Robert Lilburne

Robert Lilburne

Robert Lilburne(1613–1665) was an EnglishParliamentariansoldier, the older brother ofJohn Lilburne,the well knownLeveller.Unlike his brother, who severed his relationship withOliver Cromwell,Robert Lilburne remained in the army. He is also classed as aregicidefor having been a signatory to the death warrant ofKing Charles Iin 1649. He was forty-seventh of thefifty nine Commissioners.

Civil War

At the outbreak of theFirst English Civil WarLilburne joined theRoundheads.He served underEdward Montagu(the son ofEarl of Manchester) and by 1644 had attained the rank of captain. He then raised a regiment of horse in County Durham which became part ofLord Fairfax'sNorthern Association army. He joined theNew Model Armyand was promoted tocolonelof a regiment.

Although like his brother John, his sympathies like those of his regiment lay with theLevellers,he was not present at theCorkbush Field rendezvous,the first of several meetings planned following thePutney Debates.Robert Lilburne's regiment marched, without orders, to the rendezvous in the hope of pressing the Levellers manifesto, theAgreement of the People,on the Army. The mutiny failed. Along with copies of the Agreement, the soldiers displayed in their hats papers showing the Levellers' slogan, "England's Freedom, Soldiers' Rights".When an officer of the commander of the Army, SirThomas Fairfaxapproached them, members of Lilburne's regiment stoned and wounded him.Oliver Cromwell,then the second-in-command of the New Model Army, and some of his officers rode into their ranks and ordered them to take the papers from their hat bands. Cromwell had eight or nine of the more truculent of Lilburne's troopers arrested, tried at an improvised court-martial, and found guilty of mutiny. Three ringleaders were sentenced to death and, having cast lots, Private Richard Arnold was shot on the spot as an example.

Despite this incident, Fairfax appointed Lilburne Governor ofNewcastle-upon-Tyne.During theSecond English Civil War,Lilburne joined Cromwell and Lambert in the defeat of the Engagers at theBattle of Preston.In December 1648, Lilburne was nominated as one of the Commissioners at the trial of Charles I, he attended the trial and signed the king's death warrant. He also took part in the siege ofPontefract Castle,which held out against Parliament until March 1649.

During theThird English Civil Warhe fought under Oliver Cromwell during his Scottish campaign, and when the Scottish army invaded England Lilburne defeated English Royalists, under the command of theEarl of Derby,at theBattle of Wigan Laneon 25 August 1651. This prevented them from joining the Scots on their march to defeat at theBattle of Worcesterand the end of theEnglish Civil Wars.In November 1651 he returned to Scotland as part of Major-GeneralRichard Deane'sarmy of occupation. In December 1652, Lilburne took over command of the army in Scotland, but when he was not given promotion or the support he thought he needed from the Government in London to put down theGlencairn'suprising, he was happy to hand over command to GeneralGeorge Monckin early 1654.

Interregnum

During theInterregnumalthough some officers said that he was too sympathetic to the Levellers and theAnabaptists,he supported Oliver Cromwell during first years ofthe Protectorate.In 1654 he was appointed Governor of York and the next year he commanded the army units that put down theSealed Knotuprising in York.In 1654 he was elected MP forCounty Durhamin theFirst Protectorate Parliament.During theRule of the Major-Generals(1656) he was deputy to John Lambert responsible for the day-to-day administration ofYorkshireandCounty Durham.He was elected MP for theEast Riding of Yorkshirein theSecond Protectorate Parliament.However he opposed the offer of the crown to Cromwell and was uneasy with the constitutional arrangements of the later Protectorate.

Restoration

With the death of Oliver Cromwell, Lilburne did not support Richard Cromwell but instead supported the restoration of the Rump Parliament and the reinstatement of theEnglish Commonwealth.He was appointed to the Army'sCommittee of Safetyand supported GeneralJohn Lambertwhen Lambert marched to stop GeneralGeorge Monckmarching on London. When that failed and theRestorationoccurred Lilburne was arrested along with all the other regicides still living in Britain. On 16 October 1660 Lilburne was found guilty ofhigh treason,and was sentenced to behanged, drawn and quartered,but later this was commuted to life imprisonment. He died a prisoner onDrake's IslandinPlymouth Soundin August, 1665.

Family

Lilburne married Margaret, daughter of Richard Beke of Hadenham, Buckinghamshire, with whom he had three sons who survived him.

References

• Firth, Charles Harding (1893)."Lilburne, Robert".InLee, Sidney(ed.).Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 33. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 250, 251.
• Spartacus: Robert Lilburne
• Biography of Robert LilburneBritish Civil Wars and Commonwealth website