Thomas Wentworth, 5th Baron Wentworth
Encyclopedia
Thomas Wentworth, 5th Baron Wentworth, KB
, PC
(bapt.
2 February 1612 – 1 March 1665) was an English
soldier and politician who supported King Charles I
in the English Civil War
.
Wentworth was the eldest son of the 1st Earl of Cleveland
and his first wife, Anne. From 1639-40, he fought against the Scots
in the Bishops' Wars
. In 1640, he was elected Member of Parliament
(MP) for Bedfordshire
in the Short Parliament
in April and again in the Long Parliament
in November. However before he took his seat in November, he was called up to the House of Lords
by writ of acceleration
in his father's barony of Wentworth
.
During the English Civil War
, Wentworth was the Sergeant-Major-General of Horse and commanded the Prince of Wales's Regiment of Horse, seeing action at Tipton Green
, Cropredy Bridge
, Langport
, Worcester
and possibly at the Second Battle of Newbury
. He fought most battles alongside his father and when the Royalist
s were defeated, Lord Wentworth raised a regiment (which later became the Grenadier Guards
) at Bruges
as a bodyguard to the exiled Charles II
.
At the outset of the civil war Wentworth was with George Goring in Portsmouth, but after the fall of that garrison he joined the king's main field army, and as Lord Wentworth raised a company of dragoons. He fought at Marlborough, Wiltshire, in December, and at Cirencester, Gloucestershire, on 2 February 1643 he became major-general of dragoons, in succession to Sir Arthur Aston. In the early part of the civil war dragoons formed a substantial part of the mounted arm, although merely infantrymen set on ponies and other small horses initially regarded as unsuitable for cavalry troopers. As the war progressed, however, standards dropped and with all riding horses, irrespective of size or condition, going to the cavalry, dragoons dwindled in both numbers and importance. All too often they simply discarded their muskets and started calling themselves troopers. Consequently Wentworth followed suit and on 5 February 1644 succeeded Sir Thomas Byron as colonel of the Prince of Wales's regiment of horse. At Cropredy Bridge he commanded a cavalry brigade with such good effect that he was afterwards appointed major-general of horse in succession to Lord Wilmot, when the latter was dismissed before the battle of Lostwithiel
. However, on 14 November 1644 he relinquished this post in order to join Lord Goring's army in the west country. After Goring's defeat at Langport and subsequent dismissal Wentworth was appointed major-general of horse under the western army's new commander, Lord Hopton. Unfortunately Hopton, whose reputation owes more to his very readable memoirs than to his overrated abilities, was soon on bad terms with Wentworth and contrived to get himself badly beaten at Torrington
on 14 March 1646. As a result the already demoralized western army surrendered soon afterwards, but Wentworth escaped with Prince Charles first to the Isles of Scilly
and then to Jersey
.
In 1649 Wentworth accompanied Charles to Paris and in the following year both he and his father, the earl of Cleveland, sailed with him to Scotland. Charles was compelled to subscribe to the covenant as a condition of being recognized as king, but many of his followers neglected to do so. Despite the defeat of the Scots army at Dunbar on 3 September 1650 both Wentworth and his father were as non-subscribers accordingly ordered out of the country on 17 October, but like the earl of Forth and other prominent royalists they ignored this edict and subsequently fought at Worcester on 3 September 1651. Although his father was afterwards captured Wentworth got safely away and until the Restoration in 1660 attended Charles II's émigré court. In 1656 he was responsible for organizing and commanding a regiment of foot guards, which served with the Spanish army at the battle of the Dunes in June 1658. There is some doubt as to whether he fought there, but after the Restoration he brought the regiment home to England and it became the 1st foot guards (afterwards the Grenadier Guards
). He had married by mid-March 1658 Philadelphia Carey (d. 1696), daughter of Sir Ferdinando Carey; their only child, Henrietta Maria Wentworth, was born on 11 August 1660. Wentworth died on 1 March 1665 and was buried six days later at Toddington. He predeceased his father by two years. His daughter succeeded to the barony upon the latter's death.
Lord Wentworth predeceased his father and so did not inherit the latter's earldom and his barony passed back to his father. His only child, Henrietta
, became heir apparent to her grandfather and later succeeded him.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, PC
Privy Council of England
The Privy Council of England, also known as His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, was a body of advisers to the sovereign of the Kingdom of England...
(bapt.
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
2 February 1612 – 1 March 1665) was an English
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
soldier and politician who supported King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
.
Wentworth was the eldest son of the 1st Earl of Cleveland
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Cleveland
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Cleveland was a Cavalier general who fought for Charles I during the English Civil War.He was the eldest son of Henry Wentworth, 3rd Baron Wentworth and Anne Hopton. His paternal grandfather was Thomas Wentworth, 2nd Baron Wentworth, the last Englishman to hold Calais...
and his first wife, Anne. From 1639-40, he fought against the Scots
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
in the Bishops' Wars
Bishops' Wars
The Bishops' Wars , were conflicts, both political and military, which occurred in 1639 and 1640 centred around the nature of the governance of the Church of Scotland, and the rights and powers of the Crown...
. In 1640, he was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Bedfordshire was a United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency, which elected two Members of Parliament from 1295 until 1885, when it was divided into two constituencies under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.-History:...
in the Short Parliament
Short Parliament
The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....
in April and again in the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
in November. However before he took his seat in November, he was called up to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
by writ of acceleration
Writ of acceleration
A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, was a type of writ of summons to the British House of Lords that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with multiple peerage titles to attend the British House of Lords or Irish House of Lords, using one of his father's...
in his father's barony of Wentworth
Baron Wentworth
Baron Wentworth is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1529 for Thomas Wentworth, who was also de jure sixth Baron le Despencer of the 1387 creation. The title was created by writ, which means that it descends according to the male-preference cognatic...
.
During the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, Wentworth was the Sergeant-Major-General of Horse and commanded the Prince of Wales's Regiment of Horse, seeing action at Tipton Green
Battle of Tipton Green
The battle of Tipton green was an engagement in the First English Civil War in the area of Tipton Green, about one mile from Dudley castle. The battle occurred in 1644, when Royalist troops arrived from Worcester to break Lord Denbigh's siege of the castle...
, Cropredy Bridge
Battle of Cropredy Bridge
The Battle of Cropredy Bridge was a battle of the English Civil Wars, fought on 29 June 1644 between a Parliamentarian army under Sir William Waller and the Royalist army of King Charles...
, Langport
Battle of Langport
The Battle of Langport was a Parliamentarian victory late in the English Civil War which destroyed the last Royalist field army and gave Parliament control of the West of England, which had hitherto been a major source of manpower, raw materials and imports for the Royalists...
, Worcester
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...
and possibly at the Second Battle of Newbury
Second Battle of Newbury
The Second Battle of Newbury was a battle of the English Civil War fought on 27 October, 1644, in Speen, adjoining Newbury in Berkshire. The battle was fought close to the site of the First Battle of Newbury, which took place in late September the previous year.The combined armies of Parliament...
. He fought most battles alongside his father and when the Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
s were defeated, Lord Wentworth raised a regiment (which later became the Grenadier Guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...
) at Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
as a bodyguard to the exiled 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...
.
At the outset of the civil war Wentworth was with George Goring in Portsmouth, but after the fall of that garrison he joined the king's main field army, and as Lord Wentworth raised a company of dragoons. He fought at Marlborough, Wiltshire, in December, and at Cirencester, Gloucestershire, on 2 February 1643 he became major-general of dragoons, in succession to Sir Arthur Aston. In the early part of the civil war dragoons formed a substantial part of the mounted arm, although merely infantrymen set on ponies and other small horses initially regarded as unsuitable for cavalry troopers. As the war progressed, however, standards dropped and with all riding horses, irrespective of size or condition, going to the cavalry, dragoons dwindled in both numbers and importance. All too often they simply discarded their muskets and started calling themselves troopers. Consequently Wentworth followed suit and on 5 February 1644 succeeded Sir Thomas Byron as colonel of the Prince of Wales's regiment of horse. At Cropredy Bridge he commanded a cavalry brigade with such good effect that he was afterwards appointed major-general of horse in succession to Lord Wilmot, when the latter was dismissed before the battle of Lostwithiel
Lostwithiel
Lostwithiel is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739...
. However, on 14 November 1644 he relinquished this post in order to join Lord Goring's army in the west country. After Goring's defeat at Langport and subsequent dismissal Wentworth was appointed major-general of horse under the western army's new commander, Lord Hopton. Unfortunately Hopton, whose reputation owes more to his very readable memoirs than to his overrated abilities, was soon on bad terms with Wentworth and contrived to get himself badly beaten at Torrington
Torrington
-People:* Jeff Torrington, Scottish writer* George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, British naval officer and statesman-Places:In Australia:* Torrington, New South WalesIn Canada:* Torrington, AlbertaIn the United Kingdom:...
on 14 March 1646. As a result the already demoralized western army surrendered soon afterwards, but Wentworth escaped with Prince Charles first to the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
and then to Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
.
In 1649 Wentworth accompanied Charles to Paris and in the following year both he and his father, the earl of Cleveland, sailed with him to Scotland. Charles was compelled to subscribe to the covenant as a condition of being recognized as king, but many of his followers neglected to do so. Despite the defeat of the Scots army at Dunbar on 3 September 1650 both Wentworth and his father were as non-subscribers accordingly ordered out of the country on 17 October, but like the earl of Forth and other prominent royalists they ignored this edict and subsequently fought at Worcester on 3 September 1651. Although his father was afterwards captured Wentworth got safely away and until the Restoration in 1660 attended Charles II's émigré court. In 1656 he was responsible for organizing and commanding a regiment of foot guards, which served with the Spanish army at the battle of the Dunes in June 1658. There is some doubt as to whether he fought there, but after the Restoration he brought the regiment home to England and it became the 1st foot guards (afterwards the Grenadier Guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...
). He had married by mid-March 1658 Philadelphia Carey (d. 1696), daughter of Sir Ferdinando Carey; their only child, Henrietta Maria Wentworth, was born on 11 August 1660. Wentworth died on 1 March 1665 and was buried six days later at Toddington. He predeceased his father by two years. His daughter succeeded to the barony upon the latter's death.
Lord Wentworth predeceased his father and so did not inherit the latter's earldom and his barony passed back to his father. His only child, Henrietta
Henrietta Wentworth, 6th Baroness Wentworth
Henrietta Maria Wentworth, 6th Baroness Wentworth was an English suo jure peeress.The only child of Thomas Wentworth, 5th Baron Wentworth and his wife, Philadelphia Carey, Henrietta spent her early years at the family home, Toddington Manor, Bedfordshire...
, became heir apparent to her grandfather and later succeeded him.