Callington

Callington, seven miles north of Saltash, was one of the smallest and least impressive of the Cornish boroughs. In 1639 the corporation begged for exemption from Ship Money on the grounds of poverty; in 1641 only 91 men from the parish signed the Protestation; and in the 1660s there were only around 70 households, with none of the houses boasting more than four hearths.1 CSP Dom. 1639, p. 62; Cornw. Protestation Returns, 214; Cornw. Hearth Tax, 19. Although the town was the ‘usual place of assembly’ for the East Hundred, it was never incorporated, and its mayor was in reality a mere manorial reeve, subordinate to the lords of the manor, the Rolles of Heanton Satchville in Devon.2 Carew, Survey, 54, 86v. As a result, the franchise was open to all who paid scot and lot (perhaps 30 people), rather than being controlled by a tightly-knit corporation, and the voters were powerless to challenge the dictates of the local landowners.3 Coate, Cornw. 17-18 HP Commons 1604-1629.

Between 1604 and 1629 one of the borough’s seats had always been taken by the Rolle family, or their close relatives; and the second seat invariably went to a courtier, usually backed by one of the two other interests, the Corytons of Newton Ferrers and the Trelawnys of Trelawne – the latter related by marriage to John Mohun, 1st Baron Mohun, who was well-connected at court.4 HP Commons 1604-1629, ‘Callington’. A similar pattern re-emerged in the Short Parliament elections in the spring of 1640, when Sir Samuel Rolle was returned, alongside the recorder of London, and royal protégé, Thomas Gardiner, who had failed to gain a seat for the City of London. The duchy of Cornwall nominee, the ageing courtier Sir William Beecher†, appears to have been dismissed out of hand.5 Devon RO, ‘Letters and warrants, 1639-43’, f. 44v. In the Long Parliament elections two outsiders were elected: George Fane, the younger brother of Mildmay Fane, 2nd earl of Westmorland, and the wealthy courtier Sir Arthur Ingram. Both were probably backed by court interests, as Westmorland was an influential figure around the king, and Ingram’s son-in-law, Henry Rich†, 1st earl of Holland, had secured his election for Windsor in the spring of 1640, although neither was sponsored by the duchy, which failed to indicate a preference this time round.6 Keeler, Long Parliament, 229n; Devon RO, ‘Letters and warrants, 1639-43’, ff. 66-7.

Ingram died in August 1642 and Fane was disabled from sitting in the Commons in January 1643, but it was not until the autumn of 1646 that a new writ of election was issued for both seats. This was no mere formality. On 4 September, after a ‘tedious debate’, the question whether to vote on a new writ was challenged, with the noes mustering 97 votes and the yeas 121.7 Harington’s Diary, 35. The tellers against were the prominent Independents, Sir William Brereton and Sir William Armyne, with the tellers in favour being the leading Presbyterians, Sir William Lewis and Sir Henry Cholmley – a line-up of heavyweights that suggests that Callington was considered likely to become a pocket borough for the Presbyterian party which dominated the Commons at this time.8 CJ iv. 662b. The new writ was eventually issued on 24 October, and when the election took place, either late in 1646 or early in 1647, the fears of the critics were realized, as Thomas Dacres (son of the influential MP Sir Thomas Dacres*) and Edward Lord Clinton (brother of Theophilus Clinton, 4th earl of Lincoln) were returned on the Presbyterian ticket – although the Rolle interest probably supported Clinton’s return, as his sister was married to Robert Rolle*.9 C231/6, p. 65; C219/43/1; Vivian, Vis. Devon, 655; Coate, Cornw. 245n; A. Austin, Hist. of the Clinton Barony (1999), 70. Unsurprisingly, both MPs were secluded at Pride’s Purge in December 1648.

There were no by-elections for Callington before the dissolution of the Rump Parliament in April 1653, and the borough was not represented during the Nominated Assembly of 1653 or the first two protectorate Parliaments in 1654 and 1656. When the old constituencies were restored under the Humble Petition and Advice, Callington once again enfranchised. The election was held on 3 January 1659, and the mayor and 12 burgesses signed the indenture – with all but five using marks.10 C219/46, unfol. The result shows that the old patronage network had survived the interregnum. One of the new MPs was Thomas Carew, whose mother was a sister of Sir Samuel Rolle. Carew was also related to the Rolles through his half-brother, the executed royalist Sir Alexander Carew*, whose wife was another of Sir Samuel’s sisters.11 Cornw. RO, R/3045, 5825; Antony House, Carew-Pole CS/11/16; Vivian, Vis. Devon, 654; Vivian, Vis. Cornw. 69. The other MP, Anthony Buller, was also connected with the Rolles through the Wises of Devon.12 Antony House, Carew-Pole BC/24/2, no. 70. This apparent monopoly by the Rolles continued in April 1660, when Robert Rolle and a fellow Presbyterian, Edward Herle, were returned, but after the Restoration the Rolle interest declined, and Callington’s parliamentary representation was increasingly under the influence of the royalist Corytons.13 HP Commons 1660-1690.