Image from the Book Sir Bevill Grenville and his times: John Stucley.
Sir Bevill Grenville, 1596-1643
Grandson of the Elizabethan hero Sir Richard Grenville, captain of the Revenge. Bevil Grenville the son of Sir Barnard and Elizabeth Bevill, was born 23rd March 1596, just five years after his grandfather’s heroic death fighting against the Spanish off the Azores. His great-grandfather was Captain Roger Grenville, the Captain of the Mary Rose, which sank in the Solent Channel, July 15th, 1545. This is quite an inheritance over just two generations, but the Grenville history is one of heroic and political great deeds extending back to at least the 11th century.
Sir Bevill Grenville as he later became, is known for his leadership of men and bravery, demonstrated so ably during the early year of the Civil War, particularly so at the local battle of Stamford Hill, 16th May 1643. This is such a strong image of the man that it has obscured the personal story. If a summary can be expressed of Bevill it is that he was a proud Cornishman, a family man, a conflicted man, above all a man driven by his heritage of ancestral heroism.
He was also a conflicted person as he lived through a time of great change when he could see that the people were best served by greater powers being given to Parliamentary, but this could only be achieved by curtailing the powers of the monarch. And he was at heart a Royalist. He was conflicted too as the demands of State required him to be away from home when his heart was at his home at Stowe and with his wife, on whom he was forced to make heavy demands. He was aware that he had not studied adequately when at university himself and was determined that his son, Dick, would not make the same mistake; to this end he set down demands on Dick’s studies which must have troubled Dick and Bevill, “if you fail me in this I will not look upon you again”
Early Days:
Bevill was born in Cornwall at his mother’s home at Great Brinn, near Withiel. He was baptised at Withiel parish church four days later: a parish just five miles southwest of Bodmin.
Upon the death of Sir Richard Grenville in 1545, Bevill’s father, Sir Barnard, inherited many estates, including Stowe, near Kilkhampton. His mother too, was heiress to two estates of Killigarth and Brinn.
The neighbours of the Grenvilles at Killigarth were the Eliots. The Eliots lived at the Priory at St Germans. They had owned estates in Devon but had exchanged some of these lands for the Priory at St Germans. The Priory had become the possession of another Devon family, the Champernownes at the Dissolution and they were happy with this exchange as it consolidated their holdings in Devon.
The Priory was a substantial building and the Eliots had a son John who was nearly four years older than Bevill. It suited such families to share the expense of tutors across more than one family and it is probable that Bevill received his early education at the Priory together with two other boys: William Coryton, from nearby, West Newton and young member of the nearby Moyle family.
The education of the gentry in those days placed an emphasis on good Latin grammar, speaking and writing correctly. The precept being that “Manners maketh the man”. Bevill’s tutor would have seen it as his principal duty to ensure that his boys were well versed in Lily’s Latin Grammar, published 1513. This was compulsory reading at all grammar schools from 1528 and remained an important element in education for 350 years. Without first-class knowledge of Latin there could be no entry to University or the Inn of Court.
Bevill would also have had to learn the martial arts, as well as being able to write and compose formal polished letters. Of course, the riding skills and general horsemanship were essential for all gentlemen. In fact, the Grenvilles kept a good stable and bread their animals with care.
By 1607, Bevill was eleven years old and his mother Elizabeth, who was married his father in 1592 had already given birth to at least five other children. The surviving children were Barnard, who was born in 1597-8, Richard, apparently the rascal of the family, born 1600; there was John born in 1601, who became a barrister, and there was a younger brother Roger who was christened at Bideford in 1603. Two children were buried at Kilkhampton and the only daughter, Gartrud lived long enough to marry. Two infants were buried at Kilkhampton in 1605. Bevill’s mother died around 1607 and Sir Barnard, never remarried, preferring to live at his wife’s house at Killigarth.
Sir Barnard had studied at Oxford and was a graduate of University College. He had spent his life trying to redress the financial stress created by his father’s misadventures and some of his own ventures in Ireland had failed at a cost to him. In the year of Bevill’s birth Sir Barnard had become High Sheriff of Cornwall and in 1596-7 MP for Bodmin. Money issues, as we shall see, would plague Bevill’s life, as he tried to balance the life of a gentleman, his later support for King Charles 1st in his battles, all limited by the fact of an inadequate income.
Bevill’s schooling at the home of the Eliots had its drama. The son of the house, John Eliot, was quick tempered and rather extravagant and open-handed in his ways. One of his co-pupils, Moyle, complained about his behaviour to Eliot’s father and John was upset and drew his sword, wounding Moyle in the side. Later in life Moyle became High Sheriff of Cornwall and was appointed one of the sequestrators of Royalist lands during the Civil War. He used his position to ask or demand an apology from John for his injury. A letter of apology was written by John Eliot and witnessed by Bevill and William Coryton who had been a co-pupil at the Priory in their early days.
Oxford University
Eliot, Coryton and Bevill remained friends for the rest of their lives. All became members of Parliament where Latin formed the language of debate. Eliot, being a few years older than Bevill went to University College Oxford, where Bevill’s father had attended; perhaps as a consequence, Bevill elected to go to Exeter College, Oxford at the young age of 15, June 1611. But Exeter College had always been frequented by young men from the West Country, so we cannot be sure the reasons for this particular College choice.
Travelling from his home at Killigarth to Oxford would take Bevill around five days ride. Passing through Okehampton and Exeter enroute. A wealthy magnate Sir George Smith, who was related to Bevill by marriage had a house at Exeter and one of his daughters had married a Monck of Potheridge, near Okehampton. They were a family of great antiquity, but little wealth. Their second son, George, could not expect a decent education as all monies had to be spent on his elder brother’s education. However, George’s grandfather liked the boy and offered to pay for his education, on condition that he lived with him for half of each year. The wealthy magnate Sir George also had also had a daughter by his second marriage called Grace, who we will learn more of later.
University life was not as now. Student ages might range from just 13 years of age upwards and Latin continued to represent a major part of their studies. They could later choose to take a Bachelor of Arts degree, most probably in theology or the law. Acquiring a BA did not involve taking examinations, just proof that you had attended lectures and a good word from your teacher.
A reflection of the times is demonstrated by the fact that students often wore swords and carried daggers, despite these being prohibited periodically. It was essentially a lesson in fending for oneself in a dangerous and competitive world.
Bevill confessed in later life that he was not a serious-minded student, but nevertheless, he wrote to his father, three years into his studies saying that he wished to attain a Bachelor of Arts degree. The request had financial implications for his father, but he wanted nothing to hinder his son’s attainments in life and agreed to continue financing his extra time at university.
Exeter College benefitted from the patronage of Sir William Petre and he awarded a number of fellowships to students appointed initially by himself, but later his son John. In fact, Bevill’s brother Barnard had hoped for such a fellowship when he too came up to Oxford.
John Petre in time became Rector of the College and was made Baron Petre of Writtle in Essex but he died in 1613 and a new Rector was appointed. Both Bevill and his brother wrote Latin verses of lament to Lord Petre’s widow. Bevill clearly enjoyed poetry and history to the detriment of the subject of his BA, rhetoric and logic. Around this time, he had given a silver cup to the college. The writing of the lament to Lady Petre and the gift of a silver cup may have persuaded the, then, newly appointed Rector, that Bevill should be awarded his BA on 17th February 1614, despite Bevill’s preference for reading books on poetry and history; he was aged eighteen.
Later painting of Bevill Grenville from the Book, Sir Bevill Grenville and his times.
Becoming a Politician
Upon graduating, Bevill moved to London where he arranged lodgings at Vreines House, St Clement’s on the Strand and soon had fallen in love with a lady of nobility. However, this proved fleeting and despite Beville writing home excitedly to his father of this budding romance, her identity was never revealed. He was only 18 years of age when he moved to London from Oxford and appears to have kept rather quiet about his activities while there - little correspondence of this period are known. However, this was not a young person having a wild time after years of study. Any gentleman with ambition at that period would spend his time with people who could, or would, ease his advancement in political and Court society.
The name of Grenville may well have aided his movement in Court circles even without the involvement of others, but he had cousins in high places, and these were worth cultivating. These included Endymion Porter, Edward Villiers and members of the Arundel family. A further cousin was Sir Walter Raleigh, and he could certainly guide his path in elevated circles. Bevill’s father, Sir Barnard was also successfully carrying out his duties in Cornwall as Deputy Governor of the county. This included training an army reserve to defend the county from the threat from marauding Algerine Moors (Pirates). So, it could be said that Bevill’s life was set for advancement.
Married and Family
It would seem that he spent around four years in London, and he now clearly felt he had to sort his life out in other ways. So, he headed back to the West Country and Exeter where he stayed at the home of Sir George Smith. During his university days he had visited often enroute to Oxford and Sir George’s daughter, Grace, had obviously caught his eye. She was twenty years old, born in 1598 and was therefore two years younger than Bevill. Evidently, the feeling between Grace and Bevill were mutual, and the complex business of parental and friend influence now came into play to bring about a match.
His father was delighted at the potential marriage and wrote a letter to Sir George of his delight that this should happen. A very supportive character reference singing Bevill’s praises was sent by a family friend the Reverend Ralph Byrd, who was the vicar of Lanteglos. All proved successful and the couple were married early in the year 1619.
The newly married couple set up home at Tremeer in the parish of Lanteglos, which is quite near to the family home at Killigarth. In fact, when Bevill ultimately made his move into politics he described himself being, “of Killigarth”. Sir Barnard was obviously delighted with his eldest son’s choice of bride and decided to settle his estate of Stowe, his manors of Bideford and Kilkhampton and the Island of Lundy on his son.
But Stowe was not really habitable at that time for the young couple. In fact, there are few details of the house, as no remains of consequence have been identified. But it is clear that much work had to be done to make the property suitable and safe as a principal long-term residence for the Grenvilles. Today, coastal valleys such as Duckpool, where Stowe is located, looks most peaceful, tranquil and as safe a retreat as imaginable; not so in the early seventeenth century. There was a distinct risk of invasion by Algerine Pirates landing in these remote valleys and carrying off its inhabitants into slavery. The new home of Grace and Beville had to be fortified and capable of fending off prolonged attack from such malign forces.
With his new acquisition came all the demands and duties of being the lord of the manor of several estates, not least of which were nearby Kilkhampton and the town of Bideford. Where he had close family connections connected with his grandfather’s in-laws. On the political front events were developing that would have serious consequences for the Grenvilles and the country.
Parliamentary Days
We are now in 1620 and King James 1st of England had ruled the country for nearly seven years, without calling a Parliament. However, his Royal revenues were not sufficient to meet the expenses of government. He was obliged to issue writs to call Parliament to assemble on Tuesday, 16th January 1621. Bevil was now an MP and joined his long-term friends John Eliot and William Coryton in the house, both of whom were MP’s for various parts of Cornwall.
But these were turbulent times in terms of the whether the power to raise taxes rested with Parliament or the King and parliamentarians were also fighting for the right to speak freely in the house.
Both King James V1, reigning from 1603 to 27 March 1625 and King Charles 1st, reigning 1625 to 1649, believed in the divine right of Kings- their word was sacrosanct. The situation was further complicated by the fact that King James had questionable relationships with men and during his reign of 1603-1625 had a close friendship with George Villiers, later 1st Earl Buckingham. Charles also had a close relationship with Buckingham, which may simply have been due to being of a similar age, and he trusted Villers above all others.
For Bevill, this must have been testing and worrying times- and surely also for his wife home alone at Stowe, trying to keep the estate running. This was due to his unshakeable friendship with Eliot, who was not afraid to speak the truth in the House and was the greatest protagonist for the privileges of Parliament. Something for which he would find himself in the Tower on many occasions.
Eliot was initially a fried of Earl Buckingham and was knighted by him and made Vice-Admiral of Devon, but Buckingham’s relationships with King Charles and his incompetence in administration, plus a disastrous venture against Spain at Cadiz, soured this relationship. Eliot was never one to choose his words in the House and in a strong, eloquent, speech he likened Buckingham’s relationship with the King to Sejanus, who was a corrupt Roman soldier, friend, and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. The King understood the implications of this statement and had him sent to the Tower the next day. He was soon released as the House refused to conduct business until he was released.
On another occasion, the House wanted to debate the ability of the King to raise taxes independent of the Parliament, but the King dissolved Parliament as he was apt to do. However, Eliot was not to be beaten and had two friends pin the Speaker of the House to his chair until Eliot delivered his speech. Coryton was found guilty of aiding and abetting Eliot and both sent to the Tower-again.
Somehow, Bevill was able to support Eliot in his desire to push for reform of Parliamentary privileges but avoided finding himself in prison along with his friends. Eliot was a brilliant orator, Bevil was not. He may have avoided delivering speeches on this subject and hence avoid these controversies.
The King decided to dissolve Parliament once again and resolved to raise finance through what were in effect “forced loans”. Unfortunately for Bevill, his father, Sir Barnard, was one of the men engaged to enforce these loans on the people of Cornwall. He wrote from Ebbingford to the Commissioners that the poor people of the county wanted to contribute to the funds but were too poor to do so. Nevertheless, this whole business brought Bevill in conflict with his father for which he did not forgive him until near to his father’s death. Both Eliot and Coryton were amongst those who refused to contribute to the loan- another visit to the prison.
In 1629, Eliot again in prison for preaching the rights of Parliament, refused demands to recant his views; he was moved from the Tower and sent to Marshalsea prison where he stayed until his health declined and he died November 1632. Throughout this period, Bevill endless supported Eliot in whatever way he could and begged him not to make the situation worse for himself. This included smuggling letter to him on legal matter and discussing Bevill’s difficulties with at the Island of Lundy, which was part of his estate. But Eliot’s determination was resolute and could not be changed, such was the person.
William Coryton, although an advocate for reform, was essentially a Royalist and he did recant and was released from prison. It is probably correct to say that this was also Bevill’s position. In Bevill’s case, the fact that his father was such a strong supporter of the King may well have protected him from being implicated. The question is, had Eliot not died in 1632, would he have been on the Parliamentary side during the Civil War and Bevill and Coryton for the Royalists? Such were the terrible consequences of the debate of privileges and power that it set families and friends on opposite side of the battle fields from 1642.
Elliot had been friends with Buckingham during their early years and had travelled together in France. Buckingham made Eliot Vice-Admiral of Devon and arranged for him to be knighted. William Coryton had been made Warden of the Stannaries and other posts in Cornwall all of which were taken from him as he fought for Parliamentary rights and supported Eliot. Buckingham eventually came to a sad end when a disgruntled military officer assassinated him in the Greyhound Pub, Portsmouth, 23rd August 1628.
Members of Parliament were not paid for their services, and this created financial problems for Bevill, added to which he was often supporting his brother, who a military officer, but rarely paid enough to support his lavish lifestyle. And his father was not without his financial problems. His father was still living at Tremeer but was having great difficulties coping with failed enterprises in Ireland and probably demands caused by his predecessors. His father, Sir Richard Grenville, had engaged in costly overseas exercises which had failed, and he had married into the profligate and rather questionable St Leger Family. Bevill’s father had accumulated debts to the value of £11,500 and the only solution for Bevill was to sell some assets which ultimately resulted in the sale of his ancestral home at Killigrew. All these financial problems incurred significant legal costs for Bevill, and it caused further strain in his relations with his father, which were already in tension as we saw. Often, Grace would write to Bevill in London saying just how do I pay off the various debtors and meet the expenses of running the estate? Sir Barnard would continue to live managing his affairs as best he could until he died June 26 1636.
Of course, the King also had his continual financial problems and was never able to meet the costs of Government, unless he ceded powers to Parliament. He realised during his reign that he had two choices, cede power or, putting it bluntly, rigging elections by making sure only people who backed his powers were elected. He tried the latter unsuccessfully, despite some rather heavy-handed actions, which had also pulled in Bevill’s father into service in Cornwall. How Bevill managed to navigate his way through all these problems is hard to comprehend, but a new phase was about to unfold for him and force him to decide which side he was on. This came with what is known as the Bishop’s Wars.
Bevill’s friend, Sir John Eliot. From Sir Bevill Grenville and his times. John Stucley
The Bishop Wars:
This may seem a digression from the story of Bevill Grenville but, in fact, it could be seen as the moment when he had to “nail his colours to the mast”. And the decision he made would define the rest of his life and his actions in the coming years would elevate his successors into the aristocracy.
To some extent also, the Bishop’s Wars encompassed much of what had been at the root of the whole “Parliament versus the King” debate and this pulling in Protestantism, Catholicism, Puritanism and Presbyterianism.
In brief, it boiled down to the basic power structure; Presbyterians believed in lay elders running the church, particularly in Scotland, not the bishops; The Puritans wanted to “purify” the Church of England from all “Popery” - removing all vestiges of Catholicism. And the King wanted to retain his powers and pass authority down through the bishops to the peoples. James put it clearly and succinctly, he said, “no Bishops, no King”. The King also considered foreign affairs were matters for the Crown. He did not like the fact that Parliament had refused to allow him to marry his son Prince Charles to the Spanish, Catholic, Infanta. Parliament to did not share these views and the Commons drew up the Great Protestation of 1621. The first document of the English Revolution in which the House claimed historic privileges. Learning of this, King James dissolved Parliament. When Charles acceded the throne in 1625, he inherited all these issues and his father’s belief in the unquestionable powers of the Crown.
The Scottish leaders were not anti-monarchist, it was a question of who held the ultimate authority in clerical affairs. The Royalist amongst them felt this rested with the monarch as head of state, while the Covenanters held this applied only to secular matter - Jesus Christ was head of the Kirk. Charles 1st wanted to unify the Church of Scotland with that of the Church of England and this Covenanters would not accept the English model. Charles decided to assert his authority and each side reacted by raising armies to defend their positions. This led to the Bishop Wars of 1639 and 1640.
Charles used his own financial resources, as he did not want to call Parliament into the fund-raising process. Ultimately, he managed to raise an army and was ready to head north. By the end of March 1639, this complex plan begun to unravel. Back at home at Stowe, Bevill could not contain himself and wrote to his friend Sir John Trelawney: “I cannot contain myself within my doors when the King of England’s standard waves in the fields upon so just an occasion, the cause being such ass must make all those die in it little inferior to martyrs. And, for my own part I desire to acquire an honest name or an honourable grave.
Bevill, the Knight
Bevill set out from Stowe for the north and passing through Oxford he took his son, Dick, from his studies to ride with him at the head of the King’s army. The first Scottish adventure ended in stalemate and a truce was called. The Scottish Covenanters has a sizeable army and had planned well. The King’s army was dissolved and on the way home, the King made three knights: Sir Bevill Grenville, Sir John Hele and Sir James Thin.
Sir Bevill wrote home to his wife, addressing the letter for the first time, “to my best friend, the Lady Grace Grenville at Stowe. He continued in the letter to his wife: “as I was on Saturday last in the Privy Chamber among diverse others, upon a sudden my Lord General came to the door and called for me by name, I went to him and he took me by the hand before all present and led me to where the King was, and he, after gracious words, upon a sudden drew my Lord General’s sword and gave me a dubbing. Sir Bevill had “nailed his colours to the mast, despite all the debates in Parliament, when the Kings position and the country was threatened, the Grenvilles would defend their monarch.
Taking Sides
The success of the Presbyterian Scots in the north encouraged the aggressive elements in the Commons who now demanded the abolition of the Episcopacy – the rule through bishops. Puritanism came to be identified with the Parliamentary party, and the King’s supporters were pledged to defend Monarchy and Episcopacy. One of the leaders of the King’s army in the Bishop’s Wars was beheaded on Tower Hill. Sides were beginning to be drawn that would lead to Civil War within two years.
Bevill’s eldest sone Richard (Dick): from Sir Bevill Grenville and his times. The author, John Stucley says wrongly labelled as John.
Son Richard (Dick) and Bevill, the Person
Unfortunately for Sir Bevill, just when he had been knighted and had given himself and his children a place in society, his great hope for the future, placed in his eldest son Dick, came crashing down, when around this time his son died at Oxford. Bevill had nurtured his son preparing him for the role of his inheritance; he painfully pushed and nurtured his son to achieve what he thought, he himself had not. He had written to his son, “when I was a youth in Oxford, I fell upon the sweet delights of reading Poetry and History”; he wanted his son to read the serious authors such as Aristotle. Bevill was in awe of his friend Sir John Eliot who could invoke the great authors in his oratory. Bevill said to his son, “when I came to manage occasions of weight, I found myself so infinitely defected by it and I would give a limb it were otherwise”.
When his son first went to Oxford he wrote to the Principal of his College: “It is my purpose to commit my eldest son wholly to your trust. I intend he shall depart hence the next week (for Oxford) after Easter. I will say nothing to your better judgement by way of direction, but commit him wholly to your care, only beseeching you to conceive that is greater trust than if I commit my whole estate in your hands.
We can only imagine the level of distraught that he and Lady Grace endured at this time. However, if Sir Bevill had thought that he his son’s death was the end of his hopes for his estate and his successors, and if he thought himself deficient in oratory, he had other great strengths, that of the common touch with the people he led and an abundance of fearless energy. He would in every sense achieve “an honest name in battle and an honourable grave” during the early years of 1643 - which will be discussed in part three of the Grenville story.
Perhaps a lasting memory of the person is recorded by George Granville, Lord Lansdown, the third Earl of Bath. In a letter dated 4th September 1710 he wrote: “He (Bevill) was an academy for all young men of family and in the country; he provided himself with the best masters of all kinds for education, and the children of his neighbours and friends shared the advantage of his own. Thus, he became the father of his country”; the letter concludes: “and laid a foundation of friendship for posterity”.