Arthur Champernowne

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Coat of arms of the Champernowne family

Sir Arthur Champernowne (also called Champernon , Chamberlain or Chamborne ) (around 1524 - April 1, 1578 ) was an English politician and military man.

origin

Arthur Champernowne was born around 1524 as the second son of Philip Champernowne from Modbury and his wife Catherine, daughter of Edmund Carew from Mohun's Ottery . His family belonged to the gentry of Devon . His sister Katherine was the mother of Humphrey Gilbert and Walter Raleigh , his aunt Katherine Champernowne was the educator of Elizabeth I , his uncle Gawain Carew and his brother-in-law Anthony Denny held offices at the royal court.

When his father died around 1545, as a younger son he inherited little rental income from Plympton and Ugborough as well as the income from the family's tin mine. However, since his older brother John had died in 1541, he became head of the family while his nephew Henry Champernown was a minor . He entered the service of the crown in 1545 and served in Boulogne , which was then occupied by the English . Around 1547 he married Mary, the widow of Admiral George Carew , who went down with the Mary Rose . Her father Henry Norris had served as chamberlain at the royal court and was executed in 1536 during the overthrow of Anne Boleyn . His wife brought the Manor of Stoke Fleming and the borough of Southtown Dartmouth as dowries into the marriage for a combined income of £  65 per year. By cleverly expanding his property, Champernowne increased his annual income to around £ 100 a year until his death.

Opponent of the government under Queen Maria

He was honored for his involvement in the suppression of the Prayer Book Rebellion in Devon in 1549. On November 10, 1549, he was knighted for his demeanor in the fall of Lord Protector Edward Seymour . By by-election he was 1550 MP for Barnstaple in the House of Commons , presumably with the support of his friend John Chichester , the then Sheriff of Devon. During the succession crisis after the death of Edward VI. In 1553 he supported his cousin Peter Carew , the Vice-Admiral of Devon, when he proclaimed Mary in Dartmouth as the new Queen in July . However, the staunch Protestant's loyalty to the new queen was strained by her return to Catholicism and by her marriage to Philip II of Spain . He half-heartedly supported Peter Carew, who was involved in Thomas Wyatt's overturning plans , but he broke with his cousin on January 21, 1554. However, the rebellion was already exposed and Carew fled abroad while Champernowne and Gawain Carew were arrested. Champernowne was released on May 6, 1554 and continued to be part of the opposition to the Queen's Catholic rule. While he was therefore under government scrutiny in London, he received strong support for his stance in his home country and was re-elected as a member of the House of Commons for Plympton Alder in 1555 . In parliament he was part of the opposition around Anthony Kingston . In 1557 he took part in the campaign of the 2nd Earl of Bedford on the side of Spain against France, but did not fight in the battle of Saint-Quentin .

Ascent under Elizabeth I.

When her Protestant sister Elisabeth ascended the throne after the death of Mary in November 1558, Champernowne stood because of his oppositional stance, because of his wife, whose father had been executed for the mother of the new queen, and because of his friendship with his sister-in-law Catherine Blount, who Widow of his brother John, who belonged to the queen's court, in the favor of the new queen. He was re-elected to the House of Commons for Plymouth in 1559 and served as Sheriff of Devon for a year from the fall of 1559. In the same year, according to other sources as early as 1554, he acquired the country estate Dartington Hall near Totnes , which he had expanded. In 1563 he was elected to the House of Commons for Totnes, but above all he made a military career like his brother-in-law Henry Norris . In the same year he became Vice Admiral of Devon and in the following years fought pirates who threatened shipping and the coastal region of South West England. In the fight against Spanish or French corsairs, he temporarily allied himself with the corsairs of Jeanne d'Albret , Queen of Navarre . In early 1568, a flotilla of Spanish ships sought protection from Huguenot and Dutch corsairs in Plymouth and Southampton. The ships were on their way to the Netherlands and carried the pay for the Duke of Alba’s troops . Champernowne, along with the Admiral of Hampshire Edward Horsey, confiscated the ships and the pay of approximately £ 400,000. The confiscation of this treasure was one of the most controversial incidents during the reign of Elizabeth I, and the Queen is said to have reimbursed the money to Spain later.

Supporters of the French Huguenots

From the end of 1568 his nephew Henry, his eldest son Gawine and other volunteers supported the fight of the Huguenots in the Third Huguenot War in France. Henry caught the attention of Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery, a leading Huguenot general, but Henry died on May 28, 1570. Since he had only one minor son, Arthur was again head of the family. Arthur himself traveled to France in 1569 to negotiate with the Huguenots. He agreed with the Count of Montgomery that his son Gawine should marry Roberde, a daughter of Montgomery, in 1571 or 1572. In 1572 he accompanied Lord High Admiral Edward Clinton to Paris, where the latter signed the Treaty of Blois , in which France and England concluded an alliance against Spain. They stayed in Paris from June 8 to 22, 1572, where they met Gaspard II de Coligny , the leader of the Huguenots, among others . In addition, Champernowne received a letter from Henry of Navarre , which he brought to Elizabeth I. Two months later, Coligny was murdered on St. Bartholomew's Night and La Rochelle , the last bastion of the Huguenots, was besieged. Champernowne asked the Queen to give the Huguenots military support and advised her not to recognize the Blois Treaty because of the insincerity of the French contractors. The Queen did not support the Huguenots directly, but Montgomery, who had fled to England, was able to attempt relief with English ships from Plymouth in 1573. His son-in-law Gawine Champernowne accompanied him. Montgomery failed with its ships and could not reach the besieged city, but the Catholics later had to lift the siege. In the spring of 1574, Montgomery crossed over to Normandy with a troop , but was captured and executed in Paris. An attempt to rescue Champernowne failed because Montgomery had already surrendered. Champernowne remained in contact with the French Huguenots, but after Montgomery's death his interest in their struggle sank. As early as 1573 he had led a military expedition to Ireland with Peter Carew. To this end he was appointed Vice Admiral of Monmouthshire to better monitor maritime traffic to southern Ireland.

In the spring of 1578 he fell ill and died on April 1st.

Family and offspring

From his marriage to Mary Carew he had five sons and at least one daughter:

  • Gawine
  • Philip
  • Charles
  • George
  • Edward
  • Elizabeth ⚭ 1576 Edward Seymour, 1st Baronet of Berry Pomeroy

His descendants lived in Dartington Hall until the 20th century, but none of them regained the importance of Arthur Champernowne.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dartington Parish Council. Retrieved November 26, 2013 .
personal data
SURNAME Champernowne, Arthur
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Champernowne, Sir Arthur (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English politician and military
DATE OF BIRTH around 1524
DATE OF DEATH April 1, 1578