CONWAY, Edward (1594-1655)

Like his father and grandfather before him, Conway spent much of his life as a professional soldier. Largely raised in the Netherlands, where his father, Sir Edward, was lieutenant governor of the cautionary town of Brill, he obtained his first military commission while still officially a minor. When Brill was handed back to the Dutch in 1616, he stayed on as a captain of the English troops still stationed there, before seeing active service in most of the campaigns against Spain and France during the 1620s.34 CSP For. 1586-7, pp. 318, 340; APC, 1615-16, pp. 515, 540. Meanwhile, his father attracted the patronage of the royal favourite, George Villiers^*, 1st duke of Buckingham, thereby securing the post of secretary of state and a succession of peerages. Conway himself interrupted his military career to sit in the Commons in 1624 and 1626. He fought under Buckingham at the Île de Ré in 1627, earning the duke’s respect, then oversaw the billeting of his own regiment in Hampshire, where it was temporarily located in anticipation of the next expedition.35 CSP Ven. 1621-3, pp. 557-8; CSP Dom. 1627-8, pp. 89, 268, 313, 434; APC, 1627-8, pp. 176-7.

When Parliament was summoned in 1628, Conway was nominated by his father for a burgess-ship at Newport, on the Isle of Wight, but failed to secure election.36 Procs. 1628, pp. 156-7, 172-3. Nevertheless, the crown found itself in need of supporters in the Lords as debate raged over the liberties of the subject, and on 20 Apr. a warrant was issued for Conway to be summoned to the upper House in his father’s barony, an unprecedented honour for the son of a viscount. He took his seat three days later, being formally introduced by two young peers, Henry West^*, 4th Lord De La Warr and Basil Feilding^*, Lord Newnham Paddockes; the latter, like Conway, hailed from Warwickshire.37 CSP Dom. 1628-9, p. 80; CP, iii. 401; Lords Procs. 1628, p. 333. Alternatively, Conway’s 2nd supporter was George Goring, 1st Lord Goring: Lords Procs. 1628, p. 336. Although formally excused for absence only twice, on 28 May and 23 June, Conway attended the Lords somewhat intermittently, and was present for just under two-thirds of the session’s remaining sittings.38 Lords Procs. 1628, pp. 550, 693. While not a complete parliamentary novice, he left little impression on the proceedings of the upper House, being nominated only to bill committees concerning the property of Queen Henrietta Maria and Thomas Howard^*, 21st (or 14th) earl of Arundel. His attendance record during the brief 1629 session was almost identical, but this time he made no known contribution to the Lords’ business.39 Ibid. 390, 582, 641.

By 1629 it was clear that England’s military involvement in the Continent was drawing to a close, and Conway turned his sights elsewhere. In August that year he was appointed governor of Derry, Coleraine and County Londonderry, and named to the Irish Privy Council. By December he had taken up residence at Lisburn. In addition to his formal duties, he began contemplating ways of increasing his income. While his military career had been relatively successful, he had accumulated considerable debts which, in the mid-1620s, had made him reluctant to visit England for fear of arrest. He now settled on the idea of developing ironworks, and spent the next year seeking advice. However, nothing ultimately came of this project.40 CSP Dom. 1623-5, p. 92; 1629-31, p. 373; SP16/153/77. In reality, Conway’s interests lay in a more cultural direction. His circle included such noted intellectuals as James Ussher, archbishop of Armagh, John Selden^‡, and Sir Kenelm Digby, and he built up a substantial library at Lisburn, comprising nearly 500 volumes.41 CSP Dom. 1629-31, p. 373; 1636-7, p. 345; 1637, p. 582; SP16/273/30. Conway collected both books and pamphlets, the works catalogued and organized into ‘faculties’, which included history, theology, literature and science. He could apparently read French, Italian, Spanish, Latin and Greek, and acquired his books not just in London, but from as far afield as Paris, Brussels and even Italy. Under such circumstances, this was inevitably an expensive hobby.42 CSP Dom. 1633-4, p. 63; 1634-5, p. 164; 1635-6, pp. 272, 296, 436; 1636-7, pp. 378-9; 1638-9, p. 306, 589; SP16/285/19.

Conway’s father died in January 1631 leaving substantial debts and a relatively small and heavily encumbered estate. The 1st viscount’s affairs were sufficiently tangled that his original executors all eventually renounced their role by mid 1632, forcing Conway himself to complete the task, which was made more difficult by his poor relationship with his stepmother, the other principal legatee.43 CSP Dom. 1629-31, p. 123; 1631-3, pp. 29, 373; C142/486/107; HMC Portland, iii. 29; PROB 11/160, f. 410r-v. With his cash-flow problems mounting, he sought to make economies, even renting out his ancestral seat of Ragley, Warwickshire to his kinsman Robert Greville^*, 2nd Lord Brooke, an arrangement which ultimately proved unsatisfactory.44 CSP Dom. 1629-31, p. 557; 1631-3, pp. 112, 196-7, 258, 404; 1637-8, pp. 144-5. Meanwhile, the lord deputy of Ireland, Henry Carey^‡, 1st Viscount Falkland [S], tried to prevent him from taking command of a company of soldiers, which reverted to him on the death of his father, as this interfered with Falkland’s own patronage. Conway himself stirred up controversy by employing skilled Catholic servants at Lisburn. As one outraged Protestant cleric observed, the viscount risked being seen as having ‘more regard to the making of a Bologna sausage, … or the training of a horse, than to the worship of Almighty God’.45 HMC Cowper, i. 424; SP16/210/91.

Having returned to England following his father’s death, Conway found himself stuck there as he struggled to settle his financial affairs. His best hope was to secure payment of his father’s crown pension, which had been suspended in 1628, and was now around £7,000 in arrears. Initially the king agreed to pay what was owed and to compound for the residue of the pension itself, to the tune of £10,000. However, this commitment was soon watered down, and by 1635 Conway was merely being offered part-payment of the arrears, in the shape of a grant of outstanding debts owed to assorted government departments.46 CSP Dom. 1628-9, p. 326; 1631-3, p. 558; 1633-4, pp. 256, 370; 1635-6, p. 4. It was already clear in mid 1633 that there would be no immediate resolution of this business, and with his debts in London mounting steadily, he returned to Ireland. Apart from a brief visit to England in the following spring, he finally began to exercise his Irish duties fully again, attending the Privy Council in Dublin, and taking his seat in the Irish House of Lords in July 1634. Around this time, he even brought his wife, from whom he had been estranged, over to Lisburn.47 Ibid. 1631-3, p. 521; 1633-4, pp. 55, 140; 1634-5, pp. 26, 148; HMC Hastings, iv. 138; Strafforde Letters, 284.

While life in Ireland offered Conway a clearly defined role, it did not satisfy his ambitions or intellect. In May 1634 his kinsman Sir William Pelham wrote urging him to return to court, where ‘many great ones have their eyes on you for good’. In the following August, the new lord deputy, Thomas Wentworth^*, 1st Viscount Wentworth (later 1st earl of Strafford), recommended him to the chancellor of the Exchequer, Francis Cottington^†, Lord Cottington. Meanwhile, Conway’s friends, such as Selden, also clamoured for his company.48 SP16/268/12; 16/273/30; Strafforde Letters, i. 294. In the end, the pull of London proved too great, and by September he was back in the capital. Judging from his household accounts for the next few months, he spent most of his time attending the theatre, buying yet more books, and socializing. His extensive engagement list included the earl of Arundel; Selden, and his patron Henry Grey^*, 8th earl of Kent; Sir Kenelm Digby; Henry Clifford^*, Lord Clifford (later 5th earl of Cumberland); Edward Sackville^*, 4th earl of Dorset; Robert Sidney^*, 2nd earl of Leicester, and above all his close friend Algernon Percy^*, 4th earl of Northumberland, whom he visited several times at Petworth, Sussex.49 SP16/285/19. However, there was also a serious point to this activity. While in England, Conway lost his Londonderry governorship when the administration of Ulster was reorganized, and he understood that if he was to find further employment, he needed to be more in the public eye.50 Strafforde Letters, i. 390. In the spring of 1635, with no immediate prospect of a new post, he volunteered for service on the first Ship Money fleet, serving under Robert Bertie^*, 1st earl of Lindsey. For five months he patrolled the English Channel, and although the fleet’s performance failed to meet the government’s expectations, Conway developed a useful correspondence with the principal secretary of state, Sir John Coke^‡, openly admitting in July that his primary objective was to gain the king’s favour.51 Ibid. 416; CSP Dom. 1635, pp. 107-8, 147, 157-8, 255-6, 259, 287, 326-7, 353-4, 414.

A pattern was now set for the next two year. Conway remained in England, hanging around the court hoping for some new promotion or financial reward. In November 1635 there was speculation that he might be appointed the next lord deputy. Two months later, he was being spoken of as a possible successor to Coke, and, tellingly at this juncture, he offered his opinions on foreign diplomacy to the other secretary of state, Sir Francis Windebank^‡.52 CSP Dom. 1635, p. 471; 1635-6, p. 187; Strafforde Letters, i. 507. Around the same time, he and the courtier Endymion Porter^‡ approached the king, requesting a 31-year patent for the manufacture of fine cloth containing gold or silver thread. Two months later, Conway tried a different proposal concerning the regulation of cottages. However, nothing came of either of these schemes, and his continuing efforts to win compensation for his father’s pension were also frustrated.53 CSP Dom. 1635-6, pp. 182-3, 300-1, 540, 557; Addenda, 1625-49, p. 530. Undeterred by these setbacks, he spent the summers of 1636 and 1637 back at sea with further Ship Money fleets, which were now under Northumberland’s more energetic command.54 CSP Dom. 1635-6, pp. 405, 546; 1637, p. 216; HMC Cowper, ii. 130, 161, 165. Digby assured him in January 1637 that he was seen as a major force behind the latest fleet’s success, presumably a comment on his influence with Northumberland, but there were some signs that the novelty of maritime life was wearing off. In August 1637 it was reported that Conway was whiling away the time with a ‘new and very fine book’, while in May 1636 he requested a supply of fancy paper, for writing to ladies.55 CSP Dom. 1635-6, p. 436; 1636-7, p. 378; 1637, p. 387. By now his relationship with his wife had again broken down, and after returning to England in the spring of 1636 she went to live with her father in Wiltshire.56 CSP Dom. 1635-6, p. 357; 1636-7, p. 38.

In May 1637 Conway was appointed a member of the new council of war, confirmation at least that his military experience was still valued. His financial problems continued to mount, however, not helped by his decision to attempt the restoration of Conway Castle. This venerable structure, which supplied the territorial suffix for his principal peerage, had been purchased by his father in 1627, and Conway evidently hoped to render it habitable again. Unfortunately, on closer inspection the fabric proved to be in a worse condition than expected.57 CSP Dom. 1627-8, p. 186; 1635, pp. 468-9, 509; 1636-7, p. 92; 1637, pp. 75-6. In the aftermath of his third naval tour of duty, Conway found himself marking time in England. In May 1638 there was a partial resolution to the old pension dispute, and he was called upon for occasional ceremonial duties at court, but there was still no sign of a significant promotion.58 CSP Dom. 1637-8, p. 421; C115/109/8824. Accordingly, Conway’s thoughts turned back to Ireland and military service, and in October 1638, with the help of his friend, Lord Deputy Wentworth, he exchanged his company of foot there for a troop of horse.59 Strafforde Letters, ii. 203; M.C. Fissel, Bishops’ Wars, 86; CSP Ire. 1633-47, p. 201.

Ironically, Conway returned to Ireland in early 1639 just as preparations got underway for the First Bishops’ War. As the earl of Northumberland served as lord general south of the Trent, Conway might otherwise have expected a prominent command.60 HMC De L’Isle and Dudley, vi. 159; CSP Dom. 1638-9, p. 322, 419, 621-3. Instead, he was obliged to follow the progress of the campaign closely via newsletters, and did not visit England again until the summer, after the cessation of hostilities.61 CSP Dom. 1639, pp. 2-5, 53, 70-4, 96-9, 137-41, 288-9, 393, 410. In September, to relieve his boredom, Northumberland arranged for Conway to visit the Dutch fleet currently anchored in the Downs, though it is not known whether he arrived in time to witness the Dutch destruction of a Spanish naval force.62 CSP Dom. 1639, p. 493; HMC 3rd Rep. 77. Over the following winter, as plans were laid for the inevitable showdown with the Scots, Conway was appointed to a new council of war, and became heavily involved in the preparation of the English army’s ordnance.63 PC2/51, f. 31; CSP Dom. 1639-40, pp. 134, 301. He nevertheless continued to see his long-term future as being in Ireland, and in January 1640 he secured a more prestigious appointment as marshal of the army there.64 CSP Dom. 1639-40, p. 98; CSP Ire. 1633-47, p. 234. However, he was simultaneously selected as general of horse against the Scots, serving under Northumberland. According to Edward Hyde^†, 1st earl of Clarendon, Conway was chosen because of his ‘more than ordinary reputation’ in military affairs, and because of his close ties with both Northumberland and Wentworth (now earl of Strafford).65 CSP Dom. 1639-40, p. 321; Clarendon, Hist. of the Rebellion, i. 186. Over the next few weeks, Conway was instructed to assess the munitions required to strengthen the strategic garrison of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and to help oversee the formation of a regiment of dragoons. Finally, in late March, he was dispatched to Hull, Yorkshire to take up command of the royal cavalry. In the following month he led his men north to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, and was thus prevented from attending the Short Parliament of 1640.66 CSP Dom. 1639-40, pp. 443, 549, 575; 1640, p. 43.

Although Conway’s forces were seriously outnumbered during the Second Bishops’ War, he was made the scapegoat for the defeat at Newburn and surrender of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in August. Understandably, therefore, he maintained a relatively low profile at the Great Council of Peers, which met at York in the following month. Seeking to recover his military reputation by further service in Ireland, he drove back the Irish rebels at Lisburn in November 1641, but his library was burnt in the battle’s aftermath.67 CSP Dom. 1640, pp. 645, 649; Fissel, 51, 54-5, 59-60; Clarendon, i. 190; Misc. State Pprs. 1501-1726 (1778) ed. Hardwicke, ii. 235, 237; HMC Cowper, ii. 292; HMC 5th Rep. 413-14; R. Bagwell, Ire. under the Stuarts, i. 348. Conway’s friendship with Northumberland caused him to side with Parliament when he returned to England in 1643, but within months he was imprisoned on suspicion of complicity in Waller’s plot. Once freed, he defected to the king, and attended the Oxford Parliament in early 1644. Although he rejoined the parliamentarian fold in March that year, he was thereafter viewed with suspicion.68 Clarendon, iii. 40-1, 44, 142; LJ, vi. 90a-b, 159b; CCC, 980; CSP Dom. 1644, pp. 113-14; HMC Denbigh, v. 78-9; J. Rushworth, Historical Collections, v. 573. Obliged by his flirtation with royalism to compound for delinquency in 1646, his fine was initially set at £3,000, but reduced on appeal to £1,859 4s. Plagued by debt, and now in declining health, Conway found shelter with his friend Northumberland until 1653, when he returned to the Continent, finally dying either at Paris or Lyons in June 1655. His body was brought home, and buried with his ancestors at Arrow, Warwickshire. He was succeeded in all his titles by his son Edward^*.69 CCC, 980; CSP Dom. 1650, pp. 409, 424; 1651, p. 464; 1651-2, pp. 303, 440; 1653-4, p. 440; HMC Portland, iii. 202; Dugdale, 851; CP, iii. 401.