Daniel Cheswis, the lead character in my novels, The Winter Siege and A Soldier of Substance is one of the
petty constables in the Cheshire town of Nantwich at a time when the
established structures of local government had collapsed during the early part
of the First Civil War. In creating an environment for him to operate in, it
was necessary for me to carry out considerable research into local Cheshire
politics at that time, and what I found was a fascinating story of one man’s
rise to prominence against the established social order and the creation of a
political structure which allowed him to maintain power, almost unchallenged, until
after the conclusion of the Siege of Chester.
On the face of it, Sir William Brereton was not the obvious
choice to assume undisputed command of the war effort in Cheshire. Although he
was from a gentry background, he was the social inferior of the local barons
and of leading local families such as the Booths, Delves, Mainwarings and Wilbrahams.
Brereton was extremely active socially during the 1630s, but his prominence and
position of influence in Cheshire politics largely came about due to the fact
that he was the only Cheshire MP to continually sit in the Commons after July
1642.
During the period leading up to the start of the First Civil
War Cheshire MPs and the county elite were essentially moderate in nature,
looking to avoid conflict as much as possible with a view to avoiding the risk
of a collapse in social structures. At this time, however, Brereton began to be
viewed as something of a political and religious radical, attracting the
support of local Puritans. He was also influential on many government
committees at the time.
It is not known for certain, but it is likely that his change
in image was a reason why Brereton was not chosen as a candidate for election
to the Long Parliament. Instead he stood as an independent, defeating the
candidates chosen by the local barons and baronets.
He was elected to the
Long Parliament as an independent having been chosen by neither the barons nor
the baronets, including the likes of Sir George Booth, whose daughter Brereton
had been married to before her death in 1637. Brereton also sat on numerous
parliamentary committees in the period leading up to the war, increasing his
influence still further.
Brereton’s continuing involvement in Westminster politics
gave him a personal influence he would not otherwise have been able to secure,
and to the surprise and dismay of many of his political opponents, he was
promoted by parliamentary ordinance to positions of significant power from
where he could control the military operations of Parliament in Cheshire.
Brereton’s overwhelming control of events in Cheshire can be
ascribed to two key ordinances.
The first, in March 1643, gave him supreme military command
in Cheshire, including the sole right to make military appointments and the
ability to take control of troops raised by his social superiors, including Sir
George’s grandson, also called George Booth, who was in command of the Nantwich
garrison during the 1644 Battle of Nantwich described in The Winter Siege. Gradually, over a period, many of the county
elite stepped down or were removed from military command to be replaced by
professional soldiers who had Brereton to thank for their advancement. Examples
of this are James Lothian and Thomas Croxton, both of whom make appearances in The Winter Siege and A Soldier of Substance
The second major ordinance was in March 1644. Prior to this
date administrative powers in the county were in the hands of five or more
Deputy Lieutenants. The new ordinance, however, stipulated that power could be
exercised by Brereton together with any two or more of the Deputy Lieutenants.
Brereton therefore not only had a veto on any local decisions, since he knew he
could always find at least two people to support him, he was able to set up a
network of committees all dominated by his own chosen followers. Moderates such
as Sir George Booth, Philip Mainwaring of Peover and others were shut out of
any influence in local politics until almost the end of the First Civil War.
This blog post was originally written for Andrea Zuvich's blog site 17th Century Lady
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