On the outbreak of the Civil War, Robartes, now firmly established
as his county's leading Parliamentarian actively sought a command
in Parliaments' Army and Lanhydrock was garrisoned.
Robartes' own Regiment of Foot was raised as one of the twenty
original regiments which made up the army under the command of
the Earl of Essex. Robartes' Regiment left London on 7th September
1642 to head for the midlands. Following an army review at Coventry
and the taking of Worcester, the army followed the King's army
towards London and on 23rd October 1642 the armies met in the
wars first major engagement at Edgehill in Warwickshire. Of eleven
foot regiments present in Parliaments' army at the battle, four
fled, but the other seven, which included Robartes', were said
to have fought valiantly and helped stabilise the army when defeat
looked imminent and manage to hold out for an inconclusive outcome.
On 12th November, Robartes' Regiment along with Hampden's foot
advanced to assist the hard pressed defenders of Brentford, just
outside London, but as they arrived the parliamentary supply
barge on the Thames was blown up and they fell back, leaving
the Royalists to take the town.
In December 1642, with the royalist cause in the ascendancy
in Cornwall under Lord Hopton, the royalists raided across the
Tamar into Devon cutting off Plymouth's water supply. The town's
committee, now thoroughly alarmed for their safety, gave Lord
Robartes command of the town and ordered the recruitment of troops
to defend themselves. Plymouth successfully resisted these early
royalist attempts at its capture, as indeed, it would continue
to do throughout the war.
In the early months of 1643 Robartes' Regiment were part of
the army which, now badly depleted due to an outbreak of typhus,
was laying siege to Reading. A muster role taken in February
1643 shows the regiment as containing 456 private soldiers.
In September of 1643 the regiment were part of the force sent
to the bloodless relief of Gloucester, although they saw some
minor
action at Stow-on-the-Wold on their way. on 20th September the
army met the royalists in battle at Newbury, which despite some
savage fighting ended in a stalemate. Lord Robartes himself commanded
a brigade at Newbury with some bravery. His brigade managed to
push Vavasour's foot back despite looking in danger for a while
themselves. Late 1643 saw the army abandon Reading for Windsor
for re-supplying and some fighting at Olney near Newport Pagnell.
Lord Robartes was a member of the Committee Of Both Kingdoms
from its inception on 16th February 1644 and it was to this committee
he complained that his "ill paid" troops "are low on courage,
but loud in complaint."
In March 1644 Parliament ordered Essex to find a post for Robartes
on his staff and he was duly made Field - Marshal. On 9th May
a petition was presented to Parliament praying that Robartes
might be made Commander - in - Chief in Devon and Cornwall.
May 23rd saw the army back at Reading as the royalists had abandoned
it and Essex and Wailer were to plan the reduction of the King's
war capital of Oxford. The King escaped from the city and headed
to Worcester, prompting the armies of both parliamentary commanders
to follow. Essex and Wailer parted company at Stow - on -the
- Wold, Wailer to pursue the King and Essex to go to the relief
of Lyme Regis which was under attack by Prince Maurice's army.
On hearing news of the relief force the siege was lifted and
the royalists retreated to Exeter. Essex's men continued westward
taking Taunton, Tiverton and Barnstaple, who had expelled their
royalist governor, Lord Robartes personally leading three foot
and two cavalry regiments to secure the town.
Next was to follow a great misjudgment by Essex and it was due
in no small measure to Lord Robartes and his Cornish officers;
Robartes' estates had been sequestrated by the King and handed
over to Sir Richard Grenville, in fact for a while the Royalist
army had camped on his estate and he was anxious that he might
get his land and property back. The Crown Sequestration Committee
noted Robartes had an worth £1,000 a year, "exclusive of his
home and lands at Lanhydrock."
It has also been suggested that Robartes, who was a friend of
Sir Henry Vane, one of Essex's severest critics, might lead the
Earl on a "fools errand" to discredit him, but this seems unlikely.
It is certain though that Robartes persuaded Essex to move into
royalist held Cornwall promising recruits for the army once the
royalists were ousted. The idea may have appealed to Essex as
this area of the country had long been considered the domain
of his rival, Sir William Waller.
On 26th July 1644 the army crossed the Tamar into Cornwall,
however, disastrously for them the King's army had rendezvoused
with Prince Maurice's army and the combined Royalist force pushed
Essex back to Lostwithiel and defeated them at Restormel Castle
and Castle Dore. Robartes had been sent on to secure the tiny
fishing village of Fowey to keep communications open with Parliament's
navy and it was from here that Robartes with Essex and his staff
escaped by boat to Plymouth. The cavalry broke out, but the infantry
had no choice but surrender. Given parole not to fight for Parliament
until they reached Hampshire and stripped of weaponry and any
decent clothing they were marched to Dorset under guard with
great losses. By 7th September only 800 or 900 had made it as
far as Portsmouth where the army refit was to take place, Lord
Robartes wrote disconsolately on 4th October "of the Plymouth
foot which went from hence, 1,000, there come to Lt.Col. Martin
only 200." In fact muster roles in 1644 record Lord Robartes' Regiment
as having 700 soldiers on 24th June and only 333 on 27th December.
Robartes' Regiment would next be involved in the second Battle
of Newbury, in which Parliament's Army, minus Essex who was ill,
again let the King escape despite some spirited fighting. Their
final action would be to repulse a royalist attack on Abingdon
on 11th January 1645. Second Newbury was the final straw which
prompted the formation of Parliament's New Model Army and Robartes' Regiment
was absorbed into it.
Meanwhile, on his escape to Plymouth, Robartes was again put
in command of the town and despite some offers made to him to
yield up the town by Lord Digby, he and Plymouth held firm. In
fact, petitions were made in Plymouth that he may continue as
governor, thus showing his popularity there.
The passing of the Self - Denying Ordinance of 23rd November
1644 was to cool the zeal of Lord Robartes and he moved towards
the party seeking peace with the King. In the Uxbridge Propositions
of January 1645 Parliament requested that the King make Robartes
an Earl.
Robartes was a strong Presbyterian and on 13th March 1646 he
protested against the ordinance which made the new church courts
subordinate to parliamentary commissioners.
On January 15th 1647, Robartes along with North and Stamford
were the three main voices in opposition to the Vote Of No Addresses,
which effectively was to stop negotiations with the King. The
three Lords thought it prudent, however, to absent themselves
from the chamber when the Commons asked Fairfax to send 2,000
men to occupy Whitehall for the "protection of Parliament " and
the bill was passed.
After the King's execution, a period in which Lord Robartes
keeps a low profile in Cornwall, it becomes clear that he is
no lover of England's "new order" although he refuses to have
any part in anti -republican plots. He does however, seem to
be more at ease with the Protectorate than the Republic, his
son even bore the train of Cromwell's purple robe on his second
installation as Lord Protector.
Robartes supported the restoration and his influence with its
chief "architect" George Monck even insured him a place in Charles
II's government. In quick succession in 1660 he was admitted
to the Privy Council, appointed a commissioner of the Treasury
and made Lord Deputy of Ireland.
Clarendon said of Robartes "a man of more than ordinary parts,
well versed in the knowledge of the law, and esteemed of integrity
not to be corrupted by money. But he was a sullen, morose man,
intolerably proud, and had some humours as inconvenient as small
vices, which made him hard to live with." Samuel Pepys described
him as "a very sober man."
The choice of Robartes as Lord Deputy of Ireland was poor, he
even refused to actually go there and instead became Lord Privy
Seal on 18th May 1661. King Charles made him Lord Lieutenant
of Ireland on 3rd May 1669 in place of Ormonde, this time he
went, but he was recalled in May 1670 after proving again that
he was quite unequal to the task in Ireland.
On 23rd June 1679 Robartes was made Viscount Bodmin and Earl
of Radnor and on 25th October he became Lord President of the
King's new Privy Council.
It was said of Robartes by Roger North that he was "a good old
English Lord" and "notwithstanding his uncontrollable testiness
and perverse humours, did the King very good service."
He continued as Lord President of the Council until 1681 and
one of his final actions in the council was his opposition to
the passing of Monmouth's Patent, thereby easing the succession
of James II.
On 17th July 1685 Lord John Robartes, first Earl of Radnor died
at his house in Chelsea and his body was taken back to Lanhydrock
for burial, in his native Cornwall.
Early
Years