George Barclay led an unsuccessful attempt to ambush and kill William III and II of England, Scotland and Ireland in early 1696.
George Barclay led an unsuccessful attempt to ambush and kill William III and II of England, Scotland and Ireland in early 1696.
One of a series of plots by Jacobites to reverse the Glorious Revolution of 1688–1689, the plot of 1696 had been preceded by the "Ailesbury plot" of 1691–1692. Strictly the "Fenwick plot" of 1695 is distinct from the assassination plot of 1696. The successor was the proposed French invasion of Scotland of 1708. [1]
Robert Charnock had served under John Parker in the Jacobite cavalry at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. In 1694 he was put in command of forces raised in the London area by Parker, for a potential Jacobite rising against William III and Mary II. Parker also drew in George Porter and Sir William Parkyns. He left the country in the middle of 1694. By then Charnock was discussing a plan to kidnap William III and take him to France. Mixed messages from James II confused the issue, and nothing had been done by April 1695, when William left the country. [2]
Sir John Fenwick, 3rd Baronet, was one of the inner circle who advised James on English affairs. Mary's death at the end of 1694 revived their interest in direct action in England, and finance from France arrived by April 1695. Fenwick, however, was opposed to the schemes proposed by Charnock and his group. Meeting in May with Sir John Friend and others, he sent Charnock to France to move a plan for a massive invasion, instead. In June Fenwick was involved in Jacobite rioting and was arrested. Sir George Barclay was sent to act as his deputy in commanding forces supposed to co-ordinate with an invasion force under the Duke of Berwick. Barclay assessed the plan as hopeless, shunned Fenwick, and went back to the original idea of "kidnapping" William, certainly a euphemism for an assassination. [3]
The plot was based on William III's habitual movements, on returning from hunting. On the south bank of the River Thames, at Kew, he would take a ferry that would bring him to the north bank, on a lane that ran from Turnham Green to Brentford (at this period these places were not built up, and lay west of the London conurbation). [4] Barclay's plan depended on surprising William in his coach, and his armed escort. It was intended to use three parties of armed men, one to capture the king, and the others to deal with his guards. [5] A point was chosen on the lane which was narrow enough so that the royal coach and six horses would not be able to manoeuvre. [6]
The plot was prepared and its armed men were ready to act on 15 February and 22 February 1696. One party was under the command of Ambrose Rookwood. [5]
William Trumbull, who was Secretary of State for the Northern Department at the time, heard about the plotting beginning in August 1695. He gathered intelligence on it through informers, and led the early investigation, which later was handed over to James Vernon. [7] There was no shortage of rumour, with the information from Thomas Prendergast proving decisive: he had been approached by George Porter on 13 February 1696, and then went to William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, to reveal the conspiracy. In a second interview he gave the king details of the conspirators, a group numbering around 40 in all. [8]
The ramifications of the plot proved more troublesome to Vernon. Fenwick defended himself actively by trying to implicate Lord Godolphin, the Duke of Shrewsbury, the Earl of Marlborough, and the Earl of Orford. These charges led into the heart of the Junto, and Shrewsbury was Vernon's immediate superior. [9] To add to the awkward position, this group of Whigs had in fact been in correspondence with James II at St Germain. [10]
The attempt did not take place on either day when the plotters were in position, and on 23 February 1696 a proclamation was made against them. [5] A number of Jacobites connected to Fenwick, but not involved in the plot were arrested, including James Grahme on 3 March 1696, Thomas Higgons and Bevil Higgons; they were later released. [11] [12] [13] On 21 March, Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury, another not directly involved in the plot was taken to the Tower of London, where he was kept until February 1697. [14] Viscount Montgomery went into hiding after being named in a proclamation; he gave himself up on 15 December 1696 and was held in Newgate Prison for about seven months. [15]
A long sequence of trials related to the plot began in March. [16] The 1695 Treason Act made the date of arrest crucial in determining whether the accused were entitled to defense counsel; this was denied to Friend, Parkyns and Charnock when Sir John Holt enforced the letter of the law. [17] Sentenced to death, Friend and Parkyns were attended by three Non-Juror priests (Jeremy Collier, Shadrach Cook and William Snatt) and immediately prior to the execution on 13 April 1696, the clergymen declared Friend and Parkyns absolved of their sins. In doing so, the clergymen effectively declared the conspirators to be correct in their actions, whilst also performing a rite that was not recognised by the Church of England. [18] This caused a considerable furore; Collier went into hiding and was outlawed, while Cook and Snatt were tried and found guilty but later released. [19] [20]
Constantijn Huygens, William's personal secretary, records in his Diary; 'I was in doubt whether to watch the execution of Friend and Parkyns, but being on my way from Kensington, I saw the spectators walking away and so returned home.' [21] He also mentions pamphlets on the trial were already for sale in the streets.
In addition to Friend and Parkyns, Rookwood and others, who had counsel, were executed in April 1696; in total, nine Jacobite activists were put to death. [22] Sir John Fenwick was convicted on a bill of attainder, and executed on 28 January 1697. [23] Robert Cassels, Robert Meldrum, James Counter, James Chambers, Robert Blackbourn, and Major John Bernardi were detained without trial; other than Counter, none were released, the last survivor, Bernardi, dying in 1736 while still in Newgate. [24]
In political terms, the unmasked plot strengthened the hand of the Whig Junto in dealing with the Country Party, and in asking parliament to vote money. [25] The House of Commons agreed to the swearing of an "association", in effect a loyalty oath to the king; and it was argued that William's preservation was divine providence, undermining the view that he had only been entitled to the English throne in the lifetime of Queen Mary. [26]
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and Head of Civil Justice. As a judge, the Master of the Rolls is second in seniority in England and Wales only to the Lord Chief Justice. The position dates from at least 1286, although it is believed that the office probably existed earlier than that.
The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother James, Duke of York. The royal party went from Westminster to Newmarket to see horse races and were expected to make the return journey on 1 April 1683, but because there was a major fire in Newmarket on 22 March, the races were cancelled, and the King and the Duke returned to London early. As a result, the planned attack never took place.
Sir John Trenchard was an English politician and landowner.
Sir George Barclay was a Scottish army officer who headed a Jacobite assassination plot against King William II of Scotland in 1696. The plotters intended to ambush the king at Turnham Green in London on returning from a hunting party. The plot was betrayed to the government, and nine members were executed, though Barclay escaped to France.
The British Poet Laureate is an honorary position appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom, currently on the advice of the prime minister. The role does not entail any specific duties, but there is an expectation that the holder will write verse for significant national occasions. The origins of the laureateship date back to 1616 when a pension was provided to Ben Jonson, but the first official holder of the position was John Dryden, appointed in 1668 by Charles II. On the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who held the post between November 1850 and October 1892, there was a break of four years as a mark of respect; Tennyson's laureate poems "Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington" and "The Charge of the Light Brigade" were particularly cherished by the Victorian public. Four poets, Thomas Gray, Philip Larkin, Samuel Rogers and Walter Scott, turned down the laureateship. Historically appointed for an unfixed term and typically held for life, since 1999, the position is for a term of ten years.
The Lieutenant of the Tower of London serves directly under the Constable of the Tower. The office has been appointed at least since the 13th century. There were formerly many privileges, immunities and perquisites attached to the office. Like the Constable, the Lieutenant was usually appointed by letters patent, either for life or during the King's pleasure.
Justice of the Common Pleas was a puisne judicial position within the Court of Common Pleas of England and Wales, under the Chief Justice. The Common Pleas was the primary court of common law within England and Wales, dealing with "common" pleas. It was created out of the common law jurisdiction of the Exchequer of Pleas, with splits forming during the 1190s and the division becoming formal by the beginning of the 13th century. The court became a key part of the Westminster courts, along with the Exchequer of Pleas and the Court of King's Bench, but with the Writ of Quominus and the Statute of Westminster, both tried to extend their jurisdiction into the realm of common pleas. As a result, the courts jockeyed for power. In 1828 Henry Brougham, a Member of Parliament, complained in Parliament that as long as there were three courts unevenness was inevitable, saying that "It is not in the power of the courts, even if all were monopolies and other restrictions done away, to distribute business equally, as long as suitors are left free to choose their own tribunal", and that there would always be a favourite court, which would therefore attract the best lawyers and judges and entrench its position. The outcome was the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873, under which all the central courts were made part of a single Supreme Court of Judicature. Eventually the government created a High Court of Justice under Lord Coleridge by an Order in Council of 16 December 1880. At this point, the Common Pleas formally ceased to exist.
The Socinian controversy in the Church of England was a theological argument on christology carried out by English theologians for around a decade from 1687. Positions that had remained largely dormant since the death in 1662 of John Biddle, an early Unitarian, were revived and discussed, in pamphlet literature.
Sir William Parkyns or Perkins (1649?–1696) was an English lawyer and Jacobite conspirator, executed for high treason.
George Porter was an English soldier and conspirator.
Newcome's School was a fashionable boys' school in Hackney, then to the east of London, founded in the early 18th century. A number of prominent Whig families sent their sons there. The school closed in 1815, and the buildings were gutted in 1820. In 1825 the London Orphan Asylum opened on the site. Today the Clapton Girls' Academy is located here.
John Parker was an English army officer and Jacobite conspirator.
Ambrose Rookwood (1664–1696) was an English Jacobite soldier, a conspirator and commander in the assassination plot of 1696 intended to kill William III of Great Britain. He was convicted and executed.
Thomas Buchan (c.1641–1724) was a Scottish professional soldier from a Catholic family in Aberdeenshire who served in the armies of France, the Netherlands and Scotland. He remained loyal to James II after the 1688 Glorious Revolution and participated in the War in Ireland before taking command of Jacobite forces in Scotland in February 1690. After the Highland chiefs submitted to William III in early 1692, he was given safe passage to France and later allowed to return home in 1703. He maintained links with the Stuart exiles and played a small role in the 1715 Rising but escaped punishment and died at Fyvie in 1724.
This is a list of officers who commanded the Regular Troops of the British Army in Canada until 1906, when the last British garrison was withdrawn.