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Richard Grenville | |
|---|---|
 Contemporary portrait of Sir Richard Grenville, inscribed:An(no) D(omi)ni 1571 aetatis suae 29 ("In the year of Our Lord 1571, of his age 29").National Portrait Gallery, London. | |
| Born | (1542-06-15)15 June 1542 |
| Died | 10 September 1591(1591-09-10) (aged 49) |
| Other names | Greynvile, Greeneville, and Greenfield |
| Spouse | Mary St Leger |
| Relatives | SonBernard Grenville |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of England |
| Service |  Royal Navy |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands | Revenge |
| Battles / wars | Second Desmond Rebellion Anglo–Spanish War (1585) Battle of Gravelines Battle of Flores (1591) † |
Sir Richard Grenville (b. 1542 –d. 1591), also speltGreynvile,Greeneville, andGreenfield, was an English privateer and explorer. Grenville waslord of the manors ofStowe, Cornwall andBideford, Devon. He subsequently participated in theplantations of Ireland specifically the Munster plantations, theEnglish colonisation of the Americas and the repulse of theSpanish Armada.
Grenville also served asMember of Parliament forCornwall,High Sheriff forCounty Cork andSheriff ofCornwall. In 1591, Grenville died at thebattle of Flores fighting against an overwhelmingly larger Spanish fleet near theAzores. He and his crew on board the galleonRevenge fought against the 53-strong Spanish fleet to allow the other English ships to escape. Grenville was the grandfather ofSir Bevil Grenville, a prominent military officer during theEnglish Civil War.
Richard Grenville was the eldest son and heir of Sir Roger Grenville (d. 1545), who was captain ofMary Rose when she sank inPortsmouth Harbour in 1545, by his wife Thomasine Cole, daughter of Thomas Cole of Slade.[1] Thomasine remarried to Thomas Arundell.[1] The ancient Grenville family werelords of the manors ofBideford in Devon and ofStowe, Kilkhampton in Cornwall. He was a cousin of SirWalter Raleigh and theprivateer and explorer SirHumphrey Gilbert.
Grenville's birthplace is believed to have been at Bideford. His father (who had pre-deceased his own father SirRichard Grenville (c. 1495–1550), the Member of Parliament (MP) forCornwall in 1529[2]) died when he was an infant, aged 3, and his mother remarried to Thomas Arundell of Clifton Arundell House, where Grenville spent much of his childhood. At age 17, Grenville began law studies at theInner Temple.[3]
On 19 November 1562, aged 20, he was in an affray in theStrand inLondon in the company of his cousin, Nicholas Specott, gentleman, with Lewis Lloyd and Edward Horseman, their attendants. Upon encountering Sir Edmound Unton, Fulke Greville, Robert Bannister, gentleman, and Thomas Allen, yeoman, (with their servants), Grenville ran Robert Bannister through with his sword, then left him to die. Grenville and company were outlawed for three months and then pardoned for public duelling and manslaughter.[4]
At age 21, he inherited his grandfather's estates atStowe in Cornwall, and atBideford andBuckland Abbey inDevon. About 1565, he married Mary St Leger, daughter of SirJohn St Leger.
He was appointed High Sheriff of Cork in 1568.
In pursuit of his military career, with his West Country cousins, Godolphins, Carews, Killigrews, Champernownes, Basets, etc., Grenville fought against theTurks inHungary for the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilianin 1566. After petitioning Elizabeth I in 1565 to leave England for service abroad to a foreign prince, Grenville and his West Country cousins paid for and recruited a troop of West Countrymen to accompany them.
In 1569, he arrived in Ireland with SirWarham St Leger (c. 1525–1597) to arrange for settlement of lands in theBarony of Kerricurrihy. These had been mortgaged[clarification needed] to St Leger byGerald Fitzgerald, 15th Earl of Desmond. At about this time Grenville also seized lands for colonisation atTracton, to the west ofCork harbour.
SirPeter Carew had asserted his claim to lands in southLeinster. St Leger settled nearby, andHumphrey Gilbert pushed westward from Idrone along theBlackwater River. The plantations in the south of Ireland led to bitter disputes with local Irish nobility. They escalated into the first of theDesmond rebellions, led byJames Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald.
As Sheriff of Cork, Grenville witnessed the rebellion in which Fitzmaurice, along with the Earl of Clancar,James Fitzedmund Fitzgerald (theSeneschal ofImokilly);Edmund Fitzgibbon (the White Knight); and others, attacked Tracton. They overcame the English defence withpickaxes and killed nearly the entiregarrison. The three surviving English soldiers were hanged the next day by the Irish. Fitzmaurice threatened the imminent arrival of Spanish forces. Having plundered the citizenry of Cork, he boasted that he could also take the artillery of the city ofYoughal.
In June 1569, soon after Grenville's sailing for England, Fitzmaurice camped outside the walls ofWaterford and demanded that Grenville's wife and Lady St Leger be given over to him, along with all the English and all prisoners; the citizens refused. Fitzmaurice's troops massacred local English farmers in response. As Cork ran low on provisions, the people of Youghal expected an attack at any minute. The rebellion continued, but Grenville remained in England.
Grenville sided with theEarl of Arundel and theDuke of Norfolk in 1569 against the Queen's secretary. He was elected MP for Cornwall in 1571 and appointedHigh Sheriff of Cornwall for 1576.[5] "Undeviatingly Protestant", he arrested the Catholic priestCuthbert Mayne at the home of theTregians in 1577. Mayne was martyred as a result.
In 1575–76, Sir Richard was back home at Bideford expanding his holdings, businesses and properties after his expedition plans were scuppered. He finished remodeling the rest of the interior of Buckland Greynvile Abbey into a suitable home for his growing family. He decorated it with navigational themes in the plaster on the ceilings, the Greynvilecoat of arms on the mantle pieces, as well as a knight in repose against a tree.
Grenville played a major role in the transformation of the small fishing port of Bideford in north Devon into what became a significant trading port with the new American colonies, later specialising in tobacco importation. A charter had been granted to his ancestor Richard Grenville in 1272, creating the town's first council. Three centuries later, Grenville would seek a new charter for the town, hoping to develop it into a port that would trade with his estates inMunster. The charter was officially granted of 16 December 1572. Grenville would also revitalise the market and restore the town's fair.[6]
In 1575, he created the port of Bideford. Grenville was never elected as Mayor of Bideford, preferring instead to support John Salterne in that role, but he was Lord of the Manor, a title held by the Grenvilles since 1126 and finally ceded by his descendants in 1711 to the town council he established. He was again elected as MP for Cornwall in 1584 (sitting until 1586).[5]
Following a period of supporting Sir Walter Raleigh's venture in North America (see below) he returned toMunster to arrange the estate granted him under theplantation of the province. Following the suppression of theSecond Desmond Rebellion in 1583, he had purchased some 24,000 acres (97 km2) inKinalmeaky and brought settlers over. His renewed efforts beginning in 1588 yielded little success, and Grenville returned to England late in 1590.
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In 1574, Grenville submitted a proposal to thePrivy Council to take a single ship to attack Spanish treasure ships and establish English colonies in South America and from there to sail across the "South Sea" (i.e.Pacific Ocean) in hope of finding a short cut to theSpice Islands andterra australis incognita.
Supplication for a new navigation, permission to seek rich and unknown lands, to discover and annex all or any lands, islands, and countries beyond the Equinoxial, or where the Pole Antarctic hath any elevation above the horizon, such lands not being already possessed by any other Christian Prince. The planting of people and habitations in strange and unknown lands. Need not offend foreign powers or provoke war, provided no attempts were made to take from other civilised nations anything they already possess. Such expeditions should be composed of voluntary adventurers; but under patronage and benediction of the Crown; the leaders having authority from the Queen to require that obedience, quiet, unity, and order be maintained. Gilbert an m'self having pointed out to her Majesty that such undertakings would provide work and livelihood for many of her subjects; and also bring honour and strength to Your Majesty with immortal fame, ... besides great enrichment of Your Highness and your country, with increase and maintenance of the Navy.
The patent was initially granted, but was rescinded a year later on the grounds that England was still using diplomacy with Spain and had been at great pains to rebuild her relations withPhilip II after the tensions of 1568–1571. It was these plans that were usurped and were eventually executed byFrancis Drake when he circumnavigated the globe in 1577. This caused some bad blood and is the reason why Grenville refused to ever serve with Francis Drake in any capacity.
That same year Grenville received thanks of thePrivy Council and theEarl of Bedford, then Lieutenant of Cornwall, in Ireland for raising troops against SirThomas Stukely, styling himself theDuke of Ireland.
In 1585, Grenville wasadmiral of the seven-strong fleet that brought English settlers to establish a colony onRoanoke Island, off the coast of modern-dayNorth Carolina in North America. Grenville and his fleet arrived at the village ofAquascogoc, inhabited by thePamlico but, before leaving, Grenville furiously reacted to the disappearance of a silver drinking cup from the colony.[7] Grenville and his men proceeded to sack and burn Aquascogoc.[8]
Grenville was heavily criticised byRalph Lane, general of the expedition, who referred to Grenville's "intolerable pride and insatiable ambition". Lane's remark was prompted by a bitter legal feud he then had with Grenville. On his return, Grenvillecaptured a Spanish ship,Santa Maria de Vincente, which he later brought to Bideford to be converted intoGalleon Dudley. The cannon from that Spanish ship are thought to be those erroneously labelled "Armada cannons" in Bideford's Victoria Park.
In 1586 Grenville returned to Roanoke to find that the surviving colonists had departed with Drake. Grenville left 15 of his own men to defend Raleigh's New World territory. During his return voyage to England, Grenville raided various towns in theAzores Islands. At about this time, a description was given of his behaviour while dining with Spanish captains:
He would carouse three or four glasses of wine, and in a bravery take the glasses between his teeth and crash them in pieces and swallow them down, so that often the blood ran out of his mouth without any harm at all unto him...[9]
Grenville brought with him a Native American from Roanoke Island to Bideford after returning from the 1586 resupply trip.[10][11] He named the Native American tribesmanRaleigh after his cousin Sir Walter Raleigh.[12] Raleigh converted toChristianity and had his baptism atSaint Mary the Virgin's Church in Bideford on 27 March 1588, but died from influenza while residing in Grenville's house on 2 April 1589.[13] His interment was at the same church five days later along with Grenville's daughter, Rebecca.[10]
In 1587, Grenville was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of the West Country by the Privy Council, to organize the defences ofDevon andCornwall in preparation for the expected attack by theSpanish Armada the following year. Also was commissioned with overseeing the repair of the Fortifications of theCinque Ports andBoscastle Harbour.
In 1588, he was made a member of the council that was created to devise means of defence against the Spanish armada. Grenville equipped seven ships at Bideford with supplies and more colonists for Raleigh's "Planters" Colony settled at Roanoke the previous year. However, a stay of shipping due to the impending arrival of the Spanish Armada meant that the fleet did not sail. Grenville led five of these ships toPlymouth to join the English defences and returned to Bideford where he provisioned the remaining two ships for Roanoke, a voyage that later turned back after being raided by the French. Later that year, Grenville was commissioned to keep watch at sea on the western approaches to the Bristol Channel in case of the return of the Spanish Armada.
Grenville was appointedVice-Admiral of the Fleet underThomas Howard. He was charged with maintaining asquadron at the Azores to await the return to Spain of the South American treasure fleets. He took command ofRevenge, agalleon of new design that was faster and more maneuverable than older naval ships.[14]
AtFlores Island the English fleet was surprised by a much larger squadron sent by King Philip II of Spain. Howard retreated to safety, but Grenville faced the 53 enemy ships alone, leading his single ship in what amounted to a suicide mission, stating that he "utterly refused to turn from the enimie...he would rather chose to die than to dishonour himselfe".[15] His crew was reduced by nearly 100 men due to sickness on shore, but he chose nonetheless to confront the far superior Spanish force.[15] For twelve hours he and his crew fought off the Spanish, causing heavy damage to fifteen galleons. According to Raleigh's account, Grenville and his soldiers fought for hour after hour, "...until all the powder of TheRevenge, to the last barrell, was now spent, all her pikes broken, fortie of her best men slain, and the most part of the rest hurt".[15] The ship itself was "marvellous unsaverie, filled with bloud and bodies of deade and wounded men like a slaughter house".[15]
The fight was later romanticized by the poetAlfred Lord Tennyson in his work "The Revenge: A Ballad of the Fleet:" "Out-gunned, out-fought, and out-numbered fifty-three to one",[16] Grenville was said to have wished to blow up his ship rather than give up the fight, as Tennyson wrote:[16] "Sink me the ship, Master Gunner! – sink her! split her in twain! ... Fall into the hands of God, not into the hands of Spain!" Grenville's crew however refused to obey these suicidal orders and his officers surrendered what was left of their vessel to the Spanish, on a promise of fair treatment.
Grenville died of his wounds several days later, screaming that his men were "traitors and dogs",[17] but the Spanish were not to enjoy their success, nor would Grenville's men survive their deliverance. The Spanish fleet was caught by acyclone soon after and during a week-long stormRevenge and fifteen Spanish warships and merchant vessels were lost.[18]Revenge sank with her mixed prize-crew of seventy Spaniards and English prisoners near the island ofTerceira, at the approximate position38°46′9″N27°22′42″W / 38.76917°N 27.37833°W /38.76917; -27.37833.[19]
In 1565 Grenville married Mary St Leger (c. 1543–1623), daughter ofSir John St Ledger ofAnnery, Monkleigh, near Bideford, and heir to her brother. She outlived her husband and died aged about 80 on 9 November 1623 and was buried atSt Mary's Church, Bideford. The family initially lived at Buckland Abbey before moving to a newly built house at Bideford. They had four sons, includingBernard Grenville.[5]Capt.George Vancouver was related to him on his mother's side. Her name was Bridget Berners.[citation needed]
Thus slain thy valiant Ancestor did ly
When his one bark a navy did defy
When now encompas't round the victor stood
And bath'd his pinnace in his co'quering blood
Till all his purple current dry'd and spent
He fell and made the waves his monument
Where shall ye next fam'd Granvill's ashes stand
Thy grand syre fills the seas and thou ye land
| Honorary titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Custos Rotulorum of Cornwall 1544–1550 | Succeeded by |
