John Rosworm or Rosworme (''fl.'' 1630 – 1660) was a Dutch or German

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

and military

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

who served the Parliamentarian cause during 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 ...

Life

After serving throughout

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, Rosworm settled in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in 1642 where the town engaged him on a £ 30, six-month

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

to lead their defence against 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 ...

Lord Strange Baron Strange is a title which has been created four times in the Peerage of England. Two creations, one in 1295 and another in 1326, had only one holder each, upon whose deaths they became extinct. Two of the creations, that of 1299 and that ...

. Despite an approach from Strange to defect to the Royalists, Rosworm completed the town's makeshift

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

s on 23 September 1642. The

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

began the following day and the town was defended until Strange's withdrawal on 1 October. Rosworm marshalled a counter-attack against the Royalists, capturing

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

as a base for Parliamentarian forces in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. Now made lieutenant colonel in Ralph Ashton's

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

, he organised the fortification of Preston, following its capture on 9 February 1643. His original contract with Manchester having ended, he was retained on an annual salary of £60, forgoing his

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

from Ashton and committing himself to the

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

in Manchester, improving its fortification. During service in the capture of

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

, Rosworm claimed that Colonel Richard Holland had endangered his safety but Holland escaped censure owing to his strong political influence. A bitter enmity lingered between the two men. Rosworm was in action in the assault on

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

and in the fortification of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

before returning to Manchester, then under threat of attack by the

William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne, KG, KB, PC (25 December 1676), who after 1665 styled himself as Prince William Cavendish, was an English courtier and supporter of the arts. He was a renowned horse breeder, as well as being ...

. Rosworm's strategy included defences as far afield as

Blackstone Edge Blackstone Edge ( ) is a gritstone escarpment at above sea level in the Pennine hills surrounded by moorland on the boundary between Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire in England. History Crossing the escarpment is Blackstone Edge Long C ...

and Blackgate in the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of highland, uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "Vertebral column, backbone of England" because of its length and position, the ra ...

above Manchester. Newcastle thought better of his plan. Rosworm subsequently fought with Sir

Thomas Fairfax Sir Thomas Fairfax (17 January 1612 – 12 November 1671) was an English army officer and politician who commanded the New Model Army from 1645 to 1650 during the English Civil War. Because of his dark hair, he was known as "Black Tom" to his l ...

Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture ...

and Sir

John Meldrum Sir John Meldrum ( – died 1645) was a soldier of Scottish origin who spent 36 years in the service of the Stuart kings of Scotland, England and Ireland, James VI and I and Charles I. He was granted lands in County Fermanagh as a result o ...

at Liverpool as director of the siege to regain the town. Liverpool was won by Parliament on 1 November 1644. The years 1644 and 1645 saw renewed approaches from the Royalist faction, friction with Holland and increasing pay arrears. The Manchester townspeople petitioned parliament to help Rosworm's financial situation but to no avail. By 1648, Rosworm was in financially straitened circumstances and he visited

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to press his cause. Over the next decade he enjoyed sporadic and reluctant reward from the people of Manchester, though he had firmly established his family there. In reply to his repeated petitions of parliament, in 1651, he was rewarded with a post in New Yarmouth to oversee preparations for defence against feared enemy landings. He was subsequently appointed engineer-general for England. After being appointed engineer-general of the army on 19 July 1659, there is no further record of him. It is thought that he died in exile following the Restoration.

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosworm, John Roundheads Dutch military engineers German military engineers British military engineers Year of birth missing Year of death missing 17th-century German engineers