The Earl of Torrington | |
|---|---|
Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington, portrait byJohn Closterman | |
| Born | c.1648 |
| Died | 13 April 1716 (aged 67–68)[1] |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch | |
| Years of service | 1663–1690 |
| Rank | Admiral (Royal Navy) Lieutenant-admiral general (States Navy)[a] |
| Commands | HMSPembroke HMSConstant Warwick HMSDragon HMSDreadnought HMSCambridge HMSRupert |
| Battles / wars | |
Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington (c. 1648 – 13 April 1716) was an English naval officer and politician. Dismissed byJames II of England in 1688 for refusing to vote to repeal theTest Act, which prevented Catholics from holding public office in England, he brought theInvitation to William toWilliam of Orange atThe Hague, disguised as a simple sailor. As a reward he was made commander of William's invasion fleet which landed atTorbay,Devon on 5 November 1688, which initiated theGlorious Revolution.
Born the son ofSir Edward Herbert and Margaret Smith, daughter ofThomas Smith, Herbert joined theRoyal Navy in 1663.[2] He was appointed alieutenant in thethird-rateHMSDefiance and saw action at theSt. James's Day Battle in July 1666 during theSecond Anglo-Dutch War.[2]
Promoted topost-captain in 1666, he was given command of thefifth-rateHMSPembroke in April 1667, of thefourth-rateHMSConstant Warwick in September 1668 and of the fourth-rateHMSDragon in May 1672.[3]
He went on to captain the third-rateHMSDreadnought in spring 1672 and commanded her at theBattle of Solebay in May 1672 during theFranco-Dutch War.[2] After that he took command of the third-rateHMSCambridge in October 1673 and was severely injured while commanding her at theBattle of Schooneveld in June 1673.[3]
He commissioned the third-rateHMSRupert in February 1678, serving underJohn Narborough with the British fleet in the Mediterranean. In April 1679, Narborough returned to England, leaving Herbert in command of a squadron to continue the task of defending British interests in the Mediterranean in general and the colony ofTangier in particular. In July 1680, the Admiralty promoted Herbert to Admiral. Herbert was more successful than his predecessor, with a smaller force. In 1682, he negotiated a peace with Algiers that endured until 1816. His practice of convoying British merchant vessels showed much better protection of trade interests. Since Tangier was not well sited for action against theBarbary pirate ports ofAlgiers,Salé,Tripoli, andTunis, Herbert made use ofGibraltar as a base for the fleet (arranging access with the Spanish in a local informal arrangement). Herbert's command in the Mediterranean continued until June 1683.[4]: ch 2 [2][5]: 116–117

Herbert was appointedRear-admiral of England in 1683 andMaster of the Robes in 1685.[2] These employments brought him in £4,000 a year.[2] However, whenJames II of England required him to promise that he would vote for the repeal of theTest Act, which prevented Roman Catholics from holding public office, his answer was "that his honour and conscience would not permit him to give any such pledge". The King replied: "Nobody doubts your honour, but a man who lives as you do ought not to talk about his conscience". To this reproach (which came from a bad grace from the lover ofCatherine Sedley) Herbert replied: "I have my faults, sir; but I could name people who talk much more about conscience than I am in the habit of doing, and yet lead lives as loose as mine."[6] The King immediately dismissed him from all his offices.[2]
Disguised as a common sailor, Herbert went to theDutch Republic in June 1688, carrying theInvitation to William. There, he offered his services toWilliam, Prince of Orange atThe Hague.[2] Herbert was actively involved in the preparations for the 1688 invasion and for propaganda purposes the Prince appointed him as the lieutenant-admiral general of theDutch States Navy and commander-in-chief of the fleet which would take him to England on 6 October. However, the Prince decreed that until the moment of rendezvous with the English fleet, Herbert would share command with Lieutenant-AdmiralCornelis Evertsen the Youngest and consult with him on all significant matters.Cornelis Tromp, an aging Dutch officer who still nominally held the post of lieutenant-admiral general, was not consulted by the Prince.[7]
Following theGlorious Revolution, Herbert becameLord High Admiral and then, when the post of Lord High Admiral had been put into commission, he becameFirst Lord of the Admiralty andSenior Naval Lord[8] on theBoard of Admiralty in March 1689.[9] He was raised to the peerage by the new King William III asEarl of Torrington andBaron Herbert of Torbay in May 1689,[10] following on his command of the English squadron at theBattle of Bantry Bay. He was credited with being the first to use the expression, "fleet in being". He proposed avoiding a set battle, except under very favourable conditions, until the arrival of reinforcements: by maintaining his fleet in being, he would force the French to remain in the area and prevent them from undertaking other operations.[11]
Herbert commanded theEnglish andDutch fleets at theBattle of Beachy Head in July 1690, a serious defeat for the allied fleet, in theNine Years' War.[2] He was imprisoned in theTower of London and was court-martialed for failing to support the Dutch van squadron against the French, but was acquitted. Nevertheless, he lost his position as First Lord of the Admiralty, and took no further part in public life. The stories that Torrington was not a popular commander, because of his reputation of being a drunk and his habit of taking several prostitutes with him to sea, have been discredited.[12][13]
In 1696, he acquiredOatlands Park, an estate forfeited by his brother,Sir Edward Herbert, who had followed King James II into exile.[14] He died on 13 April 1716 without children, rendering his titles extinct,[2] and was buried inWestminster Abbey.[15]
Torrington married twice, but had no issue by either wife:[16]
| Parliament of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Dover 1685–1689 With:William Chapman | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Plymouth 1689 With:Sir John Maynard | Succeeded by |
| Court offices | ||
| Preceded by | Master of the Robes 1685–1687 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | Colonel ofArthur Herbert's Regiment of Foot 1686–1687 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord High Admiral 1689 | Succeeded by In commission |
| Preceded by Himself (Lord High Admiral) | First Lord of the Admiralty 1689–1690 | Succeeded by |
| New post | Senior Naval Lord 1689–1690 | Succeeded by |
| New regiment | Colonel of the 1st Maritime Regiment 1690 | Succeeded by |