Charles radclyffe biography

Titular 5th Earl of Derwentwater

For other people with similar names, see Charles Radcliff.

Charles Radcliff, de jure Earl of Derwentwater
Charles Radcliff, de jure 5th Earl of Derwentwater
Known&#;for	Jacobite
Born	Charles Radcliff or Radclyffe ()3 September Little Parndon, Essex, England
Died	8 December () (aged&#;53) Tower Hill, London, England
Nationality	English
Spouse(s)
Issue	James Bartholomew Radclyffe, 4th Earl of Newburgh
Parents

Charles Radclyffe (3 September – 8 December ), titular 5th Earl of Derwentwater, was one of the limited English participants in the Risings of and

The Radclyffes were Catholics from Northumberland, with long-standing links to the exiled Stuarts; sentenced to death in , he escaped and spent the next 30 years in Europe.

Biography. Charles Radclyffe 5th Earl Derwentwater. Born 3 September Petty Parndon, Essex, England. Died 8 December London, London, England. Buried 2 Jun St Peter and St Paul, Harlington, Middlesex, England. Charles married, on 24 June , to Charlotte Maria Livingston (–).

He was captured at sea along with his eldest son in November en way to Scotland and executed on 8 December , under the warrant issued in His son James was released and later settled in Slindon, West Sussex.

Life

Charles was born 3 September in Little Parndon, Essex, third and youngest son of Edward, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater (–) and Lady Mary Tudor (–), an illegitimate daughter of Charles II.

He had two brothers and a sister; James, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater (–), Francis (–) and Mary (–).^{[citation needed]} His brother Francis died in France, in May

On 24 June , he married Charlotte Maria Livingston (–), daughter of the 2nd Earl of Newburgh and widow of Thomas Clifford.

Their children included James, who inherited his mother's title in , and Mary (–). He also had a daughter, Jane (–) from a relationship with Margaret Snowden (–).^[2] She is the main character in the novel Devil Water by Anya Seton that also features Radclyffe.^[3]

Career

The Radclyffes were Catholics, with long-standing links to the Stuarts; his grandfather Sir Francis Radclyffe (–) was created Earl of Derwentwater by Charles II upon his son, Edward Radclyffe, marrying Lady Mary Tudor.^[4] His grandmother, Catherine Fenwick, came from another long-established Northumberland family; her brother Sir John Fenwick was executed in for conspiracy to assassinate William III.

His elder brother James was educated at the exile court in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where he was companion to James Francis Edward Stuart.

About Charles Radclyffe - Data Philosopher: Charles Radclyffe (3 September – 8 December ), titular 5th Earl of Derwentwater, was one of the several English participants in the Risings of and The Radclyffes were Catholics from Northumberland, with long-standing links to the exiled Stuarts; sentenced to death in , he escaped and spent the next 30 years in Europe. He.

Allowed to return to England in , he and Charles joined the Rising, with a troop of 70 servants and friends. Captured at Preston, they were both found culpable of treason and condemned to death. Witnesses at the trial claimed Charles was in order, but despite efforts to store him, James was executed at Tower Hill in February and his title died with him.

In December , Charles escaped from Newgate Prison with 13 other prisoners when a door was left open, and made his way to France.

He spent many years in Rome, the location of the Stuart court post, including a period as private secretary to Prince Charles.

His nephew John, de jure 4th Earl Derwentwater, died in , leaving a legacy to "my kinsman, Mr Thompson", which may refer to an alias used by Charles, who now styled himself 5th Earl Derwentwater.

The Radcliffe family had in fact originated in Lancashire their original family seat for over three hundred years appears to be Ordsall Hall which is still intact and can be visited in Salford, Manchester and had succeeded to the Manor of Dilston near Hexham in Northumberland by the early part of the 16th century through the marriage of Edward Radcliffe to the Dilston heiress Anne Cartington. Interestingly this manor had previously been owned by the Tyndale family, relations of William Tyndale translator of the Bible into English. Charles Radcliffe was reputedly a wild headstrong philanderer in his youth with his elder brother James having to pay off his debts on many occasions. A Roman milestone on the top of Waterfalls hill in Northumberland marks the spot where Radcliffe and his followers met General Thomas Forster and his troops, at the start of the rising in October

He visited London and Essex in and , reputedly with the knowledge of the government.

Like many Jacobites, he was a Freemason, who reportedly served as Grandmaster of the Grande Loge de France in ^[6] He is also listed as an officer in the Command of the Fleur de Lys, one of several organisations claiming to inherit the legacy of the Knights Templar; the Command still exists, although the more fantastic assertions have since been disproved.

In November , during the Jacobite Rising, Charles and his son James boarded a French ship taking arms and supplies from Dunkirk to the Scottish port of Montrose.

It was intercepted in the North Sea by HMS Sheerness and the two were taken to the Tower of London. Charles had been commissioned into Dillon's Regiment, part of the Franco-Irish Brigade, a common technique used in hopes of being treated as a prisoner of war if captured, rather than a rebel.

Francis Towneley, colonel of the Manchester Regiment, also employed this defence but the authorities carefully scrutinised such claims and rejected the vast majority. Lord Chancellor Hardwicke used the warrant to execute Charles in December ; although technically not a peer, he was beheaded, rather than being hanged, drawn and quartered, the normal fate for those found guilty of treason.

If he had not escaped in , Charles would in all probability have been pardoned, but the government was particularly harsh on families and individuals seen as habitual or repeat offenders.

In a letter to his wife Charlotte the night before his execution, Charles refers to "Fanny, that other mother of my dear children." This is generally taken to refer to Lady Frances Clifford, Charlotte's sister-in-law from her first marriage, who may have assisted in bringing up Radclyffe's own children.^{[citation needed]} He was buried in the church of St Giles in the Fields, Camden.

James was released and pardoned under the Act of Indemnity; in , he married Barbara Kempe, another Catholic, whose family owned Slindon House neighboring Slindon, West Sussex.

He unsuccessfully petitioned for the return of the Derwentwater estates, which reverted to the government after the death of John Radclyffe in and the income assigned to the Greenwich Hospital.

The youngest brother of the Earl of Derwentwater, Charles Radcliffe was a wild-philandering character in his youth, and was said to contain fathered a number of illegitimate children. He was a particularly ardent Jacobite and took an active part in the Rising of

He succeeded his mother as Earl of Newburgh in

References

Sources

• Cook, Alice, ed. (). Remains, historical and literary, connected with the palatine counties of Lancaster and Chester; Volume 44.

  Chatham Society.

• Craster, Henry, Sir (). A history of Northumberland. issued under the direction of the Northumberland county history committee. Simpkins & Co.: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Hampson, Gillian.

  "FENWICK, Sir John, 3rd Bt. (c), of Wallington, Northumb. and Westminster". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 6 December

• Hitchin-Kemp, Fred (). General History of the Kemp and Kempe families.
  Charles Radclyffe 3 September — 8 Decembertitular 5th Earl of Derwentwaterwas one of the few English participants in the Risings of and The Radclyffes were Catholics from Northumberlandwith long-standing links to the exiled Stuarts ; sentenced to death inhe escaped and spent the next 30 years in Europe. He was captured at sea along with his eldest son in November en route to Scotland and executed on 8 Decemberunder the warrant issued in His son James was released and later settled in Slindon, West Sussex.

  Leadenhall Press.

• Jackson, William (). The Newgate Calendar, Volume IV. A Hogg.
• Lincoln, Henry; Baigent, Michael (). The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail. Arrow.
  Charles Radclyffe 3 September — 8 Decembertitular 5th Earl of Derwentwater, was one of the few English participants in the Risings of and The Radclyffes were Catholics from Northumberlandwith long-standing links to the exiled Stuarts ; sentenced to death inhe escaped and spent the next 30 years in Europe. He was captured at sea along with his eldest son in November en route to Scotland and executed on 8 Decemberunder the warrant issued in His son James was released and later settled in Slindon, West Sussex.

  ISBN&#;.

• Seccombe, Thomas (). "Radcliffe, James"&#;. Dictionary of National Biography. Vol.&#; pp.&#;–

External links