John Marlay (MP)
Sir John Marlay (1590-1673) was an English merchant, military commander and politician of the seventeenth century. He is best remembered for his heroic defence of Newcastle-upon-Tyne during the English Civil War, which he held for seven months against a besieging army on behalf of the Royalist cause; but through poverty and desperation he later betrayed the Royalists, and to the end of his life was reviled by most of those who knew him as a traitor. His name is commemorated by Marlay House and Marlay Park in Dublin, which belonged to a branch of his descendants who settled in Ireland.
Early career
He was the son of William Marlay: his father and grandfather were both small tradesmen in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He became an alehouse keeper and then a colliery owner: the latter occupation brought him great wealth, with an estimated income of £4500 a year, and he ran a victualling business as well. He was prominent in local Government from the late 1630s: he was three times Mayor of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, his native town, and represented it in the House of Commons from 1661 until his death. He was knighted in 1639. He obtained he victualling contract for the English Army during the First Bishops' War.
Siege of Newcastle
During the English Civil War he was appointed by King Charles I as military Governor of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, as well as being its Mayor 1642-44, and he defended the town with great spirit during the lengthy siege of 1644.[1] He held off the Scots army for seven months, and on 17 October he refused to surrender the town even after the besieging army had mined the walls. When the town was stormed on 19 October, he and the garrison fought bravely from street to street, then retreated into the Castle. He held out there for another three days, and then surrendered on the promise of mercy for himself and his men.[2]
Exile and treason
The promise of mercy was kept, but for the offence of having refused the terms of surrender, he was proscribed, banished and driven into exile: he lived mainly in the Spanish Netherlands. Parliament forfeited his estates, and sold his collieries, and he sank into wretched poverty. He was reduced to such desperate straits that in 1658 he offered to sell to Oliver Cromwell all Royalist plans for the restoration of Charles II, in return for £100 and leave to return home, although he insisted, rather ludicrously, that "he would do nothing underhand". His reputation never recovered from this betrayal: John Thurloe, Cromwell's head of intelligence, thought it a heavy blow to the Royalist cause. Marlay returned to England, but the Government ignored his pleas for money, and he was clearly still regarded as a Royalist at heart, since he was briefly imprisoned in 1659 in the aftermath of Booth's Rising in favour of the exiled King.
Restoration
At the Restoration of Charles II Marlay, despite his questionable loyalties, had little to fear from the new regime: the King's promise of mercy in the Declaration of Breda was generously fulfilled in the Indemnity and Oblivion Act 1660. Acts of mercy however could not save his ruined reputation: he was elected to the Commons in 1661 as MP for Newcastle, but quickly found that his betrayal had not been forgiven or forgotten. A petition was sent to the Commons, directly accusing him of treason, and he was suspended from the House. Charles II, true to his policy of reconciliation, sent a message asking the House to forgive Marlay for his "infirmities", and to recover their former "good opinion" of him.
He was allowed to resume his seat in the Commons, but after this disastrous start to his national career he never made his mark as a politician, and for the rest of his life had to endure accusations of being a traitor. Although he was appointed to a number of committees, he made only one recorded speech in the House in his 12 years as a member (although even this puts him slightly above the average: Kenyon notes that the great majority of MPs in the seventeenth century never once opened their mouths at Westminster). [3] Even his conduct during the siege of Newcastle was questioned, and there were wild accusations that he had been bribed to betray the town.
Reputation
While his courage and determination at Newcastle won him some respect, contemporaries in general had little good to say of him. Sir George Downing said that Marlay "belonged to any one who spoke kindly to him". The Earl of Northumberland dismissed him as a "cuckold and a knave"; and in 1671 Sam Hartlib, a son of the renowned scholar Samuel Hartlib, who apparently blamed Marlay for persecuting his father (who had died in poverty), insulted him at the door of the House of Commons, calling him "less than the dust beneath my feet". He was noted for his hostility to Puritanism.
Family and memorials
He married Mary Mitford, of whose virtue Lord Northumberland spoke so unkindly, and had several sons. Of his children, most is know of Anthony, who moved to Ireland and became a prosperous landowner. Many of his Irish descendants achieved distinction, notably Thomas Marlay, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, and the statesman Henry Grattan. The family name is commemorated in Marlay Park, a popular amenity near Dublin city.
Sources
- Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 London John Murray 1926
- Henning, B.D. ed. The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660-1690 Boydell and Brewer 1983
- Kenyon, J.P. The Stuarts Fontana edition 1966
- Wedgwood, C.V. The King's War William Collins Sons and Co. 1958