Thomas
Myddelton, the son of Sir Thomas Myddelton, the owner of Chirk Castle,
was born in 1586. Myddelton was elected to the House
of Commons and represented
Denbighshire.
On the outbreak of the
Civil War, Myddelton, a committed Puritan,
supported Parliament against Charles
I. Chirk Castle
was captured by royalist forces in January 1643. Given the rank of
Major-General, Myddelton was put in charge of the parliamentary military
campaign in North Wales.
Myddelton's main strategy
was to cut off the king's military supplies that were arriving in
North Wales from the continent. After capturing Wrexham in November
1643, his army headed for the ports of Wales' northern coast. Conwy,
Bangor and Caernarvon were well defended and after 2,500 royalist
troops arrived from Ireland, Myddelton was
forced to withdraw.
Myddelton now turned his
attention to mid Wales. In the summer of 1644 he captured Welshpool
and Newtown and on 18th September the first major battle of the Civil
War in Wales took place at Montgomery. The royalists suffered a heavy
defeat and over 2,000 of their men were either killed, wounded or
captured.
Myddelton's troops headed
north and in October they were able to capture Powis Castle. However,
despite strenuous efforts, Myddelton was unable to win back control
of his own castle at Chirk. After failing to persuade Parliament to
supply him with any more troops, Myddelton once again had to
abandon his plan to try
to win control of Wales' northern ports.
Myddelton was opposed to
the trial and execution of Charles
I. In 1659 he
joined the Cheshire Rising proclaiming Charles
II as king in
Wrexham market place. As a result General John
Lambert beseiged Chirk Castle.
On the Restoration
Muddelton received £60,000 to recompense his losses. Sir
Thomas Myddelton
died in 1666.
(1)
Thomas Myddelton, letter to the House
of Commons (March, 1645)
The great
amount of plundering of the country makes
most people hate the very name of a soldier. A great number of people
in Radnorshire and Montgomeryshire,
who call themselves
neutrals, have armed
themselves to withstand
plundering... The
common people would be
gained to our side, if there
were some severe declaration
by Parliament against
plundering, and against
all commanders who
neglect to punish those
responsible.
(2)
Harry Brych, letter to T. Ormonde (December, 1645)
Thomas Myddelton's men are as contemptible an enemy as ever
we had in Ireland... At Hawarden parish church his men tore up prayer
books, removed the communion rails and dragged the altar into the
centre of the nave.
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