The Lord Chichester | |
|---|---|
 Anglo-Irish School portrait in the collection of Belfast Harbour Commissioners | |
| Lord Deputy of Ireland | |
| In office 1605–1616 | |
| Preceded by | Sir George Carey |
| Succeeded by | Sir Oliver St John |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 1563 |
| Died | 19 February 1625 (aged 61) London, England |
| Spouse | Lettice Perrot |
| Children | Arthur |
| Alma mater | Exeter College, Oxford |
Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichester (May 1563 – 19 February 1625), known between 1596 and 1613 asSir Arthur Chichester, ofCarrickfergus[1] in Ireland, was an English administrator and soldier who served asLord Deputy of Ireland from 1605 to 1616. He was instrumental in the development and expansion ofBelfast, nowNorthern Ireland's capital. Several streets are named in honour of himself and his nephew and heirArthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall, including Chichester Street and the adjoiningDonegall Place, site of theBelfast City Hall.
Arthur Chichester was the second son ofSir John Chichester[2] (died 1569), ofRaleigh, Pilton, in North Devon, a leading member of theDevonshire gentry, a naval captain, and ardentProtestant who served asSheriff of Devon in 1550–1551, and asKnight of the Shire forDevon in 1547, April 1554, and 1563, and asMember of Parliament forBarnstaple in 1559. Arthur's mother was Gertrude Courtenay, a daughter ofSir William Courtenay (1477–1535) "The Great",[3] ofPowderham, Devon, 6th in descent from the2nd Earl of Devon (died 1377), MP for Devon in 1529, thriceSheriff of Devon, in 1522, 1525–1526, 1533–1534, anEsquire of the Body to King Henry VIII, whom he accompanied to theField of the Cloth of Gold.[4]
After attendingExeter College,Oxford, favoured by many Devonians, Chichester commanded HMSLarke against theSpanish Armada in 1588.[2] In 1595 he accompaniedSir Francis Drake on hislast expedition to the Americas. Later in theAnglo–Spanish War, he commanded a company during the1596 raid onCádiz, for which he wasknighted.[2] A year later he was with English forces in Francefighting withKing Henry IV against the Spanish inPicardy. He was wounded in the shoulder during theSiege of Amiens in September 1597 during which the city was captured from the Spanish. He was knighted by Henry for his valour.
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His career inIreland began when in 1598 theEarl of Essex appointed him Governor ofCarrickfergus, following the death of his brother, Sir John Chichester, who had been killed at theBattle of Carrickfergus the previous year. It is said that Sir John Chichester wasdecapitated, and his head was used as a football by the MacDonnell clan after their victory. James Sorley MacDonnell, commander of the clan's forces at the Battle of Carrickfergus, was poisoned inDunluce Castle on the orders ofRobert Cecil to placate Chichester.[5]
During theNine Years' War Chichester commanded British troops inUlster. His tactics included ascorched earth policy. He encircled theEarl of Tyrone's forces with garrisons, effectively starving the Earl's troops. In a 1600 letter to Cecil, he stated "a million swords will not do them so much harm as one winter's famine". While these tactics were not initially devised by Chichester, he carried them out ruthlessly, gaining a hate-figure status among the Irish. Tyrone's weakening military position forced him toabandon and destroy his capital atDungannon.
Following the signing of theTreaty of Mellifont, he succeededLord Mountjoy asLord Deputy of Ireland from 3 February 1605.[6] A year later in 1606 he married Lettice Perrot, daughter ofSir John Perrot, a former Lord Deputy.
Lord Deputy Chichester sawIrish Catholicism as a major threat to the Crown. He oversaw widespread persecution of Catholics, and ordered the execution of two bishops, including the aged and respectedConor O'Devany. His relations with the traditionally Catholic nobility ofthe Pale, in particularLord Howth, who could be quite quarrelsome, were poor. In Howth's violent feuds with the new English settler families, particularlyThomas Jones,Archbishop of Dublin, and his son, andViscount Moore of Drogheda, Chichester invariably sided against Howth but was unable to completely break his influence as he was a favourite ofKing James.
Following theFlight of the Earls[2] in 1607, Chichester became a leading figure in thePlantation of Ulster. Initially, he intended that the number of Scottish planters would be small, with native Irish landowners gaining more land. However, afterO'Doherty's Rebellion inCounty Donegal in 1608, his plans changed and all the native lords lost their land. Most of the land was awarded to wealthy landowners from England and Scotland. However, Chichester successfully campaigned to award veterans of theNine Years' War land as well, funded by theCity of Londonlivery companies.
Chichester was instrumental in the development and expansion ofBelfast, nowNorthern Ireland's capital. In 1611, he built a newBelfast Castle on the site of an earlierNorman fortification, the Norman structure probably dating from the late 12th or the very early 13th century.[7] In 1613, he was elevated to thePeerage of Ireland asBaron Chichester. Ill health in 1614 led to his retirement and his term of office was ended in February 1616.[8] In his final years, Chichester served as an ambassador to theHabsburg Empire.
In 1606 he married Lettice Perrot, widow successively of Walter Vaughan ofGolden Grove, Carmarthenshire, and of John Langhorne ofSt Brides,Pembrokeshire, and daughter of Sir John Perrot,[2] a former Lord Deputy of Ireland. By her he had an only son:
Lord Chichester died frompleurisy in London in 1625 and was buried seven months later in St Nicholas' Church, Carrickfergus. TheChichester barony became extinct on his death, but was revived the same year in favour of his younger brotherEdward, who was further raised to the peerage as Viscount Chichester. Edward's son wasArthur, 1st Earl of Donegall.
The family's influence in Belfast is still evident. Several streets are named in its honour, includingDonegall Place, site of theBelfast City Hall and the adjacent Chichester Street.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Lord Deputy of Ireland 1605–1616 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| New creation | Baron Chichester 1st creation 1613–1625 | Extinct |
