Bodmin

Bodmin (a name derived from the Cornish for ‘dwelling under the hills’) originated as an Anglo-Saxon town serving the monastery founded by St Petrock, and had become a borough by the end of the twelfth century. In the middle ages its wealth was based on its dual role as monastic centre and entrepot of the tin trade, and it retained its importance in the county administration – hosting the quarter sessions and trained band musters, as well as an important weekly market – into the early seventeenth century.1 Maclean, Trigg Minor, i. 99-107, 121ff. Richard Carew was unimpressed, however, describing the town as ‘seated… contagiously’ in a damp valley, ‘hidden from the sun by a high hill’, and full of ‘decayed houses’, showing that it had once been larger and more prosperous.2 Carew, Survey, 123v. Carew conceded that Bodmin still held ‘the precedence’ over other Cornish towns when it came to population, and this is also implied by the 1641 Protestation returns, which named 491 adult males, suggesting a total population of around 2,000.3 Cornw. Protestation Returns, 178-80, 277. Bodmin’s corporate structure was fairly well developed by Cornish standards. The charter of incorporation of 1563 (renewed in 1594) established a common council of 36 capital burgesses led by 12 ‘councillors’, including a mayor and a town clerk (both of whom acted as justice of the peace within the borough).4 Maclean, Trigg Minor, i. 211-3. The hearth tax records of 1664 reveal that the ruling clique – which, from their surnames, consisted mainly of families well established earlier in the century – lived in comfortable but unostentatious houses of between 4 and 7 hearths, and that 16 of them claimed the title ‘gentleman’. Conversely, large gentry mansions were notably absent from the town, as was any resident with the sobriquet ‘esquire’.5 Cornw. Hearth Tax, 40-1. The strength of the town’s corporate identity meant that it did not easily fall victim to the whims of a local patron when it came to parliamentary elections, the only exception being the mid-1620s, when the courtier Sir Robert Killigrew† appears to have controlled both seats. His influence was, however, on the wane in 1628, when he was elected alongside the prominent critic of the crown, Humphrey Nicoll† (who was probably the choice of the corporation).6 HP Commons 1604-1629.

In the elections for the Short Parliament of April 1640, Bodmin returned as its own candidate Richard Prideaux, who was from a local landowning family with interests in the borough (including the right of advowson over the parish church); and perhaps as a compliment to the duchy of Cornwall the corporation also elected the prince’s councillor, Sir Richard Wynne, who had been turned down as a candidate by Lostwithiel.7 Maclean, Trigg Minor, i. 144, 148; DCO, ‘letters and warrants, 1639-43’, f. 44v. In the Long Parliament elections, held on 27 October 1640, the borough initially elected the son of another local landowner, John Arundell I, along with the Middle Temple lawyer (and son of one of Charles I’s judges), John Bramston.8 C219/43/6. Bramston (who had been encouraged to stand by the local parson, William Drake, an old friend from Oxford), claimed that he had ‘the popularity of the major part’ of the electorate, and this is confirmed by the surviving indenture, which was signed by 28 of the 36 eligible voters, but his election was challenged by Anthony Nicoll.9 Autobiography of Sir John Bramston ed. J. Bramston (1845), 160; C219/43/6. The subsequent investigation by the committee of privileges was nobbled by Nicoll’s uncle, John Pym*, abetted by two prominent members of the committee, Sir Arthur Hesilrige and Sir Henry Mildmay, who ensured the report in Bramston’s favour was suppressed, and Nicoll returned instead.10 Autobiography of Sir John Bramston ed. Bramston, 160-1; Oxford DNB.

During the first civil war, Bodmin proved to be an important military and administrative base. In August 1642 the king’s supporters, led by Sir Bevill Grenvile*, mustered their men on the town’s race course, and at the end of September a rival meeting at the town, planned by Sir Richard Buller* and the parliamentarians, was only prevented by the arrival of Sir Ralph Hopton*.11 Coate, Cornw. 35-6; Bellum Civile, 19-20. From then on, Bodmin was the usual seat of the royalist government of Cornwall. In January 1643 Hopton marshalled his forces and mustered the posse comitatus at Bodmin before meeting the parliamentarian invaders at Braddock Down near Liskeard; in April 1643 the local gentry met at Bodmin to agree a weekly assessment to pay the royalist forces of the south west; in the summer of that year the advance into Devon was planned there; and when in July 1645 Hopton and Sir Edward Hyde* needed to steady the nerve of the local royalists after the defeat at Naseby and the New Model’s advance westwards, they arranged a meeting at Bodmin.12 Maclean, Trigg Minor, i. 221; Coate, Cornw. 58, 105-6, 180; Clarendon, Hist. ii. 454; iii. 398-9; iv. 107; CCSP i. 271.

The mayors’ accounts reflect this high level of royalist activity. On 25 September 1642 the borough sent a letter to its MP, John Arundel I, who had sided with the king, and two days later a barrel of gunpowder was purchased and the royalist leader, Sir Bevill Grenvile, entertained in style. At the end of October and the beginning of November 1642 Hopton, Grenvile and the leading royalists were kept well supplied with wine as they prepared their army to advance; and March 1643 saw another round of entertaining.13 Cornw. RO, B/BOD/285. General celebrations were held for royalist victories on 19 June and 23 September of that year, and throughout that summer a steady stream of recruits, arms and ammunition passed through the town on the way east, while parliamentarian prisoners were accommodated as they travelled westward.14 Cornw. RO, B/BOD/285. In the autumn of 1645 letters were carried from the town to the prince of Wales at Truro and Fowey, and the ‘town arms’ were taken to Launceston on 4 October, to be followed by soldiers from the town later in the month; the town’s ammunition went the same way shortly afterwards, and there was a constant stream of royalist officers to be entertained, and their men to be billeted, as the royalist army got ready to march against the New Model army for the last time.15 Cornw. B/BOD/286.

Bodmin’s status of a royalist stronghold naturally made it a prime target for the parliamentarians. In May 1643 Major-general Chudleigh made an opportunist raid against Bodmin, in the hope of capturing ‘the high sheriff and principal gentlemen of the country’, but his actions left Parliament’s western forces without adequate cavalry and contributed to the defeat at Stratton in the same month.16 Coate, Cornw. 72; Clarendon, Hist. iii. 69; Bellum Civile, 43-4. Robert Devereux, 3rd earl of Essex, had also aimed for Bodmin during his ill-fated march into the south west in the summer of 1644, and its immediate recapture by Sir Richard Grenvile allowed the royalists to join forces and trap the earl at Lostwithiel.17 Bodl. Clarendon 26, f. 164v; Coate, Cornw. 139-41; Ludlow, Mems. i. 101. Similarly, when Sir Thomas Fairfax* led the New Model army into Cornwall in February 1646, his first target after Launceston was Bodmin. Hopton had originally intended to make a stand there, but his cavalry withdrew from the open downs outside the town ‘without orders’ (as Hyde claimed) and ‘the whole gross of the rebels were at daytime marched within three miles before the foot in Bodmin had any notice’.18 Clarendon, Hist. iv. 137. In the end, it was only the ‘forlorn of horse’ that engaged the royalists as Hopton beat a hasty retreat to Truro, under cover of darkness, on 2 March.19 Clarke Pprs. i. 422-3. Fairfax claimed that the departing royalists had been ‘drunk and disorderly’, and that ‘the townspeople are glad at our coming’.20 HMC 6th Rep. 102. Whether this was a true reflection of local views is doubtful, but it is clear that the corporation went out of its way to welcome their new masters, in very much the same manner as they had entertained the royalists in earlier years. Immediately after Fairfax’s arrival, the town provided gifts to his officers and wood for fuel for his guards, and in later weeks the general was provided with new trenchers from the corporation.21 Cornw. RO, B/BOD/285.

The electoral history of Bodmin after the first civil war is very confused. John Arundell I had been disabled in January 1644 and had died the following November, and a new writ was issued on 16 December 1646 but not acted upon.22 CJ v. 5a; C231/6, p. 72. Within a few months the position of the borough’s other MP, Anthony Nicoll, was also in doubt. His opposition to the New Model in the spring of 1647 resulted in his inclusion in the list of Eleven (Presbyterian) Members threatened with impeachment by the Commons in June, and among the charges directed against him personally was the claim that he had unlawfully retained his seat for Bodmin, ‘although about four years since he was (by the committee of privileges) voted that he was not a Member fit to sit in the House’.23 A Particular Charge or Impeachment (1647), 25 (E.398.17). On 5 July another leading Presbyterian, John Maynard*, reported to the Commons that Nicoll’s case had still not been decided, and it was agreed that the matter should be delayed for a month.24 CJ v. 233a The army’s march on London in early August happened before any decision could be taken. Nicoll was arrested but escaped, and he was formally disabled from sitting on 27 January 1648.25 CJ v. 330a, 445a, 590a. On 2 March the Commons ordered that a writ be issued for holding new elections at Bodmin to replace both Nicoll and Arundell.26 CJ v. 476b. But uncertainty regarding Nicoll’s status evidently remained, for on 25 April the borough elected only one new MP; another lawyer, Thomas Waller of Gray’s Inn.27 C219/43/8. Waller’s election was probably part of a more general Presbyterian reaction to the dominance of the Independents and their New Model allies, although it is uncertain whether Bodmin shared his political views, not least because the indenture was on this occasion signed only by the mayor.28 C219/43/8. Following the Presbyterian resurgence that spring, Nicoll’s case was re-opened, and in June the Commons rescinded the vote disabling him from sitting as an MP.29 CJ v. 584a, 590a. Both Nicoll and Waller were secluded at Pride’s Purge in December.

During the late 1640s and 1650s Bodmin returned to normality. Officers and local dignatories (including John, 2nd Baron Robartes, of nearby Lanhydrock) were again entertained by the corporation from the spring of 1648.30 Cornw. RO, B/BOD/286. The quarter sessions met in the town from the later 1640s onwards, the sheriff was entertained there en route to the assizes at Launceston in March 1652, and in the new year of 1656 the commissioners for securing the peace of the commonwealth also convened there.31 Cornw. RO, B/BOD/285-6; TSP iv. 451. Civic pride also returned, perhaps aided by the continuity of personnel among the borough’s governors. The majority of mayors elected between 1646 and 1660 were from families that had produced mayors in earlier decades, and they were happy to resurrect the old ways.32 Cornw. RO, B/BOD/302. On 5 January 1648 the mayor paid £12 to the bailiff and serjeants ‘for their liveries and their wages’, and a note dated 6 April 1650 listed the (new?) town plate as two gilt flagons, one gilt bowl with cover and one silver bowl with cover.33 Cornw. RO, B/BOD/286. Money was paid out for the repair of the church (1649), the town gaol and stocks (1650), the almshouses (1657) and the town hall (1659).34 Cornw. RO, B/BOD/285-6. The people of Bodmin still loved a party. Celebrations for 5 November had recommenced by 1647, and special events, such as the ‘routing of the Lord Ormond in Ireland’ in August 1649 or ‘the Scots’ defeat’ in September 1650 were greeted with wine, beer, cakes and a bonfire.35 Cornw. RO, B/BOD/286. The victory at Worcester in September 1651 was the occasion for no fewer than three celebrations: one when the news reached the town on 22 September, one on 2 October and the third on 24 October ‘being a day of thanksgiving by act of Parliament’.36 Cornw. RO, B/BOD/285-6. On 20 February 1657 the corporation celebrated Oliver Cromwell’s* survival of an assassination attempt, and in July it also observed the thanksgiving day for his second installation as protector.37 Cornw. RO, B/BOD/285.

In religion, Bodmin was deeply conservative, and it was no surprise that in the mid-1650s it was chosen as the headquarters of the ‘middle classis’ of the Cornish Presbyterian network.38 Coate, Cornw. 339. The town’s reaction to the Quakers later in the decade was correspondingly hostile, with one Loveday Hambly being imprisoned in the town, and her visitors roughly handled by the townspeople.39 Coate, Cornw. 348-9; CSP Dom. 1658-9, pp. 148, 156, 166. Presbyterianism also influenced the politics of the corporation, and the Nicoll family was again in evidence, with Francis Nicoll being retained as the town’s counsel by January 1657. The former MP, Anthony Nicoll, was treated to ‘burnt wine’ on 27 December 1658, just days before the election to Parliament of the local gentleman, John Silly, and the civil lawyer (and government candidate?), Dr William Turner, on 6 January 1659.40 Cornw. RO, B/BOD/286; C219/46/2. The surviving indentures suggest that the members of the corporation, perhaps mindful of the fall-out from the October 1640 return, were being over-cautious this time: an initial indenture for both MPs was signed only by a minority of the burgesses and this was superseded by two others, each returning one MP, and signed by the full corporation.41 C219/46/2-4.

Beneath the outward harmony of civic life, there are occasional signs of underlying discontent. It is interesting that as early as February 1647 there were stories of ‘the prophetess of Bodmin’ who foresaw the restoration of Charles I and upheld the ‘old form of prayer’.42 CCSP i. 362, 367. Prayer Book services were maintained at the parish church in the town long after the arrival of Fairfax in 1646, with accounts showing that wine was purchased for Easter communion in 1649 and for Good Friday in 1650.43 Cornw. RO, B/BOD/246; B/BOD/286. There were certainly former royalists among the town’s elite, including Captain Blight, who marched from Bodmin with his company in July 1643, and may have been the Charles Blight who served as mayor in 1659.44 Cornw. RO, B/BOD/285. One Matthew Parsons of Bodmin was listed as a delinquent in 1652, and in the same year Nathaniel Lugger, a member of one of the leading families, was fined as a royalist.45 CCC 2980, 3025. Strains of a different kind were showing in the ranks of the corporation by 1654, when Colonel Robert Bennett* complained to Cromwell of ‘wicked town clerks’ and others who ‘prey upon the labouring bees of the commonwealth’, and named in particular ‘one Perryman, town clerk of Bodmin’ who was ‘opposed by honest men’ and should be removed.46 FSL, X.d.483(114). This was probably George Perryman, who had served Parliament during the wars only to attract the animosity of the county commissioners in 1651-2 by accusing them of corruption when leasing out delinquent estates.47 CCC 3298-9. This in turn may have been part of a long-running feud. John Perryman (perhaps George’s father?), had been behind a ‘tumultuous assembly’ on Boxing Day 1636, which had ousted the then mayor and town clerk, and then taken the latter position for himself – actions that had led to his appearance before the privy council.48 CSP Dom. 1636-7, pp. 385-6, 388-9.

The Perryman family may have been troublemakers, but they were not royalists, and it is unwise to see Bodmin’s conservatism as automatically leading to unconditional support of the Restoration in 1660. The mayor certainly paid out for lavish celebrations of the return of Charles II on three occasions: when the news was heard on 12 May, a bonfire with ‘wine biscuits, beer and tobacco’ was laid on, with gunpowder for the soldiers to fire volleys; when the king returned, on 29 May, beer, tobacco, cakes, wine and prunes were provided; and on the official thanksgiving day on 28 June another bonfire was burned, with similar food and drink and volleys of shot; but this was only a repeat of the threefold celebrations held by Bodmin on the defeat of the same king at Worcester in 1651.49 Cornw. RO, B/BOD/285. Perhaps a better reflection of the mood in the town can be found in a further feast, that for the declaration of a ‘free Parliament’ in February 1660, and in the elections of April, which saw the return of two local Presbyterians: the former MP, John Silly, and Hender Robartes of Lanhydrock.50 Cornw. RO, B/BOD/285; HP Commons 1660-1690.