John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt

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John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt

John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt (born June 18, 1626 in Lowick , Northamptonshire , † June 5, 1675 in Middlesex ) was an English nobleman .

Career

He was the second son of John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough (1599–1642) and his wife Elizabeth Howard (1602–1671), daughter of Edward Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Escrick (1577–1615). While his mother was a Presbyterian , the Mordaunt family belonged to the Roman Catholic Church . His grandfather Henry Mordaunt, 4th Baron Mordaunt (1567-1609) was involved in the powder conspiracy .

Mordaunt received private tuition in France and Italy and was probably still abroad when the First English Civil War broke out in 1642. His father, John Mordaunt , Earl of Peterborough since 1628, supported Parliament. He commanded an infantry regiment and an artillery platoon . After his death in 1642, his brother Henry became the second Earl of Peterborough, who later defected to the royalists. Henry led a notable military career in the service of Charles I. In 1648, John joined his brother to take part in the Surrey royalist uprising led by Henry. But when the uprising failed, both brothers escaped to The Hague .

In 1654, Sir Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon (1609–1674) accepted Mordaunt's offer to serve in the royal movement. Mordaunt returned to England in 1656 and participated in the conspiracy against the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658). His mother's connections qualified him to act as a middleman between the Presbyterians and the royalists. Rejecting the cautious approach of Sealed Knot , he became a leading member of the militant New Action Party , which was supposed to foment an uprising against the government in support of a planned invasion of a Spanish army.

In early 1658, Mordaunt worked with James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde (1610–1688), who was at that time on a secret mission in London to coordinate the royal co-conspirators in England. The spies of Cromwell learned of his presence, so that he was forced to flee to the continent in February 1658. Mordaunt was arrested in April 1658 on the basis of a testimony from the royal defector John Stapley, 1st Baronet of Patcham (1628-1701). After being interrogated by Cromwell himself, he was released from custody, only to be arrested again two weeks later and charged with treason . In June 1658 there was a court hearing against him and Dr. John Hewitt (1614–1658) and Sir Henry Slingsby of Scriven, 1st Baronet (1602–1658) before a specially convened High Court of Justice . Hewitt and Slingsby were both sentenced to death, while the court in Mordaunt's case was initially divided. In the end, however, Lord President Sir John Lisle (1610–1664 ) ensured an acquittal with his casting vote .

On Hyde's recommendation, Charles II appointed Mordaunt to the Great Trust and Commission , a secret organization tasked with fomenting a royal-Presbyterian uprising to restore the monarchy after the death of Oliver Cromwell in September 1658. As a token of his favor, Charles II granted him. Mordaunt on July 10, 1659 the hereditary titles of Viscount Mordaunt , of Avalon in the County of Somerset, and Baron Mordaunt , of Ryegate in the County of Surrey. However, deep divisions and a lack of cooperation between Mordaunt and his fellow Sealed Knot members thwarted or delayed the plans. The continuous uprising, planned for August 1659, was sporadic. Only that in the county of Cheshire by George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer (1622-1684), was a partial success. When Mordaunt spoke out in favor of the king in Barnstead Down, Surrey, only thirty men supported him there. He narrowly escaped capture and fled to the continent in September 1659.

Although Mordaunt continued to work tirelessly for the royal cause, his reputation was damaged by the failure of the uprising of 1659 and he eventually lost the king's favor. He pushed for an alliance with France and warned against the unsuspecting General George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle (1608–1670), ignorant that Sir John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath (1628–1701) had secret negotiations in early 1660 led this in the name of the king. Nevertheless, Mordaunt's services were rewarded after the restoration of the monarchy: he was knighted in 1660. He was also appointed Lord Lieutenant of the County of Surrey and Governor of Windsor Castle .

His harsh personality hindered his advancement at the king's court after the restoration of the monarchy and earned him many enemies. In 1666 he was charged by Parliament with the wrongful imprisonment of William Taylor, the surveyor at Windsor Castle, and the rape of his daughter. The case never came before the House of Lords because the King had Parliament adjourned in February 1667 and pardoned him in July 1667. Mordaunt became extremely unpopular. After the overthrow of his patron Sir Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, he resigned from all his public offices and retired to France until 1669. He then lived quietly in Parsons Green, Middlesex, where he died in June 1675.

family

Mordaunt married Elizabeth Carey (1632–1679), daughter of Margaret Smith († 1648) and the Hon. Thomas Carey (1616–1649) in May 1657. The couple had eleven children together, including:

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Harris, Nicolas: A Synopsis of the Peerage of England: Exhibiting, under alphabetical arrangement, the date of creation, descent, and present state of every title of peerage which has existed in this country since the conquest ... , Volume 2, Rivingtons, 1825, 446 and 513
  2. ↑ Elizabeth Carey on thepeerage.com , accessed July 26, 2015.
  3. ↑ Margaret Smith on thepeerage.com , accessed August 17, 2015.
  4. ↑ Hon. Thomas Carey on thepeerage.com , accessed August 17, 2015.
  5. ↑ General Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough on thepeerage.com , accessed July 26, 2015.
  6. ^ Lt.-Gen. Hon. Harry Mordaunt on thepeerage.com , accessed July 26, 2015.
  7. ↑ Brig. Gen. The Hon. Lewis Mordaunt on thepeerage.com , accessed July 26, 2015.
  8. ↑ Hon. Osmund Mordaunt on thepeerage.com , accessed July 26, 2015.
  9. ↑ Hon. Charlotte Mordaunt on thepeerage.com , accessed July 26, 2015.
  10. ↑ Anna Maria Mordaunt on thepeerage.com , accessed July 26, 2015.
  11. ↑ Rev. Hon. George Mordaunt on thepeerage.com , accessed July 26, 2015.

Web links
predecessor Office successor
New title created Viscount Mordaunt
1659-1675 		Charles Mordaunt
personal data
SURNAME Mordaunt, John, 1st Viscount Mordaunt
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mordaunt, John, 1st Viscount Mordaunt of Avalon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobleman and politician
DATE OF BIRTH June 18, 1626
PLACE OF BIRTH Lowick , Northamptonshire
DATE OF DEATH June 5, 1675
Place of death Middlesex