Charles I.
George Cutteford was instructed to do something about it. He would have to travel to London, try to make the wayward woman see sense, and, if he could not prevent the marriage, he must at least ensure that Sir Richard Grenville would lay no claim to the Fitz estates, now in the hands of the Courtenays. Cutteford knew his place in the scheme of things, and agreed to travel to London; despite his natural misgivings about seeing Mary again, he was in no position to refuse. He promised to do all he could to arrange the matter to everyone’s satisfaction, and in return, he announced – much to Richard Halse’s surprise – that he had a few demands of his own.
Walreddon was first on his list. Not just as a place to live; George demanded the lease and all the income from the surrounding farms, and not just for his lifetime but for the lifetimes of both of his sons – for a period of ninety–nine years. George demanded that he be awarded the same status as the man he worked for. He felt that he and his family deserved to be landowners in their own right. Reluctantly, Halse agreed. The land was currently in the name of John Macy, who seems to have been a local official, and, after a legal battle between Cutteford and Macy2, the estate was signed over to George and his family in 1629.3
And secondly – for there was more – George’s eldest son wanted to study at the Middle Temple and train to be a lawyer, just like Richard Halse. Now George was a landowner, his son would be permitted to enter the Inns of Court, and the Middle Temple seemed a good place to start. Richard Halse, who trained at the Inner Temple, did not refuse the request, and George arranged for two guarantors for his son’s entry to the Middle Temple in 1628.4 His guarantors would both be wealthy attorneys and themselves graduates of the Middle Temple: William Tothill from Exeter and their old family friend, John Maynard. George Cutteford’s eldest son achieved the professional and social status that George himself had never been able to afford. William Cutteford the sailor would have been delighted and astonished by their success.
Now there was only Sir Richard Grenville to contend with, and George travelled to London to meet with the prospective groom. The two men, of such differing backgrounds, hated each other at first sight.
The Grenville family were among the largest landowners in Cornwall; the family home, called Stowe, was once located a few miles west of the village of Kilkhampton on the northern coast of Cornwall. Nothing remains of Stowe manor but a few stables that are now part of a farm above Coombe valley, a rather bleak but picturesque basin that leads down to the sandy beach at Duckpool.
The Grenvilles had a long history of loyal service to the monarchy, as admirals and soldiers, MPs and Sheriffs, many sacrificing their lives in battle. Sir Roger Grenville drowned when he was captain of the Mary Rose as the ship was disastrously sunk in Portsmouth, during Henry VIII’s battle against invading French forces.5 In 1591, an elder Sir Richard Grenville died on the Revenge under attack from the Spanish Armada, heroically choosing to go down fighting with his ship rather than flee with the rest of the English fleet. The elder Sir Richard Grenville left two sons, the younger John battling to secure the Grenville’s lands in Ireland against the riots of the Munster uprisings. The elder son, Bernard, was not regarded as a fighting man, though he was knighted for his services in Ireland. Bernard Grenville was generally content to live a quieter life, managing the family’s many estates, including those of his wealthy wife.
Sir Bernard Grenville had four sons and two daughters. The family are immortalised by Daphne Du Maurier in her book The King’s General of the West.6 She describes Richard Grenville, one of Bernard’s younger sons, as a taciturn fighting man, fierce in his loyalties and often brutal in his actions. This reflects Richard’s character in later life, but at the time he met Lady Mary Howard, Richard was considered to be an attractive man of wit and humour, a flamboyant success in the colourful court of King Charles I; a man who was brave in battle, enjoyed carousing with beautiful women and drinking heavily with his good friend and mentor, the Duke of Buckingham. He was also a man of some intelligence, studying at Exeter College in Oxford, and later in life studying mathematics at Leiden7, though he never seems to have completed any of his studies, preferring a life of action to a life of intellectual endeavour. His enemies would declare he was a ‘noteable whoremaster’8, others would call him the ‘red fox’9 on account of his ruthless actions and his long red hair, symbolic of virility and courage in the early seventeenth century. But these insults just added to his lusty reputation and his appeal.
Born in June 1600, so four years younger than Mary Howard, Richard was the second son of Sir Bernard Grenville and he was brought up on stories of his heroic ancestors. Like his grandfather and namesake, Richard was determined to be a hero. He had all the right attributes: looks, courage, wit and intelligence. All he lacked was the money to fund his preferred lifestyle.
His elder brother Bevil, though no coward, was more like their father, staid and serious, an upstanding member of Cornish society, more than able to take on the responsibilities of his inheritance. Richard was the exact opposite. He was profligate in his spending and known to have a fiery temper, arguing constantly with his older brother over loans and mortgages, papers and legal matters that bored Richard to death. While Bevil was admired, Richard was popular, especially with the soldiers he led into battle.
By 1628, Richard was a veteran of war. As the younger son, he had little to inherit from his father10, and was expected to make his own way in the world. Like many a younger son before him, he chose fighting as a career, at just eighteen, fighting with the English forces in Holland against Spain. He then joined Sir Horace Vere’s regiment defending the lands of King James I’s son-in-law, Frederick V, in his battle for Bohemia that would become the Thirty Years War.11 These were brutal wars, renowned for the slaughter of civilians. The English regiment under Vere, like many of the time, were unpaid, so were often forced to support themselves by plunder and looting the local populations – desperate behaviour that would shape the future battles in Ireland and the English Civil War.
As they defended Heidelberg, Frankenthal and Mannheim against the Hapsburg Emperor, Sir Richard fought alongside many English soldiers who would later gain prominence in the English Civil War: Royalists like Sir Ralph Hopton and George Goring, and Parliamentary supporters such as the Earls of Essex and Warwick, Thomas Fairfax, Philip Skippon and Sir William Waller. Though outnumbered and forced to surrender, after battling for a long five years Grenville earned a reputation as a gallant officer and a fearless fighter, and rose to the rank of Captain.
During a subsequent attack on Cadiz, led by King Charles I’s favourite, the Duke of Buckingham, Grenville learned many valuable lessons about army discipline. Grenville’s battles alongside the Duke so shaped his character, and informed his future actions, that it is worth describing the attack on Cadiz, and the reasons for the attack, in more detail.
During the last years of his life, King James I sent his son Charles and the Duke of Buckingham to Spain to arrange a marriage between Charles and the Spanish Infanta, Maria Anna of Spain, a devout Catholic. James saw this alliance as a means of achieving peace in Europe, which was then embroiled in the Catholic versus Protestant battles of the Thirty Years War.
The marriage negotiations failed, leaving Charles and his friend Buckingham thoroughly humiliated. In retaliation, Buckingham called for a declaration of war against Spain, and in the early years of Charles’s reign, Buckingham despatched a naval attack on Cadiz, under the command of Lord Wimbledon. Richard Grenville took command of a company of infantry in the regiment of Sir John Burgh, a commander admired for his discipline.12
Supplies for the expedition were generally poor, with the food rotten; many men died of food poisoning and exposure due to the lack of adequate clothing. Soon after landing on the Spanish coast, the English army went in search of a Spanish force thought to be close at hand. The officers under Lord Wimbledon forgot to bring ashore food for the men, so after miles of walking, the men were exhauste
d and thirsty. Seeing they had no supplies, Lord Wimbledon instructed them to raid the local houses for casks of wine. The result was mayhem – the drunken soldiers, with empty stomachs, raided the entire village, fighting between themselves over barrels of wine and any food they could find. The invasion went no further, and the English returned home in disordered disgrace.
Richard Grenville was not among the drunken forces, staying with his own regiment on the outskirts of Cadiz, but the disorderly conduct of Wimbledon’s soldiers taught Grenville the value of discipline, and the need for reliable supplies for the fighting men. He would ensure both during the English Civil War, at a terrible cost to the local population.
In 1627, even after Charles’s marriage to a French princess, Henrietta Maria, war broke out between England and France. Buckingham was sent to lead forces to capture the island of Rhe, to protect the Huguenot city of La Rochelle on France’s west coast. Grenville was commissioned as Major in charge of one of the regiments, and was knighted by Buckingham just prior to the expedition.
Again supplies were short, and discipline poor. When the French attacked, only the discipline of Sir John Burgh and his regiment prevented complete disaster, and casualties were high, including the loss of Sir John himself. Grenville was wounded (though not seriously).
After three and a half months of fierce fighting, the English forces retreated. Hundreds drowned or were slaughtered by the French in the retreat, leaving La Rochelle and the Huguenots at the mercy of the French. Buckingham was forced to shoulder the blame for the failure of the expedition, with 3,000 men killed – half the expeditionary force.
Buckingham tried again to relieve La Rochelle, but Grenville – literally – missed the boat. Sir Richard was not on board his ship when the fleet sailed from Portsmouth. He frantically rode to Plymouth in an attempt to meet the fleet there, but the ships were faster than his horse, and again they set sail before he could embark, leaving Sir Richard to write an embarrassing letter of apology to the Secretary of State.13 It was not the last time his decadent lifestyle would interfere with his duties.
Between his military duties, Sir Richard Grenville represented Fowey in the House of Commons, and was probably in London in 1628 on Parliamentary business when the Duke of Buckingham brought to his attention the arrival of a widow called Lady Mary Howard, whose attractions were greatly increased by the size of her estates.
Sir Richard, then twenty-eight, was having problems with money. A soldier’s life was poorly paid, with most income coming from pillage, and once home, he needed money to live the fine life to which he aspired. Richard found himself in constant arguments with his older and rather pious brother over some land Richard was trying to mortgage, and Richard quickly became exasperated.
Richard now owed money to many creditors, including Sir Henry Spry’s family, though Sir Henry had died soon after his return from the disaster at the island of Rhe. More ominously, Richard also owed substantial sums to Sir William Courtenay. A wealthy heiress was just what he needed, though marriage to Sir William’s granddaughter proved to be the worse decision he could have made.
Mary was still engaged in a court battle against Sir Theophilus Howard, now the Earl of Suffolk after his father’s death in 1626. Richard was only too happy to ingratiate himself into her cause. A widow’s jointure of £600 a year was worth the effort, with the prospect of so much more to come if they married. The defendant, Theophilus Howard, was, after all, the son of the man responsible for the death of Grenville’s heroic grandfather, killed on the Revenge. There was no love lost between Theophilus Howard and Richard Grenville.
Mary was excited by the attentions of this younger, gallant officer. As a widow, she was at last able to choose her own husband, and Richard was quite a prize. So what if her grandfather and the Courtenays did not approve? So what if they thought Richard was only after the income from her estates? She was convinced of Grenville’s affections and of her own heart – and King Charles himself thought that a match between two powerful families of the south west counties was a wonderful idea.
The existing portrait of Sir Richard was probably painted sometime in 1628 by Cavaliero Moro14, when Sir Richard was twenty-eight. Richard is depicted in his armour, with a cravat of lace at his neck, a not uncommon affectation at the time. There is something of a soft fleshiness about his face, very like his older brother Bevil, and a very sensual mouth that, to the modern viewer, is quite feminine. Sadly the reproductions are so poor that we lose the style of his famous hair, but the overall effect reveals Sir Richard to have been an attractive suitor.
With hindsight, there is also an aspect of his expression that is disturbing, a hint of the violent passions resting beneath the surface. He was a passionate man, flamboyant and witty in court, but also as fiery in battle, with a disturbing taste for brutality and death.
The marriage between Mary Howard and Sir Richard Grenville would prove to be as passionate and volatile as the two individuals themselves.
Still partying in London, Mary must have been shocked to discover George Cutteford at her door; he had travelled all the way from Tavistock to see her. Perhaps, she thought, he was jealous and had come to persuade her not to marry Sir Richard, or come to wish her well. Or, as it turned out, he could be there on behalf of her grandfather to ensure that Richard Grenville gained no access to the Fitz fortunes. Needless to say, they argued about the impending marriage, the determined Mary refusing to sway from her amorous intentions. Having failed to prevent the marriage, George Cutteford changed his tactics, and offered Mary an alternative – he had papers drawn up that conveyed the Fitz estates, or at least Mary’s interest in them, to three trustees from Tavistock. This gave Sir Richard Grenville no claim on the estate, and no access to any of its income without Mary’s explicit approval. It was an unusual ‘pre-nuptial agreement’ that would satisfy Sir William Courtenay.
Mary appears to have been happy to agree to the deal. It left her in control of the income from the Fitz estates, and she had the power to permit her new husband to benefit from that income if she wanted. Now they just had to convince Sir Richard to sign it. How they managed this is unknown. Certainly he did not understand the implications of the contract. It must have been a dark day for George Cutteford, presenting the final document to Richard Grenville to sign, surrounded by witnesses. George’s old friend, John Maynard, was there, and George Radford, probably Cutteford’s son-in-law. The men all knew they were conspiring to deceive Sir Richard Grenville, and deny him access to the Fitz estates. It was a day they would all come to regret. If there was a moment when George Cutteford damned himself, this was it.
Later, Sir Richard would declare in court that he had signed without reading the document, and he was probably telling the truth. Mary, meanwhile, would see his signature as proof that he was marrying her for love not money. They were married in November 162815, and Sir Richard soon acquainted himself with all of his wife’s possessions and saw that as much money as possible was squeezed out of the tenants.
Some say it was Mary herself who had the contract drawn up by Cutteford, distrusting her husband enough to want to protect her interests. Having helped her with her successful claim against Sir Theophilus Howard, it seems strange that Mary would initiate such proceedings against Sir Richard just before they were married. She did not have to marry Sir Richard; as a widow, she was enjoying an independent life, and it seems odd that she would choose to marry a man she did not trust. Sir Richard arrived in Devon happily assuming his role as the wealthy Lord of the Manor, but oblivious to the true nature of his new-found status.
The marriage would become a disaster for everyone concerned.
Notes
1 There are no records as to how George Howard first heard the news of Mary’s impending nuptials, but he was certainly sent to London to ‘sort her out’.
2 See document C 2/ChasI/C32/71, held at the National Archives, London.
3 See document D1508/Moger/436, held at Devon Record Offi
ce, which notes the original document of conveyance to George Cutteford of 1627/1628.
4 See archives of the Middle Temple: George Cutteford’s entry was kindly confirmed by Hannah Baker, their archivist, quoting: ‘29 November 1628 Mr George, son and heir-apparent of George Cutteford of Tavestoke, Devon, esq., specially; bound with William Tothill and John Maynard, esqs; fine, 4l.’ William Tothill was an attorney in Exeter whose only son and heir had died; he subsequently became a philanthropist. John Maynard is likely to have been the man who would become Sir John Maynard, serjeant-at-law.
5 Sansom, 2010, gives an excellent account of the sinking of the Mary Rose.
6 Du Maurier, 1946.
7 Miller, 1979.
8 Miller, 1979.
9 Miller, 1979.
10 Miller, 1979, mentions properties Grenville inherited from his mother.
11 Miller, 1979, gives an excellent, detailed account of Grenville’s involvement in the Thirty Years War.
12 Miller, 1979, p. 11.
13 Miller, 1979, p. 16.
14 It is difficult to identify exactly which artist painted Sir Richard Grenville’s portrait. Certainly he was called Cavaliero Moro, but there were a number of artists of the surname Moro in Europe. It is likely Sir Richard, along with many fighting in Europe at the time, had his portrait painted at the studios on one such Moro.
The Devil Comes to Dartmoor Page 8