The Civil War

King Charles I believed that he had a right to govern Britain without the help of a parliament. Between 1629 and 1640, the king did not summon (bring together) Parliament. However, Charles needed to raise money to help him rule, and without Parliament this was very difficult to get. 

King Charles’ attempts to raise money without summoning Parliament caused a lot of anger in England. His religious changes also angered people in Scotland. Relations between the king and Parliament grew worse until war broke out in August 1642.

The Duchy of Cornwall and Cornwall’s Stannary Parliament were strongly connected with the royal family. They gave Cornwall a sense of independence, which was threatened by Parliament. In fact, during the Civil War, the Parliamentarian army set fire to the Duchy Palace and burnt the records of the Duchy of Cornwall and the Cornish Stannary Parliament.

Also, Cornish people were conservative – which meant that they did not like change. Although they were no longer Catholic, the Cornish still enjoyed parish feasts and cared for their holy wells and crosses. Many of Parliament’s supporters were strongly Protestant and disliked feasts, wells and crosses. During the Civil War, Parliament made celebrating feasts and erecting maypoles illegal. Parliamentarian soldiers also vandalised Madron’s holy well and some Cornish churches. 

The Parliamentarians had a strong English identity. People in Cornwall saw this as a threat to their own Cornish culture and identity. 

Most of Cornwall’s leading families supported King Charles. These included the families of Basset, Coryton, Courtenay, Edgcumbe, Grenville, Rashleigh, Trelawny, Tremaine, Trevanion and Vivian. Members of these families were given the rank of colonel, major or captain in the Cornish Royalist army. However, some Cornish families such as Arundell, Carew, Godolphin and St Aubyn were divided, with some members supporting King Charles and other members supporting Parliament.

Disagreements between King Charles I and Parliament led to the outbreak of the Civil War. Some people in Cornwall took Parliament’s side, but many more Cornish people sided with the king. 

Early in 1643 a battle was fought at Braddock Down, near Liskeard. A brave charge led by Cornish Royalist Sir Bevil Grenville made the Parliamentarians flee the battlefield. Two hundred Parliamentarians were killed, 1,250 were taken prisoner and two large cannon were captured by the Royalists. Only two Royalist soldiers died in the battle.

The Cornish Royalist army captured Saltash from the Parliamentarians and forced them to cross the Tamar into England.

During a fight between the Cornish Royalists and Parliamentarians in Chagford, Devon, Colonel Sidney Godolphin of the Cornish army was shot dead.

Parliamentarian troops once again invaded Cornwall and camped on a hill at Stratton, near Bude. The Cornish Royalist army attacked them from four directions, pushing up the hill. The battle lasted all day. Although outnumbered, the Royalists won and forced the Parliamentarians over the border into Devon. 

The Cornish Royalist army left Cornwall to fight the Parliamentarians at Lansdowne, near Bath in Somerset. The Royalists once again had to fight uphill to attack the Parliamentarians. The battle was long and very bloody, with many Cornish soldiers killed. Sir Bevil Grenville was injured in the battle and later died from his injuries.  

The Cornish Royalist army stormed and captured the city of Bristol. It was a great victory for the Cornish but their colonels John Trevanion and Sir Nicholas Slanning were killed during the fighting.

The city of Exeter surrendered to the Cornish Royalist army.

The king sent a letter thanking the Cornish for their support and for fighting for him. The letter was placed in every church and chapel in Cornwall. Some churches in Cornwall still display the letter today.

The town of Dartmouth in Devon surrendered to the Cornish Royalist army.

Parliamentarian troops entered Cornwall and captured Restormel Castle, near Lostwithiel. The Cornish Royalists, led by Sir Richard Grenville, attacked the castle and forced the Parliamentarians to retreat. Six thousand Parliamentary soldiers surrendered. Local people attacked them as they left Cornwall. This was the biggest defeat suffered by the Parliamentarian army in the entire Civil War.

Sir Richard Grenville was put in command of the siege of Plymouth (surrounding Plymouth with soldiers). Plymouth supported the Parliamentarians but Sir Richard’s Cornish troops tried to make its people surrender.

Prince Charles, Duke of Cornwall (later Charles II), was appointed Commander in Chief of the Royalist army. He spent most of 1645 in Cornwall. 

Sir Richard Grenville created four new regiments (groups) of Cornish soldiers called the “New Cornish Tertia”. They were Britain’s first professional soldiers.

Sir Richard Grenville was injured during the siege of Taunton in Somerset. Many Cornish troops left Taunton to go back home. They did not like fighting alongside Royalist troops from England, or fighting outside of Cornwall.

The Cornish Royalist army took part in a battle in Langport, Somerset. The battle was a victory for the Parliamentarians. The Royalists were starting to lose the war.

Sir Richard Grenville wrote to Prince Charles suggesting that Cornwall should become independent and withdraw from the war. The prince did not accept the plan.

The Cornish Royalist army moved from Stratton to Torrington in north Devon. The Parliamentarians entered Torrington and heavy fighting began. A spark exploded gunpowder being stored in Torrington Church, killing over 100 Royalist prisoners held there. 

Cornish Royalist leaders realised that they were losing the war and surrendered the east of Cornwall to the Parliamentarians at Millbrook.

The commander of the Cornish Royalists, Sir Ralph Hopton, surrendered the rest of Cornwall to the Parliamentarians at Tresillian Bridge, near Truro.

Some Cornish Royalists refused to surrender their castles. Brothers Sir Francis and Sir Arthur Basset did not surrender St Michael’s Mount to the Parliamentarians until April 1646.

Colonel John Arundell refused to surrender Pendennis Castle at Falmouth until August 1646. This was one of the last castles held for King Charles to surrender during the Civil War. 

Although Cornwall’s Royalists had surrendered, risings took place at Penzance and Gear, near Helston, in 1648. The Parliamentarians defeated both risings. To show that Cornish resistance had been crushed, Parliamentarian soldiers marched through Penryn with Cornish hurling balls stuck on the ends of their swords.

Possession of the Isles of Scilly had changed during the Civil War. By 1648, the Royalist army had control and Sir John Grenville (the son of Sir Bevil Grenville) was put in charge. Sir John attacked Parliamentarian and Dutch ships that sailed close to the islands. The Dutch declared war on the Isles of Scilly. In April 1651, Parliamentarian soldiers and sailors stormed the islands and Sir John surrendered on 23rd May. The Isles of Scilly did not sign a peace agreement with the Dutch until 1986 – making this the longest war in history!

You can visit a number of places connected with the Civil War in Cornwall:

Stratton battlefield 

Pendennis Castle

Restormel Castle

Kilkhampton Church has memorials to Sir Bevil Grenville 

The great houses and grounds of some of the officers of the Cornish Royalist army are open to the public, including:

Godolphin – the home of Colonel Sidney Godolphin

Trerice – the home of Colonel William Arundell

Mount Edgcumbe and Cotehele – the homes of Colonel Piers Edgcumbe

Caerhays – the home of Sir Charles Trevanion

St Michael’s Mount – the home of Sir Francis Basset