Sir Edward Ford (22 April 1605 – 3 September 1670), was a member of the

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

and

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

, who fought for the Royalists in the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities in a personal union un ...

. In his " History of the Rebellion", Clarendon judged that while 'a man of honesty and courage', Ford lacked experience of war and was an ineffectual soldier. However, he proved a reliable and trustworthy agent during negotiations between Charles I and

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in the period leading up to the 1648

Second English Civil War The Second English Civil War took place between February and August 1648 in Kingdom of England, England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639–1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which include the 164 ...

Personal details

Edward Ford was born on the family estates at Uppark, near

Harting Harting is a civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is situated on the northern flank of the South Downs, around southeast of Petersfield in Hampshire. It comprises the village of South Harting and the hamlets of Ea ...

, eldest son of Sir William Ford (1570- 1653) and Anna Carell (1575-1658). He had an elder sister Magdalen (1604-?), and two younger brothers, John (1606-1681) and William (1608-?). Sometime before 1634 he married Sarah Ireton, sister of

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

radical and future Parliamentarian general

Henry Ireton Henry Ireton (baptised 3 November 1611; died 26 November 1651) was an English general in the Parliamentarian army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and a son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell. He died of disease outside Limerick in November 165 ...

. They had one surviving daughter Katherine (1634 to 1682).

Career

He became a gentleman-commoner of

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, in 1621, but left the university without taking a degree. Charles I gave him a colonel's commission on the outbreak of the war, and in 1642 made him High Sheriff of Sussex. According to Vicars he offered his majesty "a thousand men, and to undertake the conquest of Sussex, though sixty miles in length." He began to raise forces accordingly, and on 18 November 1642 the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

ordered him to be apprehended. After previously capturing the city of Chichester for the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

, on the first week of December 1642 on Muster Green in

Haywards Heath Haywards Heath ( ) is a town in West Sussex, England, south of London, north of Brighton, south of Gatwick Airport and northeast of the county town, Chichester. Nearby towns include Burgess Hill to the southwest, Horsham to the northwest, ...

in Sussex, Ford was the leader of the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

army at the Battle of Muster Green, and lost the battle, whereupon he retreated back through Sussex to

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

. Sir William Waller, after taking

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and

Arundel Castle Arundel Castle is a restored and remodelled medieval castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England. It was established by Roger de Montgomery in the 11th century. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War and then restored in the 18th and earl ...

, besieged Chichester, which Ford surrendered eight days later (29 December) Ford soon afterwards obtained his release by the interest of his wife, Sarah, with her brother, General

. On 4 October 1643 he was knighted by Charles I at

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. Ford commanded a regiment of horse under Lord Hopton, to whom he proposed the recapture of Arundel Castle. Hopton took it after three days' siege (19 December 1643). Ford was left in command by Hopton, with a garrison of above two hundred men and many good officers, but, Clarendon says, he had insufficient experience, although "a man of honour and courage". After a siege of seventeen days the garrison surrendered "at mercy", Ford and Sir Edward Bishop presenting themselves to Sir William Waller on 6 January 1643–4 as hostages for the delivery of the castle, both thus becoming his prisoners for the second time. They were declared by parliament on 9 October 1644 to be incapable of any employment. Ford was imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

, from which in December he escaped. He then retired to the continent. In 1647 the queen, knowing his relationship with Ireton, sent him to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

to join Sir John Berkeley in a futile negotiation with the army. On 12 November 1647 Ford with others was ordered by the House of Commons into safe custody upon suspicion of being privy to the king's escape from

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

. On 21 March 1648/9 parliament ordered that he should pay for his delinquency one full third of the value of his estate. On 9 July 1649 the house made an order for remitting the remainder of his fine and discharging his sequestration. In 1656 Ford was employed, with

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

's encouragement, and at the request of the citizens of

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, in devising an engine for raising the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

water into all the higher streets of the city, a height of ninety-three feet. This he accomplished in a year's time, and at his own expense; and the same "rare engine" was later employed for draining mines and lands. He later, with Thomas Toogood, constructed the water-engine near the Strand Bridge for the neighbourhood. As it obstructed the view from

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza (; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, King Charles II, which la ...

caused it to be demolished; but Ford and Toogood obtained a royal licence to erect other waterworks at

Wapping Wapping () is an area in the borough of Tower Hamlets in London, England. It is in East London and part of the East End. Wapping is on the north bank of the River Thames between Tower Bridge to the west, and Shadwell to the east. This posit ...

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, and between Temple Bar and

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. After the Restoration he invented a mode of coining farthings. Each piece was to differ minutely from another to prevent forgery. He failed in procuring a patent for these in England, but obtained one for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Ford died in Ireland before he could carry out his plans for coins, on 3 September 1670. His body was brought to England, and interred in the family burial-place at

Works

Ford wrote: * ''A Design for bringing a Navigable River from Rickmansworth in Hartfordshire to St. Giles's in the Fields'', London, 1641, with an answer by Sir Walter Roberts, printed the same year, and both reprinted in 1720. Ford's pamphlet is also reprinted in the ''Harleian Miscellany''. * ''Experimented Proposals how the King may have money to pay and maintain his Fleets with ease to his people. London may he rebuilt, and all proprietors satisfied. Money be lent at six percent, on pawns. And the Fishing-Trade set up, which alone is able and sure to enrich us all. And all this without altering, straining, or thwarting any of our Laws or Customes now in use'', London, 1666. To this was added a ''Defence of Bill Credit''. * ''Proposals for maintaining the Fleet and rebuilding London, by bills to be made payable on the taxes to be given to the King by Parliament'', manuscript in

Public Record Office The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was m ...

, "State Papers", Dom. Charles II, vol. clxii. * Letters of intelligence, among the "Clarendon State Papers" in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

at Oxford. He published in 1644 ''Observations upon the Dutch Fishing'', a tract by John Keymer.

Family

Ford's only daughter, Katharine, married first to Alexander Colepeper, son of John Colepeper, 1st Baron Colepeper by his first wife Philippa Snelling. Alexander was born c. 1629 and died without issue: Katharine was granted administration of his estate in 1660. By Katharine's second marriage, to Ralph Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Werke, Up Park became the property of the earls of Tankerville until it was sold in 1745.

References

Sources