James Tuchet, 3rd Earl of Castlehaven (c. 1612 - 11 October 1684) was the son of Mervyn Tuchet, 2nd Earl of Castlehaven and his first wife, Elizabeth Barnham (1592 - c. 1622). Castlehaven played a prominent role in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms that took place in the middle of the 17th century, and was particularly active in the conflicts in Ireland at this time.
He succeeded to the Irish earldom of Castlehaven and Baron Audley of Orier on 14 May 1631, when his father was attainted and beheaded. Most of his estates in England were taken over by others.
He was created Baron Audley of Hely with remainder "to his heirs forever" on 3 June 1633, with the place and precedency of George, his grandfather, formerly Baron Audley, in an effort to nullify his father's attainder. However, this was considered insufficient, legally, until a bill was passed by Parliament in 1678 allowing him to inherit the original Barony of Audley.
War in Ireland
Castlehaven was involved in the defence of Ireland during the Confederate Wars of the 1640s and in the subsequent Cromwellian invasion. During the outbreak of the Irish uprising in 1641–42, Castlehaven volunteered to help suppress the Irish rebels, but because he was a Catholic he was not trusted to take command. Shortly afterwards, he was arrested and detained at Dublin Castle. Fearing that he would meet the same fate as the Earl of Strafford, Tuchet manage to escape 27 September, with the help of a friend and fled south into the Wicklow Mountains. His intention was 'to gain a passage by Wexford into France, and from thence into England;’ but coming to Kilkenny, the headquarters of the confederate Catholics, he was persuaded to accept a command in the army, and was appointed general of horse under Sir Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara. It was believed among the northern Irish that his escape was a contrivance on the part of the Earl of Ormonde 'to work an understanding' between him and his kindred in rebellion, Castlehaven being related to him through the marriage of his sister with Edmund Roe Butler.[1]
Even though he considered himself English, he was appointed a member of the 25-strong Supreme council of the Confederation of Kilkenny. In 1644 the Irish Confederate Supreme Council decided to vote for Castlehaven as the commander of a 6,000-strong expedition force in a push against the Ulster-Scottish army under Robert Monro. The campaign under Castlehaven proved indecisive, the large army being mostly used to defend the stronghold of Charlemont. Historians generally consider the expedition to have been a wasted opportunity: as a result of this, Owen Roe O'Neill considered Castlehaven to be incompetent and Thomas Preston also developed a dislike of him. (Castlehaven somewhat unconvincingly later blamed O'Neill for the failure of the expedition). However, Castlehaven was not entirely lacking in military ability. Apart from Owen Roe O'Neill, he proved to be the only Irish Confederate commander capable of winning conventional set-piece battles. In 1643 he surprised and routed hundreds of Inchiquin's men in county Cork at the battle of Cloughleagh. In 1650 he won a second small (though inconsequential) victory over an English Parliamentarian force during the battle of Tecroghan with some aid from Ulick Burke. The great weakness of Castlehaven was that he was largely an amateur, lacking the patience to conduct sieges and somewhat touchy- it is said that some referred to him as Tiarna Beag or 'Little Lord.'[2] The anonymous author of the Aphorismical Discovery, a contemporary account of events during the Confederate wars in Ireland, contemptuously referred to Castlehaven as the 'pigmeyan Goliath of Clanricarde.'[3]
Later years
In 1647 he, like many other Catholic nobles, moved to France and was present at Prince Rupert's siege of Landrécy, the capital of Hainault. He went back to Ireland, after seeing the Prince of Wales in Paris, to hold several commands in Leinster, Munster, and Clare but was unable to counter the actions of Cromwell and his son-in-law, Ireton. He was able to return to the continent in April 1652 [4] to further his military career serving Prince de Condé in the Fronde, Charles II, and the Spanish Crown.[5] He participated in the battles of Rocroy, Cambrai, Seneffe, Maestricht, Charleroi and Mons[4]
Castlehaven wrote his memoirs in 1681[6] in response to the hysteria of the Popish Plot. Like all Catholic peers, he had been barred from the House of Lords (where he sat as Baron Audley) by the Test Act 1678,[7] much to the regret of the Protestant peers, who held him in high regard. He took his leave on 30 November 1678, with a speech expressing his duty to the Crown, and his concern for the peace and welfare of the Kingdom.[8] His fellow peers, knowing him to be in financial difficulty, wrote to Charles II recommending Castlehaven to his bounty.[8]
Marriage and issue
He married twice, first Elizabeth Brydges (died March 1678/9) in Kilkenny,[4] daughter of Grey Brydges, 5th Baron Chandos and of his wife Lady Anne Stanley (1580–1647), who married the 2nd Earl of Castlehaven after Lord Chandos' death. (Anne Stanley was thus both the 3rd Earl's stepmother, and his mother-in-law.). Elisabeth was buried at St Martin-in-the-Fields.[4] He married secondly, about 19 June 1679, Elizabeth Graves (died 1720).[9]
He died without issue on 11 October 1684, at Kilcash Castle, County Tipperary, Ireland and was succeeded in the earldom by his youngest brother Mervyn. Mervyn's older brother George was passed over by virtue of being a Benedictine monk.
^John T. Gilbert, A Contemporary History of Affairs in Ireland 1641-1652 (Dublin 1879); Vol 2, p. 167
^ abcdCokayne, George Edward (1913). "Castlehaven". In Vicary Gibbs (ed.). The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant;(PDF). pp. 87–88. ISBN0-904387-82-8. Retrieved 6 January 2020. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"James Touchet, 3rd Earl of Castlehaven, c.1612-84". British Civil Wars, Commonwealth and Protectorate. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
^James Touchet, 1820 "The Memoirs of James Lord Audley Earl of Castlehaven, his engagements and carriage in the wars of Ireland, from the year 1642 to the year 1651"
james, tuchet, earl, castlehaven, 1612, october, 1684, mervyn, tuchet, earl, castlehaven, first, wife, elizabeth, barnham, 1592, 1622, castlehaven, played, prominent, role, wars, three, kingdoms, that, took, place, middle, 17th, century, particularly, active, . James Tuchet 3rd Earl of Castlehaven c 1612 11 October 1684 was the son of Mervyn Tuchet 2nd Earl of Castlehaven and his first wife Elizabeth Barnham 1592 c 1622 Castlehaven played a prominent role in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms that took place in the middle of the 17th century and was particularly active in the conflicts in Ireland at this time The Right HonourableThe Earl of CastlehavenThe 3rd Earl of CastlehavenOther namesBaron Audley of OrierKnown forWars of the Three KingdomsBornc 1612Died 1684 10 11 11 October 1684Kilcash Castle County Tipperary IrelandNationalityEnglish IrishSpouse s Elizabeth Brydges died 1678 wbr Elizabeth Graves m 1679 wbr Parents Mervyn Tuchet Elizabeth Barnham Contents 1 Titles 2 War in Ireland 3 Later years 4 Marriage and issue 5 References 6 SourcesTitles EditHe succeeded to the Irish earldom of Castlehaven and Baron Audley of Orier on 14 May 1631 when his father was attainted and beheaded Most of his estates in England were taken over by others He was created Baron Audley of Hely with remainder to his heirs forever on 3 June 1633 with the place and precedency of George his grandfather formerly Baron Audley in an effort to nullify his father s attainder However this was considered insufficient legally until a bill was passed by Parliament in 1678 allowing him to inherit the original Barony of Audley War in Ireland EditCastlehaven was involved in the defence of Ireland during the Confederate Wars of the 1640s and in the subsequent Cromwellian invasion During the outbreak of the Irish uprising in 1641 42 Castlehaven volunteered to help suppress the Irish rebels but because he was a Catholic he was not trusted to take command Shortly afterwards he was arrested and detained at Dublin Castle Fearing that he would meet the same fate as the Earl of Strafford Tuchet manage to escape 27 September with the help of a friend and fled south into the Wicklow Mountains His intention was to gain a passage by Wexford into France and from thence into England but coming to Kilkenny the headquarters of the confederate Catholics he was persuaded to accept a command in the army and was appointed general of horse under Sir Thomas Preston 1st Viscount Tara It was believed among the northern Irish that his escape was a contrivance on the part of the Earl of Ormonde to work an understanding between him and his kindred in rebellion Castlehaven being related to him through the marriage of his sister with Edmund Roe Butler 1 Even though he considered himself English he was appointed a member of the 25 strong Supreme council of the Confederation of Kilkenny In 1644 the Irish Confederate Supreme Council decided to vote for Castlehaven as the commander of a 6 000 strong expedition force in a push against the Ulster Scottish army under Robert Monro The campaign under Castlehaven proved indecisive the large army being mostly used to defend the stronghold of Charlemont Historians generally consider the expedition to have been a wasted opportunity as a result of this Owen Roe O Neill considered Castlehaven to be incompetent and Thomas Preston also developed a dislike of him Castlehaven somewhat unconvincingly later blamed O Neill for the failure of the expedition However Castlehaven was not entirely lacking in military ability Apart from Owen Roe O Neill he proved to be the only Irish Confederate commander capable of winning conventional set piece battles In 1643 he surprised and routed hundreds of Inchiquin s men in county Cork at the battle of Cloughleagh In 1650 he won a second small though inconsequential victory over an English Parliamentarian force during the battle of Tecroghan with some aid from Ulick Burke The great weakness of Castlehaven was that he was largely an amateur lacking the patience to conduct sieges and somewhat touchy it is said that some referred to him as Tiarna Beag or Little Lord 2 The anonymous author of the Aphorismical Discovery a contemporary account of events during the Confederate wars in Ireland contemptuously referred to Castlehaven as the pigmeyan Goliath of Clanricarde 3 Later years EditIn 1647 he like many other Catholic nobles moved to France and was present at Prince Rupert s siege of Landrecy the capital of Hainault He went back to Ireland after seeing the Prince of Wales in Paris to hold several commands in Leinster Munster and Clare but was unable to counter the actions of Cromwell and his son in law Ireton He was able to return to the continent in April 1652 4 to further his military career serving Prince de Conde in the Fronde Charles II and the Spanish Crown 5 He participated in the battles of Rocroy Cambrai Seneffe Maestricht Charleroi and Mons 4 Castlehaven wrote his memoirs in 1681 6 in response to the hysteria of the Popish Plot Like all Catholic peers he had been barred from the House of Lords where he sat as Baron Audley by the Test Act 1678 7 much to the regret of the Protestant peers who held him in high regard He took his leave on 30 November 1678 with a speech expressing his duty to the Crown and his concern for the peace and welfare of the Kingdom 8 His fellow peers knowing him to be in financial difficulty wrote to Charles II recommending Castlehaven to his bounty 8 Marriage and issue EditHe married twice first Elizabeth Brydges died March 1678 9 in Kilkenny 4 daughter of Grey Brydges 5th Baron Chandos and of his wife Lady Anne Stanley 1580 1647 who married the 2nd Earl of Castlehaven after Lord Chandos death Anne Stanley was thus both the 3rd Earl s stepmother and his mother in law Elisabeth was buried at St Martin in the Fields 4 He married secondly about 19 June 1679 Elizabeth Graves died 1720 9 He died without issue on 11 October 1684 at Kilcash Castle County Tipperary Ireland and was succeeded in the earldom by his youngest brother Mervyn Mervyn s older brother George was passed over by virtue of being a Benedictine monk References Edit Dunlop 1899 Padraig Lenihan Con Cath pg 188 John T Gilbert A Contemporary History of Affairs in Ireland 1641 1652 Dublin 1879 Vol 2 p 167 a b c d Cokayne George Edward 1913 Castlehaven In Vicary Gibbs ed The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom Extant Extinct or Dormant PDF pp 87 88 ISBN 0 904387 82 8 Retrieved 6 January 2020 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a work ignored help CS1 maint location missing publisher link James Touchet 3rd Earl of Castlehaven c 1612 84 British Civil Wars Commonwealth and Protectorate Retrieved 6 January 2020 James Touchet 1820 The Memoirs of James Lord Audley Earl of Castlehaven his engagements and carriage in the wars of Ireland from the year 1642 to the year 1651 Kenyon J P The Popish Plot 2nd Edition Phoenix Press 2000 p 311 a b Kenyon p 147 Elizabeth Graves Peerage The Retrieved 6 January 2020 Attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Dunlop Robert 1899 Touchet James 1617 1684 In Lee Sidney ed Dictionary of National Biography Vol 57 London Smith Elder amp Co Sources EditWebb Alfred 1878 Touchet James Earl of Castlehaven A Compendium of Irish Biography Dublin M H Gill amp son O Hannrachain Tadhg 2002 Catholic Reformation in Ireland Oxford Oxford University press ISBN 0 19 820891 X Biography Leigh Rayment s Peerage Pages self published source better source needed Peerage of IrelandPreceded byMervyn Tuchet Earl of Castlehaven1631 1684 Succeeded byMervyn TuchetPeerage of EnglandPreceded byMervyn Tuchetforfeit 1631 Baron Audley1678 1684 Succeeded byMervyn TuchetNew creation Baron Audley of Hely1633 1684 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title James Tuchet 3rd Earl of Castlehaven amp oldid 1129671628, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
