The Devil Comes to Dartmoor

by Laura Quigley

  * * *

  When Sir Richard Grenville attacked Edward Courtenay in 1630, it was the Earl of Dorset on the Privy Council who issued the warrant, and, with his cousin the Earl of Suffolk, he actively supported Mary Howard and George Cutteford in their battles against Sir Richard.

  When the Civil War broke out, Edward Sackville argued against the conflict, and took an active part in peace negotiations throughout the war. He remained loyal to the King, travelling with the King’s army to the battle of Edgehill, and then to Oxford to establish the King’s new Parliament there. In 1644, he was Lord Chamberlain, an important adviser, though the King was not always one to listen to counsel.

  When George Cutteford was imprisoned at Lydford and then in Exeter, Cutteford’s petitions for release could have reached the Earl of Dorset from many sources – William Russell’s younger brother Edward, or Sir William Howard (both staying in Oxford in 1644). George Halse/Howard would certainly have ensured the petitions for his father’s release reached Dorset.

  However, even with these pieces in place, an obstacle remained. The conflict made it difficult for men to travel – they had to obtain a licence from the Parliament, or the King where appropriate, giving them permission to be on the road, or to enter any city. Oxford was constantly under siege, so getting through Parliament’s forces surrounding Oxford, then being given permission to enter Oxford itself was no easy matter. Transporting George Cutteford’s petitions to the Earl of Dorset, to be brought to the King’s attention, was fraught with many dangers.

  The only person, of all George Cutteford’s many connections, could have achieved this feat – Lady Mary Howard.

  THE SOCIETY OF LADY MARY HOWARD, 1644

  In Oxford

  The Earl of Dorset, Edward Sackville, Lord Chamberlain to King Charles I

  Sir William Howard, her brother-in-law, commander of the King’s personal guard and uncle to James Howard, 4th Earl of Suffolk (working for Parliament)

  Sir William Russell, also her brother-in-law, who was negotiating peace with the King. He was a Royalist in 1643, but returned to Parliament in 1644, residing at Woburn Abbey, north of Oxford

  Edward Russell, her brother-in-law, the younger brother of Sir William Russell (working for Parliament)

  Sir William Courtenay, her sixteen-year-old nephew, just released from Rougemont Castle in Exeter (and fighting for the King)

  In London

  Sir John Maynard, friend of George Cutteford, who was negotiating peace with King Charles I on behalf of Parliament

  George Halse/ Howard, her son by George Cutteford.

  George possibly moved to Oxford with Sir William Russell

  In Plymouth

  Grace Cutteford, wife to George Cutteford

  George Cutteford the younger, son of George Cutteford (fighting for Parliament)

  John Cutteford, son of George Cutteford

  In Exeter

  Sir John Berkeley, Governor of Exeter, an old friend and ally of the Earl of Dorset

  George Cutteford, the elder, prisoner transferred from Lydford Gaol sometime in July 1644

  * * *

  Women were permitted to travel without the appropriate licences. As they were considered to have no active involvement in the war, they could move across the country more easily than men. It was not unusual for women to join their husbands near the battlefields or travel to visit relatives. It was dangerous – the roads were still not safe for unwary travellers – but their journeys were rarely questioned by the soldiers patrolling the highways. In the seventeenth century, it was generally accepted that a loyal wife should be with her husband, and many officers’ wives made terrifying journeys through cities under siege to be with their husbands and families.

  Despite her straitened circumstances, Lady Mary Howard must have travelled to Plymouth, by ship, into a harbour constantly under cannon-fire from besieging Royalists, to discover where George Cutteford was being held. If she travelled directly to Exeter, her marriage to Sir Richard Grenville would ironically have given her easy access.

  Very likely it was Mary Howard who arranged Cutteford’s transfer from Lydford Gaol to Rougemont Castle in Exeter, probably with assistance from the Earl of Dorset. Sir John Berkeley was Governor at Exeter at the time, having besieged the Parliamentary forces there and taken the city in September 1643. Sir John Berkeley was not only a good friend of the Earl of Dorset, but he owed the Earl of Dorset a favour.

  In 1641, Sir John had found himself imprisoned by Parliament for conspiracy in the Army Plots, an alleged plot by the King’s officers to bring the northern army into London and so take Parliament by force. Sir John Berkeley was in a tight spot; his life at stake, and it was the Earl of Dorset who bailed him out, paying Parliament the enormous sum of £10,000 to free him. Sir John Berkeley owed Edward Sackville a very big favour. Having George Cutteford transferred to Exeter sometime in June 1644, and subsequently supporting Cutteford’s case – and Berkeley’s prominent support for Cutteford’s case was exceptional – was probably that favour.

  Mary Howard must have then travelled back to London and made her way through the fighting up to Oxford to deliver the petition from George Cutteford, with the added backing of Sir John Berkeley. Though her situation was precarious, certainly dangerous, she merely had to convince the guards at Oxford that she was visiting her relatives there, and they would have let her through. Her influential contacts gave her access to many of the cities under siege.

  In her efforts, Mary would have recruited the support of many of her friends and relatives, including the Courtenays, the Earl of Dorset, Sir John Maynard, Sir William Russell and his brother, and the Howards – including her own son, George Halse – all of whom not only wanted to see George Cutteford released, but also wanted to see Sir Richard Grenville’s shining success as a war hero turned to dust.

  All of this is, of course, speculation, based on circumstantial evidence, perhaps inspired only by coincidental dates and locations, because the very key to Mary’s success was that her travels remained unrecorded and unnoticed by both sides in the conflict.

  George Cutteford’s first petition sadly had little effect, but by the end of September 1644, the King’s impression of Sir Richard Grenville had markedly changed. The King, like many Royalists, suspected that Sir Richard was embezzling from the war funds to create a professional army, who answered only to Grenville. There had never been a professional army before in England, and those in charge on both sides of the conflict did not want one now. A professional army, they felt, would take power from the King and from Parliament. A professional army could mean, in the midst of the chaos, a military takeover of the country. A professional army was something to be afraid of, and that was exactly what Sir Richard Grenville was establishing in the south west. His men were paid by him and therefore loyal only to him. They were no longer fighting for King and country; they were fighting for their employer. Two professional armies were growing on opposite sides of the war, and the moderates were between them, desperately negotiating peace settlements, anxious to prevent any kind of military coup.

  They failed.

  However, they did manage to discredit Richard Grenville, who never again held a senior position in the King’s forces. In 1647, the New Model Army seized London, despite the opposition of the Presbyterians – Sir John Maynard amongst them - and effectively took control of the country.

  OLIVER CROMWELL

  Born in Huntingdon in 1599 into the middle classes, an inheritance from his uncle brought Oliver Cromwell an education at Cambridge University and he soon converted to Puritanism. As MP for Cambridge in 1640, he sought reforms in the Church and Parliament, and as Civil War broke out, he became one of the most vocal leaders in Parliaments’ fight against the King, and a key military leader, bringing Parliament many successes on the battlefield.

  Cromwell established the New Model Army, bringing about the defeat of the Royalists, and the dissolution of the Monarchy and the Church of England. He signed t
he death warrant of King Charles I and then tried in vain to establish a new form of government, with strict religious leaders. His idealistic aim was to govern the country with improved laws, supported by a moral foundation in Puritan values. He believed it was God’s will he should lead the country, but his religious intolerance, imprisonments without trial and his vicious attacks on Ireland were no different then his predecessor. The country lived in fear. His ‘Commonwealth’ failed, with factions arguing and falling into chaos, and in frustration he took control of the country as Lord Protector.

  His reign lasted until his own death in 1658, when his son inherited the role, to great public and political distrust. Sir John Maynard continued to support the new government as best he could, as it fell into disarray, but happily changed his allegiance to the restoration of the monarchy and the coronation of King Charles II in 1660.

  * * *

  What did the moderates do then? Sir John Maynard worked for the new Parliament under Cromwell, still trying to undermine Cromwell’s authority, but failing. Sir William Russell returned to his Woburn estates for the rest of the war, remaining there until the restoration of the King in 1660, when he took up his role as MP for Tavistock. Edward Sackville, Earl of Dorset, after the execution of the King, remained at his Knole estates and died in 1652. They had failed and there was nothing more they could do.

  Mary Howard, having delivered her successful petition, returned to Fitzford – and redecorated. She probably felt she and her son had ‘done their bit’; now they wanted simply to return to peace and quiet in Devon. Mary managed the Fitz estates and made a home for her son. For the rest of her life, she did nothing but live the life of a grand lady.

  And then, in 1671, at the age of forty-nine, George Howard died. His own son had died in infancy, so his Howard line died with him. Hearing the news of her son’s death, Mary Howard, now seventy-five, became distraught and took to her bed. She had nothing left to live for. As Mary Howard lay there, she was visited by her cousin, Sir William Courtenay. Sir William had married young and now had nineteen children to look after. His estates at Powderham were in disarray, with little money left for the necessary re-building work, but here was his chance to restore the Courtenay fortunes.

  They discussed her will. Now her son was dead, there was no one left to inherit all her property: 4,000 acres in four counties, and a further personal fortune of nearly £10,000. She signed a new will, signed her name ‘Mary Grenville’ and bequeathed to William Courtenay all of her estates.34 After 134 years, Okehampton Park was at last back in the hands of the Courtenay family.

  Mary Howard turned her face to the wall and died.

  Notes

  1 PROB 11/285, a copy of the will of George Cutteford the younger, dated 13 April 1646, and ‘proved’ at Canterbury in 1658; held at the National Archives, London. During the Interregnum, Cromwell had many administrative functions ‘centralised’ and subsequently all wills had to be ‘proved’ or processed in Canterbury.

  2 From document PROB 11/285, dated 1658, held at the National Archives, London. George Cutteford bequeaths money to his aunt, Joan Donne, who I presume was his father George Cutteford’s sister.

  3 Add Ms 18008-826, undated, but circa 1660. Held at West Sussex Record Office. These detailed accounts of John Cutteford describe his sister as Grace Gyhonville. Though the surname is difficult to decipher, it still suggests she re-married.

  4 Radford, 1890, describes George Cutteford the younger’s burial in Whitchurch on 18 April 1646.

  5 1646 was the end of the ‘First Civil War’. The conflict between Parliament and the King’s supporters continued for many years, with the final battle of the ‘Second Civil War’ on 3 September 1651 at Worcester. (www.british-civil-wars.co.uk)

  6 Document D1508M/Moger/396, dated 1663, held at Devon Record Office, is just one of a number of documents describing land deals between George Howard and various tenants at Buckland Monachorum.

  7 James Howard, Earl of Suffolk, may have fought for Parliament during the English Civil War, but in 1647, he was imprisoned by Parliament for being a suspected Royalist. See Jeffrey, 1997.

  8 Documents 1/642/67, dated 1639-1653, held at Plymouth and West Devon Record Office, include this letter from George Howard to Henry Rexford.

  9 George Howard’s cousin and namesake, Hon. George Howard, brother of the Earl of Suffolk, fought for Parliament during the war, but then changed sides. In 1647, the Hon. George Howard became Master of the Horse to King Charles I’s second son James, Duke of York. Hon. George Howard then worked as a close adviser to the Duke, as Gentleman of the Bedchamber, while the Duke was under house arrest by Parliament. With the Earl of Suffolk and his uncle, Sir William Howard, imprisoned for being Royalists, and Hon. George Howard now imprisoned with the King’s son, it seems the Interregnum was bent on destroying the fortunes of the Howard family.

  10 Radford, 1890, p. 99.

  11 Radford, 1890, p. 99.

  12 Radford, 1890, p. 100.

  13 Radford, 1890, p. 100.

  14 D1508M/Moger/434 dated 1665, and held at Devon Record Office.

  15 Add Ms 18008, John Cutteford’s papers, held at West Sussex Record Office. Also see the website for the University of Exeter’s Centre for Historical Maritime Studies: http://centres.exeter.ac.uk/cmhs

  16 Add Ms 18008-826 undated but circa 1660, held at West Sussex Record Office, mentions John Maynard, most likely the future Sir John Maynard, giving John Cutteford a reference for the job of customs officer (though John Cutteford, it seems, had to pay for it!).

  17 Woodcock, 2008. Also see Alford, 1891, and Radford, 1890, pp. 98, 99 and 103.

  18 George Howard was returned as a Member of Parliament for two constituencies in 1660: for Bere Alston, with Sir John Maynard, and for Tavistock, with Sir William Russell. George Howard chose to represent Tavistock, and another representative for Bere Alston was appointed.

  19 See Alford, 1891, who describes in scathing terms Sir John Maynard’s notorious avarice. Sir John, it seems, was not a man generally liked or trusted.

  20 See the Muster Roll for Milton Abbot in 1569, transcribed by Philippa Stout, at www.devonheritage.org.uk

  21 See White’s Devonshire Directory of 1850 which describes the ‘Gift House’ at Tavistock.

  22 There are many John Maynards in the history of Devon. I have pieced together the family relationships as best as I can from existing records, but I cannot guarantee that I have always found the correct John Maynard.

  23 Alford, 1891.

  24 George Howard was returned as a Member of Parliament for two constituencies in 1660: for Bere Alston, with Sir John Maynard, and for Tavistock, with Sir William Russell. George Howard chose to represent Tavistock, and another representative for Bere Alston was appointed to be the second representative with Sir John Maynard.

  25 See the title deeds for their mining operations at Bere Ferrers, at Devon Record Office, ref 155M-0/T, dated 1665.

  26 Toynbee and Young, 1973, p. 61. Edward Russell was supposed to be commanding Carlisle’s Regiment.

  27 Toynbee and Young, 1973, p. 61.

  28 Toynbee and Young, 1973. This is a remarkable study of the King’s survey of the population of Oxford, concentrating on the few surviving documents which identify the residents of St Aldgate in Oxford. It brings to life the real problems of security in a city under siege.

  29 Tinniswood, 2007, see footnote on p. 180.

  30 James, the Earl of Suffolk, and his brother Hon. George Howard fought for Parliament during the years 1642 until 1646, but were subsequently imprisoned as Royalists in 1647.

  31 Toynbee and Young, 1973, p. 234.

  32 Sackville-West, 1922, and Sackville-West, 2010. Both give excellent accounts of the life of Edward Sackville, though quite different in style.

  33 Sackville-West, 1922, p. 96.

  34 D1508M-11/F/1 and D1508M-11/F
/2, both dated 1671, both held at Devon Record Office.

  Chapter Eleven

  A Spirited Lady

  In 1677, John Cutteford, younger son of George Cutteford the elder, wrote to Richard Sackville. Richard was the 5th Earl of Dorset, after the death of his father Edward and John Cutteford was looking for work. John was growing old, and the life of a customs officer was too much for him now. It is likely he asked for assistance from Richard Sackville in memory of the friendship between their two fathers.

  Richard Sackville graciously found the old man employment as Warden of Sackville College in Sussex, an almshouse established by his grandfather, now one of the finest Jacobean homes still existing in England. The College had suffered some problems with financial irregularities and, remembering how George Cutteford had befriended Edward Sackville so many years before, Richard would have seen John Cutteford as the ideal man for the job. Who better than the son of George Cutteford to sort out the mess? He felt that John Cutteford could be trusted, and indeed John did a good job in the last three years of his life.

  Church of Ottery St Mary.

  Many years after John Cutteford died, the new Warden of Sackville College discovered an old chest, and put a notice in the paper asking if anyone knew anything about it. It contained letters from a Mary Howard to someone called George Cutteford, and many other papers pertaining to the Cutteford family. It seems that John Cutteford had kept everything: every letter and document that would remind him of the life he never had. It was from the papers from this chest that, in 1890, Mrs Radford would write her history of Lady Howard for the Devonshire Association1, ironically not realising that it was quite possible she herself was married to a descendant of that same George Cutteford.2