Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Cleveland
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Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Cleveland (1591 – 25 March 1667), was a Cavalier general who fought for Charles I during the English Civil War.
He was the eldest son of Henry Wentworth, 3rd Baron Wentworth and Anne Hopton. His paternal grandfather was Thomas Wentworth, 2nd Baron Wentworth, the last Englishman to hold Calais. The younger Thomas succeeded his father in 1593.
In 1614, Wentworth inherited from an aunt the estate of Toddington, Bedfordshire, until then the property of the Cheyney family, and here he made his principal residence. In 1626, he was created Earl of Cleveland, and in the following year he served under George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham in the expedition to La Rochelle. Adhering to the cause of King Charles I in the King's dispute with the Parliament of England, he attended his kinsman Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford at his execution, and afterwards was a general on the royalist side in the Civil War until he was taken prisoner at the Second Battle of Newbury in 1644. Cleveland commanded a cavalry regiment at the Battle of Worcester in 1651, when he was again taken prisoner, and he remained in the Tower of London until 1656.
His early extravagance and the fortunes of war had greatly reduced his estates, and Nettlestead was sold in 1643. Cleveland was described by Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, as "a man of signal courage and an excellent officer"; his cavalry charge at the Battle of Cropredy Bridge, where he routed John Middleton's Parliamentary horse and then with Lord Wilmot's horse led another charge that captured the Parliamentary artillery, was one of the most brilliant incidents in the Civil War, and it was by his bravery and presence of mind that King Charles II was enabled to escape from Worcester.
At his death on March 25, 1667 the Earldom of Cleveland became extinct. He outlived his son Thomas (c. 1613–1665), who was called up to the House of Lords in his father's lifetime as Baron Wentworth, and whose daughter Henrietta Maria became Baroness Wentworth in her own right.
[edit] Reference
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
| Honorary Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Lord St John of Bletso |
Custos Rotulorum of Bedfordshire 1618–1667 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Bolingbroke |
| Preceded by The Earl of Kent |
Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire jointly with The Earl of Kent 1625–1627, 1629–1639 1627–1642 |
Succeeded by Interregnum |
| Preceded by Interregnum |
Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire jointly with The Earl of Ailesbury 1660–1667 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Ailesbury |
| Preceded by Interregnum |
Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners 1660–1661 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Norwich |
| Preceded by The Earl of Norwich |
Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners 1662–1667 |
Succeeded by The Lord Belasyse |
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by New Creation |
Earl of Cleveland 1626–1667 |
Succeeded by Extinct |
| Preceded by Henry Wentworth |
Baron Wentworth 1593–1640 |
Succeeded by Thomas Wentworth (writ of acceleration) |
| Preceded by Thomas Wentworth (writ of acceleration) |
Baron Wentworth 1665–1667 |
Succeeded by Henrietta Wentworth |
