The Booth Rising

George Booth was nominated to the Barebones Parliament for Cheshire in 1653 and was elected MP for Cheshire in the First Protectorate Parliament in 1654 and in the Second Protectorate Parliament in 1656. In 1655 he was appointed military commissioner for Cheshire and treasurer at war. He was one of the excluded members who tried and failed to regain their seats in the restored Rump Parliament after the fall of Richard Cromwell in 1659. He had for some time been regarded by the Royalists as a well-wisher to their cause, and was described to the King in May 1659 (possibly by Roger Whitley) as "very considerable in his county, a Presbyterian in opinion, yet so moral a man ... I think Your Majesty may safely [rely] on him and his promises which are considerable and hearty".

Roger Whitley (1618 – 17 July 1697) was a royalist officer in the English Civil War, attaining the rank of Major General (2nd in command of their forces in the battle for the Isle of Anglesey) and was closely involved throughout the 1650s in plans for a royalist uprising against the Interregnum and Protectorate regimes. He had accompanied the young King Charles II into exile and carried the kings orders into Cheshire on the rising of forces, under George Booth, at the eve of the Restoration.

An uprising was arranged for 5 August 1659 in several districts, and Booth received a commission from Charles II to assume command of the revolutionary forces in Lancashire, Cheshire, and north Wales. After gaining control of Chester on the 19th, he issued a proclamation declaring that "arms had been taken up in vindication of the freedom of Parliament, of the known laws, liberty and property", and then marched towards York. The plot, however, was known to John Thurloe. Having been foiled in other parts of the country, Lambert's advancing forces defeated Booth's men at the Battle of Winnington Bridge near Northwich. Booth himself escaped disguised as a woman, but was discovered at Newport Pagnell on the 23rd whilst having a shave, and was imprisoned in the Tower of London.

However, Booth was soon liberated and returned to his seat in the Convention Parliament in 1660. He was one of the twelve members deputed to carry the message of the House of Commons to Charles II at The Hague.

Cromwell Becomes Unpopular
On 20 April 1653, Cromwell dismissed the Rump Parliament by force, setting up a short-lived nominated assembly known as Barebone's Parliament: named after one of its members: Praise-God Barebone. The members were chosen by Cromwell and the Army Council instead of being elected, and it soon became known as Barebone's Parliament to its many critics, Barebone proving a likely target due to his name and his apparently humble origins.

After the dissolution of the Barebones Parliament, John Lambert put forward a new constitution known as the Instrument of Government, closely modelled on the Heads of Proposals. It made Cromwell Lord Protector for life to undertake "the chief magistracy and the administration of government". Cromwell was sworn in as Lord Protector on 16 December 1653, with a ceremony in which he wore plain black clothing, rather than any monarchical regalia. However, from this point on Cromwell signed his name 'Oliver P', the P being an abbreviation for Protector, which was similar to the style of monarchs who used an R to mean Rex or Regina, and it soon became the norm for others to address him as "Your Highness". In 1657, Cromwell was offered the crown by Parliament as part of a revised constitutional settlement, presenting him with a dilemma since he had been "instrumental" in abolishing the monarchy. Cromwell agonised for six weeks over the offer. He was attracted by the prospect of stability it held out, but in a speech on 13 April 1657 he made clear that God's providence had spoken against the office of King: "I would not seek to set up that which Providence hath destroyed and laid in the dust, and I would not build Jericho again". Cromwell was ceremonially re-installed as Lord Protector on 26 June 1657 at Westminster Hall, sitting upon King Edward's Chair, which was moved specially from Westminster Abbey for the occasion. The event in part echoed a coronation, using many of its symbols and regalia, such as a purple ermine-lined robe, a sword of justice and a sceptre (but not a crown or an orb).

Late 20th-century historians re-examined the nature of Cromwell's faith and of his authoritarian regime. Austin Woolrych explored the issue of "dictatorship" in depth, arguing that Cromwell was subject to two conflicting forces: his obligation to the army and his desire to achieve a lasting settlement by winning back the confidence of the nation as a whole. He argued that the dictatorial elements of Cromwell's rule stemmed less from its military origin or the participation of army officers in civil government than from his constant commitment to the interest of the people of God and his conviction that suppressing vice and encouraging virtue constituted the chief end of government. Historians such as John Morrill, Blair Worden, and J. C. Davis have developed this theme, revealing the extent to which Cromwell's writing and speeches are suffused with biblical references, and arguing that his radical actions were driven by his zeal for godly reformation.

On his father's death Richard Cromwell became Lord Protector, but he lacked authority. He attempted to mediate between the army and civil society, and allowed a Parliament to sit which contained a large number of disaffected Presbyterians and Royalists. Suspicions that civilian councillors were intent on supplanting the army were brought to a head by an attempt to prosecute a major-general for actions against a Royalist. The army made a threatening show of force against Richard, and may have had him in detention; he formally renounced power nine months after succeeding: "Richard was never formally deposed or arrested, but allowed to fade away. The Protectorate was treated as having been from the first a mere usurpation". Without a king-like figure, such as Oliver Cromwell, as head of state the government lacked coherence and legitimacy. In July 1660, Richard Cromwell left for France, never to see his wife again. While there, he went by a variety of pseudonyms, including John Clarke. He later travelled around Europe, visiting various European courts. As a visiting Englishman, he was once invited to dine with Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti, who was unaware of who he was. At dinner, the prince questioned Cromwell about affairs in England and observed:


 * "Well, that Oliver, tho' he was a traitor and a villain, was a brave man, had great parts, great courage, and was worthy to command; but that Richard, that coxcomb and poltroon, was surely the basest fellow alive; what is become of that fool?"

Cromwell replied, "He was betrayed by those he most trusted, and who had been most obliged by his father".

Whitley and Mordaunt
John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt, (1626-75) was a Royalist conspirator involved in several plots against the Commonwealth and Protectorate governments. Charles II appointed Mordaunt to the Great Trust and Commission, a secret organisation charged with fomenting a Royalist-Presbyterian uprising to bring about the Restoration after the death of Oliver Cromwell in September 1658.

It is impossible to say whether Whitley's memorandum had any direct influence on Mordaunt's plans, but the two men were closely associated and their views in close accord. The memorandum consists of four parts: suggested heads for a royal declaration, a discussion of the possibilities of foreign aid, an analysis of the problems and methods of organizing a successful rising, and, finally, long lists of those whose services could be used. Many of the names are endorsed as being already active, and Whitley added suggestions as to the commissions and duties with which they could be entrusted.

Under Mordaunt's vigorous leadership, the conspiracy gathered momentum during the summer of 1659. Leading members of the Trust, including Mordaunt, Sir John Grenville, Lord Willoughby and Edward Massie, met in London on 9 July to finalise plans for the uprising, which was scheduled to take place on 1 August. However, the Commonwealth government was fully aware that a conspiracy was afoot. Cromwell's spymaster John Thurloe was dismissed after Richard's abdication, but Thurloe's predecessor Thomas Scot was re-appointed director of intelligence in May 1659. Despite the exposure of the Royalist informant Sir Richard Willys in early July, Scot's agents infiltrated the conspiracy. From mid-July, prominent Royalists and Presbyterians were detained on suspicion of involvement in the plot. The Council of State ordered the mobilisation of the militia and the reinforcement of strategic garrisons around the country. A squadron of warships put to sea to guard the Channel against the possibility of a supporting Royalist invasion from the Continent.

The Cheshire Campaign
On 30 July, the Sealed Knot sent out messengers warning the conspirators that the situation was hopeless and that the uprising should be abandoned. The following day, Massie was arrested, leading to the collapse of the conspiracy in Gloucestershire and the West. All over the country, small bands of Royalists preparing for the regional uprisings were intercepted and arrested. Mordaunt himself decided to lie low when a number of his accomplices were arrested in Surrey. On the appointed day, the only partially successful uprising occurred in Lancashire, Cheshire, and North Wales under the overall command of Sir George Booth.

Sources and Links

 * George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer;
 * John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt;
 * Booth's Uprising, 1659 at the BCW Project;
 * BOOTH'S RISING OF 1659 by J. R Jones;
 * Roger Whitley on Wikpedia;
 * Roger Whitley on the History of Parliament site;
 * Roger Whitley's Diary practically continuous from 1684 to 1697;
 * Richard Cromwell;
 * The House of Cromwell;