kept for a year in the Tower of London on suspicion of complicity in the Gunpowder Plot, who died in 1608. The widow, Lady Margaret, daughter of Henry Compton, 1st Baron Compton, also a Catholic, was deprived by...
and Elizabeth Howard (d. 1671), daughter of William Howard, 3rd Baron Howard of Effingham
William Howard, 3rd Baron Howard of Effingham
William Howard, 3rd Baron Howard of Effingham was an English nobleman, the eldest son of Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham and Katherine Carey, Lady of the chamber to Queen Elizabeth who died 25 Feb 1603 at Arundel House, Strand, Middlesex, ENG.As Sir...
.
In June 1648, he joined his brother, Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough
Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough
Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough, KG, PC, FRS was an English soldier, peer and courtier.-Early life:Styled Lord Mordaunt from 1628, he was the eldest son of John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough...
in leading a Royalist uprising, and fled with him to the Continent when it failed. He had returned to England by 1652, and married Elizabeth Carey on 7 May 1657.
He again engaged in Royalist conspiracy, and met the Marquess of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde PC was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the second of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom. He was the friend of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, who appointeed him commander of the Cavalier forces in Ireland. From 1641 to 1647, he...
on his secret trip to England in 1658. Mordaunt was betrayed and arrested on 1 April 1658. Released and re-arrested on 15 April 1658, he was charged with treason. Thomas Pride
Thomas Pride
Thomas Pride was a parliamentarian general in the English Civil War, and best known as the instigator of "Pride's Purge".-Early Life and Starting Career:...
, one of the commissioners to try him, fell ill, and a key witness escaped (possibly due to the efforts of his wife), and Mordaunt was acquitted by a vote of 20 to 19 by the commissioners.
This narrow escape did not deter his secret efforts on behalf of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. However, although trusted by the King, Ormonde, and Hyde
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...
, many royalists (including the members of the Sealed Knot
Sealed Knot
The Sealed Knot was a secret Royalist association which plotted for the Restoration of the Monarchy during the English Interregnum.Its original founder members were:* John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse...
) disliked and mistrusted him. He was created Viscount Mordaunt of Avalon and Baron Mordaunt of Reigate on 10 July 1659 by Charles, who considered him the leader of his cause in England. However, the new rising he planned in June was several times delayed, partly because of friction with other royalists, and the Council of State
English Council of State
The English Council of State, later also known as the Protector's Privy Council, was first appointed by the Rump Parliament on 14 February 1649 after the execution of King Charles I....
ordered his arrest. The rising, in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, drew only thirty followers, and Mordaunt narrowly escaped to France in September.
He returned to England again in October after the expulsion of the Rump Parliament
Rump Parliament
The Rump Parliament is the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride purged the Long Parliament on 6 December 1648 of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason....
, and was planning another rising, but his connections with Hyde occasioned suspicion and he received little favour from any party. He returned to France again in November, then to England again in January. His attempts to discredit Monck
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, KG was an English soldier and politician and a key figure in the restoration of Charles II.-Early life and career:...
and promote French intervention were fruitless: he and Monck were both knighted by Charles at Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
on 25 May 1660.
He was appointed Constable of Windsor Castle
Constables and Governors of Windsor Castle
The Constables and Governors of Windsor Castle are in charge of Windsor Castle on behalf of the sovereign. The day-to-day operations are under the Superintendent, who is an officer of the Master of the Household's Department of the Royal Household....
, keeper of Windsor Great Park
Windsor Great Park
Windsor Great Park is a large deer park of , to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. The park was, for many centuries, the private hunting ground of Windsor Castle and dates primarily from the mid-13th century...
and Lord Lieutenant of Surrey
Lord Lieutenant of Surrey
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Surrey. Since 1737, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Surrey.-Lord Lieutenants of Surrey:*William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton 1551–1553?...
upon the Restoration, but played little role at court. In 1666, he was charged in the House of Commons with having imprisoned William Taylor, surveyor of Windsor Castle, and raped Taylor's daughter. He was impeached by the Commons in December, but Parliament was prorogued in February, and the King pardoned him in July. He resigned his offices at Windsor in September 1668, and went abroad to Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
that year.
He did not return to England until 1669, and thenceforth lived in retirement in his house at Parson's Green, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
. He died there of a fever in 1675, and is buried at All Saints Church, Fulham
All Saints Church, Fulham
All Saints Church, Fulham is an Anglican Church in Fulham, London sited close to the river Thames, beside the northern approach to Putney Bridge.-History:...
, London.
Family
Mordaunt married Elizabeth, the daughter of Thomas Carey of SunninghillSunninghill
Sunninghill may refer to:*Sunninghill, Berkshire, England*Sunninghill, Gauteng, South Africa...
Park in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
(a younger son of Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth
Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth
Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth was an English nobleman and courtier. He was the youngest son of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon and Anne Morgan, daughter of Sir Thomas Morgan and Anne Whitney.As a young man he accompanied several diplomatic missions abroad and took part in military expeditions...
), by whom he had eleven surviving children, among whom were:
- Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of PeterboroughCharles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of PeterboroughCharles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough and 1st Earl of Monmouth, KG, PC was an English nobleman and military leader. He was the son of John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt, and his wife Elizabeth, the daughter and sole heiress of Thomas Carey, the second son of Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth...
(c. 1658–1735) - Lieutenant-General Harry MordauntHarry MordauntLieutenant-General Harry Mordaunt was an English soldier.Mordaunt was a younger son of John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt and Elizabeth, the daughter and sole heiress of Thomas Carey, the second son of Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth...
(1663–1720) - Brigadier-General Lewis Mordaunt (d. 2 February 1713)
- Osmond Mordaunt (d. 1 July 1690, Battle of the BoyneBattle of the BoyneThe Battle of the Boyne was fought in 1690 between two rival claimants of the English, Scottish and Irish thronesthe Catholic King James and the Protestant King William across the River Boyne near Drogheda on the east coast of Ireland...
) - Rev. George Mordaunt
- Charlotte Mordaunt, married Sir Joseph Alston, 3rd Baronet
- Sophia Mordaunt, married James Hamilton of Bangor
- Anne Mordaunt