Thomas Mytton
Encyclopedia
Life
Born about 1597, son of Richard Mytton of HalstonHalston
Roy Halston Frowick, also known as Halston was a clothing designer of the 1970s. His long dresses or copies of his style were popular fashion wear in mid-1970s discotheques.-Early life and career:...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, by Margaret, daughter of Thomas Owen of Condover
Condover
Condover is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It lies 4.7 miles south of the county town of Shrewsbury, and just east of the A49. The Cound Brook flows through the village on its way from the Stretton Hills to a confluence with the River Severn...
, he matriculated at Balliol College, Oxford, on 11 May 1615, aged 18. He became a student of Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
in 1616. In 1629 Mytton married Magdalen, daughter of Sir Robert Napier of Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, and sister of the second wife of Sir Thomas Myddelton
Thomas Myddelton (younger)
Sir Thomas Myddelton of Chirk Castle was a Welsh politician and Parliamentary general.-Early life:He was the son of Sir Thomas Myddelton. He matriculated from Queen's College, Oxford, on 22 February 1605, and became a student of Gray's Inn in 1607. he was knighted on 10 February 1617, and was M.P...
of Chirk
Chirk
Chirk is a small town and local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It has a population of over 4,000....
, a connection to the parliamentary party in the heavily royalist county of Shropshire.
On 10 April 1643 the parliament associated Shropshire with Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
and Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
under the command of Basil Feilding, 2nd Earl of Denbigh
Basil Feilding, 2nd Earl of Denbigh
Basil Feilding, 2nd Earl of Denbigh was the eldest son of William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh.Like his father, the son was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He was summoned to the House of Lords as Baron Feilding in March 1629...
, Mytton being named as one of the committee for Shropshire. On 11 September 1643 Myddelton and Mytton together seized Wem
Wem
Wem is a small market town in Shropshire, England. It is the administrative centre for the northern area committee of Shropshire Council, which has its headquarters at Edinburgh House in the centre of Wem. Wem railway station is on the Shrewsbury to Crewe railway line...
, and established there the first parliamentary garrison in Shropshire. Mytton was made governor, and in October defeated Lord Capel's attempt to recapture the town. On 12 January 1644 he surprised the cavaliers at Ellesmere
Ellesmere
-Places:* Ellesmere, Shropshire, a market town in Shropshire, England** Ellesmere Castle** Ellesmere Rural, a civil parish to the west* Ellesmere Park, area of Eccles, Greater Manchester, England* Ellesmere Port, an industrial town in Cheshire, England...
, capturing Sir Nicholas Byron, Sir Richard Willis, and a convoy of ammunition. On 23 June 1644 Mytton, in conjunction with Lord Denbigh, captured Oswestry
Oswestry
Oswestry is a town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483, and A495 roads....
, and succeeded in holding it against a royalist attempt at recapture. He was appointed governor of Oswestry, and the newspapers were full of praise. He took part in the capture of Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
(22 February 1645), though the credit was disputed between Mytton and Lieutenant-colonel Reinking.
On the passing of the self-denying ordinance
Self-denying Ordinance
The first Self-denying Ordinance was a bill moved on 9 December 1644 to deprive members of the Parliament of England from holding command in the army or the navy during the English Civil War. It failed to pass the House of Lords. A second Self-denying Ordinance was agreed to on 3 April 1645,...
Sir Thomas Myddelton was obliged to lay down his commission, and Mytton succeeded to his post as commander-in-chief of the forces of the six counties of North Wales, 12 May 1645. He was also appointed High Sheriff of Shropshire
High Sheriff of Shropshire
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...
, 30 September 1645. From this point he is frequently described as Major-general Mytton. He took part in the defeat of Sir William Vaughan
William Vaughan (royalist)
Sir William Vaughan was an English royalist commander in the First English Civil War. He was killed at the Battle of Rathmines.-Life:...
near Denbigh
Denbigh
Denbigh is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Before 1888, it was the county town of Denbighshire. Denbigh lies 8 miles to the north west of Ruthin and to the south of St Asaph. It is about 13 miles from the seaside resort of Rhyl. The town grew around the glove-making industry...
on 1 November 1645, frustrating the royalist attempts to relieve Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
. Once Chester had fallen, Mytton to besiege the rest of the royalist garrisons in North Wales: Ruthin
Ruthin
Ruthin is a community and the county town of Denbighshire in north Wales. Located around a hill in the southern part of the Vale of Clwyd - the older part of the town, the castle and Saint Peter's Square are located on top of the hill, while many newer parts of the town are on the floodplain of...
(12 April 1646), Carnarvon
Carnarvon
Carnarvon and Caernarvon are older forms of the name of the town in North Wales currently known as Caernarfon. The older names, in place for centuries, were anglicised phonetic spellings; since the 1970s the Welsh spelling has been generally adopted...
(5 June 1646), Beaumaris (14 June 1646), Conwy
Conwy
Conwy is a walled market town and community in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales. The town, which faces Deganwy across the River Conwy, formerly lay in Gwynedd and prior to that in Caernarfonshire. Conwy has a population of 14,208...
town and castle (9 August, 18 November 1646), Denbigh (26 October 1646), Holt Castle
Holt Castle
Holt Castle was a medieval castle in the town of Holt, Wrexham Borough, Wales. Work began in the 13th century during the Welsh Wars, the castle was sited on the Welsh-English border by the banks of the River Dee....
(13 January 1647), and Harlech Castle
Harlech Castle
Harlech Castle, located in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales, is a concentric castle, constructed atop a cliff close to the Irish Sea. Architecturally, it is particularly notable for its massive gatehouse....
(15 March 1647) surrendered in turn to Mytton's forces. Parliament maintained Mytton as commander-in-chief in North Wales when the army was disbanded (8 April 1647), and appointed him vice-admiral of North Wales in place of Glyn (30 December 1647). He was also granted £5,000l. out of the estates of royalist delinquents.
In the Second English Civil War
Second English Civil War
The Second English Civil War was the second of three wars known as the English Civil War which refers to the series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1652 and also include the First English Civil War and the...
Mytton was again active on the parliamentary side, and recovered Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
from the royalists. The king's execution did not shake his adherence to the parliament, and in September 1651 he agreed to act as a member of the court-martial which sentenced James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby KG was a supporter of the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.Born at Knowsley, he is sometimes styled the Great Earl of Derby, eldest son of William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby and Lady Elizabeth de Vere. During his father's life he was known as Lord Strange...
to death. He represented Shropshire
Shropshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Shropshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Knights...
in the first Protectorate parliament convened by Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
in 1654.
Mytton died in London in 1656, and was interred on 29 November in St. Chad's Church, Shrewsbury.