Sir Edward Massey, also spelt Massie, () was an English soldier and politician from
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
, who sat in 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 ...
at various times between 1646 and 1674. He fought for
Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
in the
First English Civil War, when he became famous for his defence of
Gloucester. Although he remained loyal during the 1648
Second English Civil War, Massey switched sides following the
Execution of Charles I in January 1649, and served under his son
Charles II during the
Anglo-Scottish war (1650–1652). Badly wounded at
Worcester in September 1651, he was captured but managed to escape, and rejoin the exiled
Stuart court in the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
.
During the
Interregnum
An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...
, he was active in the
Royalist cause, and in 1659 took part in
Booth's Uprising, centred on his home county of Cheshire. After the
Stuart Restoration in May 1660, he was knighted and sat as
MP for
Gloucester until his death. Appointed to the
Privy Council of Ireland
His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...
in 1661, he spent much of his time on his estate at
Abbeyleix, where he died sometime in 1674.
A modern biographer has said of him that "Massey rose from obscurity through a mixture of outstanding qualities of military leadership, courage, sheer luck, and a talent for self-publicity. However, he was also rigid, self-righteous, humourless, and...unable to work with others...character defects that meant he never really scaled the military and political heights".
Early life
Edward Massey was the fifth son of John Massey of Coddington,
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
and his wife Anne Grosvenor, daughter of Richard Grosvenor of Eaton, Cheshire. He may have been a London apprentice before serving in the
Dutch army against the armies of
Philip III of Spain, who ruled the
Spanish Netherlands (see
Dutch Revolt). In 1639, he appears as a captain of pioneers in the army raised by
Charles I of England to fight against the
Scots. At the outbreak of the
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, he was with the King at York, but he soon joined the Parliamentary army.
Parliamentary soldier
As
lieutenant colonel under the
Earl of Stamford
Earl of Stamford was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Henry Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Groby. This Grey family descended through Lord John Grey, of Pirgo, Essex, younger son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dor ...
, Massey became deputy governor of
Gloucester, where he remained till towards the end of the
First Civil War, becoming governor early in 1643. He conducted minor operations against numerous small bodies of Royalists, and conducted the defence of Gloucester against the King's main army, in August 1643, with great steadiness and ability, receiving the thanks of parliament and a grant of £1,000 for his services. In 1644, Massey continued to keep the field and to disperse the local Royalists, and on several occasions, he measured swords with
Prince Rupert. In May 1644, he was made general of the forces of the
Western Association. In 1645, he was defeated by Rupert at the Battle of
Ledbury, he later took the offensive against
Lord Goring and the western Royalists, advanced to the
relief of Taunton, and in the autumn cooperated effectively with
Sir Thomas Fairfax and the
New Model Army in the
Langport campaign.
After taking part in the desultory operations that closed the first war, he was elected
Member of Parliament for
Wootton Bassett.
Royalist soldier
Massey then began to take an active part in politics on the
Presbyterian side, and was one of the generals who was impeached by the army on the grounds that they were attempting to revive the Civil War in the Presbyterian interests. He fled England in June 1647 and, though he resumed his seat in the house in 1648, he was again excluded by
Pride's Purge, and after a short imprisonment escaped to
Holland. Thence, taking the side of Royalists openly and definitely. Like many other Presbyterians, he accompanied
Charles II to
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
.
He fought against Cromwell's army at the bridge of
Stirling
Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
and
Inverkeithing, and commanded the advanced guard of the Royalist army in the invasion of England in 1651. It was hoped that Massey's influence would win over the towns of the Severn valley to the cause of the King, and the march of the army on
Worcester was partly inspired by this expectation. At the
Battle of Worcester, he was seriously wounded, and when Massey realised that his wounds were dangerously slowing King Charles II down
during his escape, he persuaded Charles to continue without him, although the king was reluctant to leave him.
Massey was arrested and imprisoned in the
Tower of London. He again managed to escape to
Holland. While negotiating with the English Presbyterians for the restoration of Charles, he visited England twice, in 1654 and 1656. He was arrested in England for his part in
Booth's Uprising in 1659, but was able to escape for the third time. After his escape, while hiding in London, he encouraged the discontent that led to the soldiers' mutiny over pay on 1 February 1660.
Restoration
In 1660, Massey was elected MP for
Gloucester in the
Convention Parliament, and was active in preparing for Charles's return. He was awarded a knighthood on 27 May 1660 and a grant of £3,000. In 1661, he was re-elected MP for Gloucester in the
Cavalier Parliament. The rest of his life was spent in politics, and occasionally in military and administrative business.
He was unmarried, and died in 1674 at
Abbeyleix in Ireland, where he had been granted the manor .
[ cites: Grey, ii. 119, 385-6; Portland mss. BL Loan 29/83, Strettell to Harley, 5 Dec. 1674.] He was a close friend of the leading judge Sir Jerome Alexander, another Englishman who had settled in Ireland; Alexander at his death in 1670 left Massey a number of valuables, such as "my cane with the silver head of a rhinoceros".[Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' London John Murray 1926 Vol.1 pp.279-86]
Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Massie, Edward
1610s births
1674 deaths
Parliamentarian military personnel of the English Civil War
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Roundheads
Eleven Members
Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Gloucester
English MPs 1640–1648
English MPs 1661–1679
Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War
People from Cheshire
People from Abbeyleix
Massie family (Virginia)