The Jacobite uprising in Cornwall of 1715 was the last uprising against the

British Crown The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...

to take place in the county of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

Background

On 1 August 1714, Queen Anne died, George,

Elector of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...

, the son of the

Electress Sophia Sophia of Hanover (born Princess Sophia of the Palatinate; 14 October 1630 – 8 June 1714) was the Electress of Hanover by marriage to Elector Ernest Augustus and later the heiress presumptive to the thrones of England and Scotland (later Great ...

, granddaughter of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

(1566–1625) was proclaimed King under the Act of Settlement of 1701. However, James Stuart, the surviving legitimate son of

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

who had been deposed in Glorious Revolution of 1688, believed he had a stronger claim to

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differen ...

. Major riots broke out across Great Britain at the time of the coronation of George I. This show of feeling prompted James Stuart, who subsequently became known as the Old Pretender, to believe he had enough support to use military force to claim the British throne.

Cornish support

The main leaders of the Jacobite uprising in Cornwall were the

High Tories In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, High Toryism is the old traditionalist conservatism which is in line with the Toryism originating in the 17th century. High Tories and their worldview are sometimes at odds with the modernising elements of the ...

James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde James FitzJames Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, (1665–1745) was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the third of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom of Ormond. Like his grandfather, the 1st Duke, he was raised as a Protes ...

and

Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (; 16 September 1678 – 12 December 1751) was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tories, and supported the Church of England politically des ...

. Part of their scheme was to capture

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal c ...

and

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

. With these important places in the hands of the Jacobites, they hoped that other smaller towns would join the cause. Ormonde had implicit confidence in

Colonel Maclean Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel wa ...

, who had been sent to Devon and Cornwall to visit prominent members of the Tory party, and others likely to support the Pretender's cause. It turned out that Maclean was probably a spy who supplied the Ministry with names of Jacobite adherents, and measures were taken to prevent their committing mischief or folly. On 22 September,

John Anstis John Anstis (29 August 1669 – 4 March 1744) was an English officer of arms, antiquarian and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1702 and 1722. He rose to the highest heraldic office in England and became Garter King of Arms ...

, MP for Launceston, was arrested for plotting an uprising and on 6 October Sir Richard Vyvyan of Trelowarren (and Trewan Hall,

St Columb Major St Columb Major is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Often referred to locally as ''St Columb'', it is approximately southwest of Wadebridge and east of Newquay Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay ...

), MP for Cornwall and the most influential Jacobite in the West, was taken and sent to London in the custody of a messenger. On 7 October Mr James Paynter of Trekenning, proclaimed the Pretender in the market square at

in Cornwall. At this time the representative of the Government in Cornwall was Hugh Boscawen, of Tregothnan. This gentleman called out the

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non- professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

and took measures which effectively put an end to any attempt at a rising. James Paynter and his servant along with fellow rebel, Henry Darr (also of St Columb) fled to London and remained undiscovered for some time. Paynter's servant at this time was sending letters to a sweetheart at St Columb and it seems that the postmaster suspected that the letter came from one of the suspects and inspecting the letter found that it come from London. Immediately warrants were ordered but they denied their names until eventually a messenger was sent to London who knew them particularly well and they were found to be the same persons. Some time later Paynter and his fellow rebels were sent to

Newgate Newgate was one of the historic seven gates of the London Wall around the City of London and one of the six which date back to Roman times. Newgate lay on the west side of the wall and the road issuing from it headed over the River Fleet to M ...

to be tried for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. Paynter claimed to be a judge in Cornwall, so he was tried at Launceston. Here Henry Darr died in the prison. Eventually Paynter was acquitted by a packed Jacobite jury. Following the release of the rebels, friends appeared with white

cockade A cockade is a knot of ribbons, or other circular- or oval-shaped symbol of distinctive colours which is usually worn on a hat or cap. Eighteenth century In the 18th and 19th centuries, coloured cockades were used in Europe to show the allegia ...

s in their hats (a Jacobite symbol), as a token of joy they were welcomed with 'bonfire and ball' all the way to

Lands End Land's End ( kw, Penn an Wlas or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...

Proclamation at St Columb

In October 1716, the names associated with the proclamation of James III at St Columb were as follows: James Paynter, jun.; Thomas Bishop, gent.; Henry Darr, (bayliff and inn keeper); Anthony Hoskin, (pewterer); Francis Brewer, jun.; Richard Whitford, (barber); John Angove, (clothier); Richard Meter, (taylor).''London Gazette'' No 5371 8–11 According to Henry Jenner, it seems probable that the postmaster who opened the letter from James Paynter's servant was no other than the celebrated

Ralph Allen Ralph Allen (1693 – 29 June 1764) was an entrepreneur and philanthropist, who was notable for his reforms to the British postal system. Allen was born in Cornwall but moved to Bath to work in the post office, becoming the postmaster at ...

, afterwards of Bath. He certainly was at St Columb

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

at that time and his distinguishing himself by his scrupulous performance may have been the beginning of his fortunes.

In fiction

* Mentions the events in Cornwall. * A fictional account based on historical facts of the Jacobite rising in Cornwall. *Kearsley, Susanna (2011). ''The Rose Garden''. Allison and Busby. A fictional romance based on the Cornish part in the Jacobite uprising.

References

External links

PDF file of 'The Jacobite' Vol 2 No 5. 1923
Gives an account of the declaration at St Columb {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobite Uprising in Cornwall of 1715 1715 in Great Britain Jacobite rising of 1715 Stuart England History of Cornwall Military history of Cornwall Cornish Jacobites 1715 in England 18th century in Cornwall