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| Up in arms: The Cornish in the Civil War |
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Page 1 of 5 Cornwall for the King Richard P Jeynes tells of the time when it was feared that Cornish pikemen would be patrolling London. Travelling through the beautiful and peaceful Cornish countryside today it is hard to imagine the Duchy was once the setting for some of the most significant battles of the English Civil War. This bitter struggle (also called the Five Nations War as it featured 5 nations: England, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and Ireland) raged between King and Parliament from 1642-1648 and Cornwall played an important part.  When the Royal Standard finally fluttered into life on a warm and balmy afternoon in Oxford in 1642 the Cornish had to make a decision. Politically already divided the decision was not easy. The upper classes were evenly divided between King and Parliament whereas the poorer folk had little choice but to follow their landlords who, on becoming officers and soldiers, would equip and maintain military units at their own expense. Following a logic of sorts the two sides put their case before the assizes who gave a verdict in favour of the King. From then on Cornwall became a Royalist enclave in what was otherwise a Roundhead dominated South West. Sir Richard Buller led the Parliamentarians into Devon and the River Tamar became a genuine frontier dividing the two factions and, for many, two nations. Indeed, from that point there were those in Cornwall who saw the war that was about to follow as a war between Cornwall and England just as much as a war between King and Parliament. There were also promises of greater Cornish autonomy from the King and the Cornish did not want to be part of an English Commonwealth dictated by Cromwell. The Cornish had fought England on two previous occasions over the past 150 years and were still angry over the repercussions of these wars. Parliament was quick to recognise the danger of a Royalist enclave in the far South West and, in an attempt to avoid fighting a war on two fronts, considerable numbers of troops and resources were despatched to deal with the Cornish Royalist army. This small force had been formed under Sir Ralph Hopton who had moved to Cornwall from Dorset when that county declared for Parliament. His initial force of 160 cavalry quickly grew as Cornishmen rallied to his colours. Despite the opposition forming against him Hopton carried out several large raids into Devon even reaching Exeter on one occasion. Massively outnumbered, his army was eventually forced to withdraw back across the Tamar first to Launceston and then to Bodmin. For the first time morale amongst his men began to falter. |
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