Thomas Myddelton (younger)

Sir Thomas Myddelton
Sir Thomas Myddelton, copy of a portrait of c.1650
ParliamentarianSergeant-Major GeneralNorth Wales
In office 1643–1645
Member of Parliament for Weymouth
In office 1624–1625
Member of Parliament for Denbighshire
In office 1625–1661
Personal details
Born	July 1586 London
Died	11 December 1666(1666-12-11)(aged 80) Cefn y Wern,Chirk,Denbighshire
Resting place	St Mary's Church, Chirk
Spouse(s)	(1) Margaret Savile (2) Mary Napier
Children	7 sons; 6 daughters
Residence	Chirk Castle
Alma mater	Queen's College, Oxford
Occupation	Landowner, politician
Military service
Rank	Sergeant Major General
Battles/wars	First English Civil War North Wales 1643;Montgomery Booth's Uprising

Sir Thomas Myddelton(1586–1666) ofChirk Castle,Denbighshire,was an English-born Welsh landowner, politician, and military officer. He became a Member of Parliament in 1624; during theFirst English Civil Warhe was a prominentParliamentariangeneral, despite having no previous military experience.

A member of the moderate Parliamentary opposition to the Stuart monarchy, following theexecution of Charles IMyddelton gradually drew closer to the Royalists. In 1659 he took part inBooth's Uprising,an unsuccessful attempt to restoreCharles IIto the throne, but escaped punishment; following theRestorationhe remained an active figure in local politics until his death.

Origins and family

Chirk Castle, purchased by Myddelton's father in 1595

Myddelton was a member of a minor gentry family from Gwaenynog,Denbighshire,who claimed descent from a 12th-century Welsh noble,Rhirid Flaidd.His father, SirThomas Myddelton,was a younger son who built up a substantial fortune after being apprenticed to a London grocer, and was an early investor in theEast India Company;he later becameLord Mayor of Londonand purchased the lordship and estate ofChirk Castle.Myddelton's mother Hester Saltonstall was the daughter of another Lord Mayor,Sir Richard Saltonstall.

Myddelton was born inMincing Lane,London, but spent much of his adult life at Chirk, which his father gave him as a wedding present; he appears to have regarded himself as Welsh despite probably being unable to speak the language.He married twice: first to Margaret Savile, daughter of George Savile ofWakefieldinYorkshire,and secondly to Mary Napier, a daughter ofSir Robert Napier, 1st Baronet(1560-1637), ofLuton Hoo,Bedfordshire,by whom he had seven sons and six daughters, including:

• Sir Thomas Myddelton, 1st Baronet(1624–1663), eldest son and heir, created a baronet in 1660
• Ann Myddelton, wife ofEdward Herbert, 3rd Baron Herbert of Chirbury

Life

Myddelton matriculated atQueen's College, Oxford,on 22 February 1605, and became a student atGray's Innin 1607. Shortly afterwards he returned to the family estates in Wales, where he took responsibility for handling his father's legal and other business.A legal dispute with a neighbouring landowner at Chirk may have been what prompted him in 1624 to seek election to the4th Parliament of King James I,initially asMPforWeymouth and Melcombe Regis,probably through the sponsorship of London merchantRobert Bateman.The following year he again won the Weymouth election but chose to sit for Denbighshire, his home constituency.

First Civil War

Man identified as Sir Thomas Myddelton, after Civil War-era print by Thomas Hinde (1635-52). Myddelton served as an active field commander in the war, despite being 57 years old at its outbreak

Elected to theLong Parliament,Myddelton was a member of the largePresbyterianfaction that dominated it, but other than involvement on a few committees was not particularly active. His main concern appears to have been to find common ground with his fellowPuritanMPs, a term encompassing those who wanted to reform or "purify" the Anglican church, in order to present a united front against Catholic influence on the country.

The outbreak of theFirst English Civil Warin 1642 saw him sent to enforce theMilitia Ordinancein Denbighshire, where many of the local gentry were Royalist.In August the county presented a petition to the King for "protection against the orders and ordinances of Parliament" along with a regiment of volunteers and £1000;on Charles's orders Chirk was attacked in Myddelton's absence, the following January, by local Royalist commanderRobert Ellice,who installed a garrison and requisitioned Myddelton's money and plate to fund a foot regiment.The loss of his property is supposed to have antagonised Myddelton enough to turn "a moderate politician into an active fighting man".

He was appointed Sergeant-Major General for North Wales in June 1643; despite lacking any previous military experience, he proved a reasonably competent field commander and was respected for "fair treatment" by his men.Parliament gave him authority to raise troops and levy the expenses on the estates of Royalists, though later claimed the arrangement left him £35,000 out of pocket. From August 1643 he joined his brother-in-lawThomas MyttonandCheshirecommanderSir William Breretonin a campaign against Royalist garrisons through the Borders, though resistance byWilliam SalesburyatDenbighand the landing of an experienced Royalist force fromIrelandin November meant they failed to retake North Wales.

Myddelton's command in North Wales was confirmed by a fresh commission in 1644. His forces capturedNewtownon 4 September, and secured the surrender ofMontgomery Castlethe following day. Myddelton, Mytton and Brereton defeated aRoyalist attempt to retake Montgomeryon 17 September in a major victory which destroyed much of the Royalist field army in North Wales.However, Myddelton still failed to gain control of Denbighshire or retake his own castles ofRuthinor Chirk, which he besieged in late December.

Interregnum

Theself-denying ordinanceof May 1645, which stipulated MPs could not hold military command, led to Myddelton being recalled to Westminster and his command transferred to Mytton.He regained control of his estates at the war's end in 1646.During theSecond English Civil Warhe was again given overall responsibility for North Wales, where a short-lived rebellion underSir John Owenwas suppressed atY Dalar Hirin June 1648, but left command in the field to Mytton.

By the end of the Second Civil War many in Parliament felt Charles could not be trusted to keep to any peace settlement, and he was tried for treason. Along with many other political moderates, Myddelton strongly opposed the trial and Charles's subsequent execution.He was one of the MPs excluded duringPride's Purge,and his increasing disillusionment with the direction taken by Parliament led to him being linked with the Royalist exiles.In 1651 the government placed a garrison in Chirk, after Myddelton was suspected of being in contact with Charles II; it was not withdrawn until he had entered into a bond of £20,000 for "good behaviour".Although Royalist conspirators unsuccessfully attempted to draw him into a1655 plot,he spent much of the 1650s at Chirk developing his commercial interests in coalmining, limiting his public life to attending the occasional horse race or cockfight.

Booth's Uprising and the Restoration

Welsh RoyalistJohn Owen of Clenennau;Owen was alleged to have served under Myddelton inBooth's Uprisingof 1659, despite the two men being opponents in the previous conflicts

In the summer of 1659, Myddelton joined an attempt by a group of conspirators, led byJohn Mordaunt,to instigate a Royalist rising across several regions of the country. Only theCheshire insurgency,led byGeorge Booth,had initial success; Myddelton nevertheless joined the rebels, who included previous opponents such as Sir John Owen andEdward Broughton,with an enthusiasm he had failed to show during previous conspiracies in 1651 and 1655.Welcoming a detachment of rebel cavalry to Chirk, he sent a trumpeter to invite theOswestrymilitia to join them: they refused, but Myddelton instead led a group toWrexhamwhere on 7 August he drew his sword in the marketplace and declared Charles II as king. The gesture was not appreciated by Booth, who had been hoping to attract political moderates by avoiding mention of Charles entirely in his proclamations.

The government ordered a force underJohn Lambertto suppress the rebels, and after Booth's defeat atWinnington Bridgeon 19 August, where Myddelton was probably present, the insurgency collapsed. Lambert besieged Chirk, where Myddelton's eldest son Thomas and a number of other Welsh rebels held out, until 24 August; Myddelton himself went into hiding and was suspected to have left the country. He was ordered to have his estates confiscated but before this could be carried out, was recalled to Parliament in February 1660 along with the other expelled members, ultimately leading to the restoration of the monarchy.

After the Restoration

While Myddelton avoided losing his estates, the dismantling of Chirk after the siege had progressed far enough that it remained uninhabitable until the 1670s. Though it was noted that his health "was much impaired by age and the winter", he sat in theConvention Parliamentof 1660, standing down in favour of his eldest son in 1661.When the latter died in 1663, Myddelton sponsored his successor as Denbighshire MP,John Wynne of Melai,and remained an influential figure locally until his death in 1666.

Although Myddelton was said to have lost up to £80,000 over the course of the wars, land investments and coalmining interests meant he was probably one of the richest men in the kingdom at the time of his death.His will contained an elaborate statement of his religious beliefs that nevertheless remained "politically evasive": "I am a Protestant, maintaining and believing the three Creeds established and professed by the Church of England in the time of Queen Elizabeth of blessed memory".

Sources

• Dodd, Arthur H. (1959)."MYDDELTON, MYDDLETON, MIDDLETON, of Gwaenynog, Denbigh, Chirk, and Ruthin, Denbighshire, London and Essex".Dictionary of Welsh Biography.
• Jenkins, Geraint (1987).The Foundations of Modern Wales: Wales 1642–1780.
• Healy, Simon (2010)."MYDDELTON, Sir Thomas II (1586-1666), of Chirk Castle, Denb".History of Parliament Online.
• Henning, Basil (1983).The House of Commons, 1660-1690.Secker and Warburg.
• Plant, David (2009)."Sir Thomas Myddelton".British Civil Wars Project.
• Tucker, Norman (1964).Denbighshire Officers in the Civil War.Gee & Son.
• Underdown, David (1971).Royalist Conspiracy in England, 1649–1660.Archon.

External links

• Welsh Biography Online