Sir Bevil Grenville

Sir Bevil Grenville, 1596-1643

Grandson of the Elizabethan hero Sir Richard Grenville, captain of the Revenge, Bevil Grenville inherited large estates in Cornwall and represented Cornwall in Parliament from 1621. Grenville actively supported Sir John Eliot in his opposition to the policies of the Duke of Buckingham, which alienated him from his father Sir Bernard Grenville. After Eliot's death in prison in 1632, however, Grenville withdrew from politics and was reconciled with his father shortly before Sir Bernard's death in 1636. He became an ardent Royalist and raised a troop of horse to fight in the Bishops Wars. Grenville served in the King's bodyguard and was knighted in July 1639.

Grenville responded to the King's Commission of Array in 1642 and raised an army of Cornish infantrymen which, under his leadership, became one of the most effective Royalist units in the early campaigns of the English Civil War. In the autumn of 1642, Grenville's endorsement of Sir Ralph Hopton as Royalist commander in Cornwall ensured the loyalty of the Cornish troops.

Grenville's infantry fought for Hopton in a series of battles in south-western England during 1642-3. At the battle of Braddock Down in January 1643, Grenville led them in an uphill charge that won the battle for the Royalists. Hopton advanced into Devon but was surprised by Parliamentarian forces at Sourton Down in April 1643. Although the Royalists were routed, Grenville made a stand that saved their army from complete destruction. The Earl of Stamford then led a Parliamentarian invasion of Cornwall in May 1643 and took up a strong defensive position at Stratton. Grenville's knowledge of the local terrain enabled Hopton to mount a surprise dawn attack on Stamford's position. After a desperate struggle to reach the hilltop, the Royalists were victorious and the Parliamentarians were driven out of Cornwall.

In the summer of 1643, the Cornish army joined forces with a detachment from Oxford under the command of the Marquis of Hertford and Prince Maurice. The combined Royalist army marched eastwards against Sir William Waller, who occupied a commanding position at Lansdown Hill near Bath. Grenville's Cornish infantry stood firm when the Royalist cavalry was routed in the early stages of the battle, then Grenville led a counter-attack against the Parliamentarian position at the top of the hill. The Cornishmen succeeded in gaining the hilltop and forcing Waller to withdraw, but during the attack Grenville was wounded by a halberd blow to the head. He died from his wound the following day. Grenville's loss was a serious blow to the morale of the Cornish army, many of whom were killed in Prince Rupert's bloody assault on Bristol a few weeks after Lansdown.

Grenville married Grace Smith (d. 1647), daughter of Sir George Smith of Madford in Devon, in November 1618. They had seven sons and five daughters. Their eldest surviving son, John Grenville, was a noted Royalist who became first Earl of Bath after the Restoration.

The descendants of William and Elizabeth Tuttle, who came from old to New England in 1635, and settled in New Haven in 1639, with numerous biographical notes and sketches : also, some account of the descendants of John Tuttle, of Ipswich; and Henry Tuthill, of Hingham, Mass. (1883)

http://www.archive.org/stream/descendantsofwil01tutt#page/n55/mode/2up

1. Joan Tothill, m. John, s. of Richard and Joan (Whitlegh) Hulse. 1. Arthur Grenville, d. 1653; Capt.; m. Dorothy, dau. of Richard Boyle, Lord Archbishop of Tuam. She m. (2) Henry Turner, Sergt. Major under Lord Inchinquin in Ireland. 2. Sir Nicholas. 3. Richard, m. Jane Fortescue, dau. of John and gr. dau. of Sir Louis Forescue, one of the Barons of the xchequer temp. Hen. VIII. 1. Richard of Keneden and Efford, Esq., living in 1620; m. Anne Sutcliffe, only dau. of Dr. Matthew Sutcliffe founder of the College at Chelsea and over forty years dean of Exeter. 1. Matthew, d. 1656; m. Sabina Clifford and had dau. Anne, m. 1655, Rev. John Tyndal, D. D. Margaret Whitleigh, sister of Joan, m. Sir Roger Grenville of Stow, High Sheriff of Cornwall, 2, Henr. VIII., d. 1524; had 3 ss 6 daus., of whom Sir Richard Grenville, Kt. 1532; High Sheriff of Devon 1533; Marshal of Calais; m. Matilda Beavil, and among others: Roger Grenville, Kt., Esq. of the body of Hen. VIII.; drowned in life time of his father in the Rose Frigate off Portsmouth; m. Thomasine Cole and had; Sir Richard Grenville of Stow, a gallant naval commander; served in army in Hungary with high repute; High Sheriff of Cornwall 1578; fitted out a colony and sailed for Florida 1583 where he left 100 men; made many successful voyages; d. in battle with the Spaniards; m. Mary St. Leger and had; Bernard Grenville, Kt., High Sheriff of Cornwall 1596; M. P. and Kt.; d. 1636; m. Elizabeth Beavil and had; Sir BEVIL GRENVILLE, Kt.; called "the Bayard of England," b. 1595; fell at Lansdown with a patent from Chas. I. in his pocket for the Earldom of Bath; m. GRACE, dau. of Sir George SMITH of Exeter and sister of the mother of George Monk, Duke of Albermarle; had; 1. Bernard Grenville, groom of the bedchamber to Chas. II.; was father of Bernard Grenville and grandfather of Mary Grenville, b. 1700; d. 1788; m. 1717 Alex. Pendaryes of Cornwall; (2) 1743 Mr. Delany. Her autobiagraphy, edited by Sarah Chauncey Woolsey [8], published 1879. 2. Sir John Grenville, Earl of Bath, attended Chas. II. in all his wanderings abroad; d. 1701; m. Jane Wyche and had Grace Grenville, m. Sir George Cartaret.

Sources

• "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JM57-T7W : 11 February 2018, Bevell Greynvyle, 23 Mar 1595); citing KILKHAMPTON,CORNWALL,ENGLAND, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 897,356.

Links

• http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/grenville-bevil.htm

Wikipedia

• Battle of Lansdowne
• Bevil Grenville
• Sir Bevil Grenville's Monument

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W.J.E.W. Created Profile 21st Nov 2023 Sir Bevil Grenville (1596–1643) lord of the manors of Bideford in Devon and Stowe, Kilkhampton in Cornwall. His eldest daughter Elizabeth Grenville was sister of John Grenville, 1st Earl of Bath.[7] By his wife he had 4 sons and 6 daughters: