The Tyldesley Monument—Wigan Lane

(click image for larger version)

Baines [FN1]:

Three years afterwards, when the hopes of the royalists were once more revived by the appearance of Charles II. in the field, despatches were sent by that prince to the earl of Derby, summoning him from the Isle of Man, to join the royal standard. Having landed at the mouth of the Wyre, in the Fylde, at the head of 300 troops, his lordship marched to Preston, whence he sent precepts, requiring the inhabitants of the county to join him at that place in arms. This call was but feebly obeyed ; and when his lordship marched from Preston to the south, the number of his troops did not exceed 600 [1]. Manchester was at that time occupied by the Cheshire and Lancashire militia, and Colonel Lilburne, who had arrived from York with ten troops of dragoons, to join the army of Cromwell, which was daily expected from Scotland, advanced at the head of his forces to Wigan, for the purpose of intercepting the march of the earl of Derby. Having posted his horse in Wigan Lane, and lined the hedges with his infantry, the earl of Derby on his approach (August 25, 1651) was saluted with a galling fire of musketry. Astonished but not dismayed by this reception, the earl halted, and dividing his small force into two bodies of 300 each, he took upon himself the command of the van, giving the rear to Sir Thomas Tyldesley. A charge was then sounded, and this gallant little band twice cut their way through the main body of the enemy, but, attempting it a third time, and being environed and oppressed by unequal numbers, the Lord Wicldrington, Sir Thomas Tyldesley, and many other brave and worthy men, were slain. Sir Robert Throgmorton, knight marshal, was left also for dead upon the field, but, being taken up by a poor woman, and consigned to the care of Sir Roger Bradshaigh, he recovered [2]. After displaying prodigies of valour, the earl of Derby, who was wounded, and had had two horses shot under him, took refuge in a house in the market-place at Wigan, from whence he escaped the same night, and pursued his route towards Worcester, attended by three faithful followers. His lordship, on his departure, left behind him a brass plate with the arms of Man, encircled by the garter, and this plate remained in the same house (the Dog Inn) till the year 1824, when it was sold to the earl of Derby by a descendant of the family that afforded refuge to his noble ancestor. A monumental pillar in Wigan Lane marks the spot upon which the gallant Sir Thomas Tyldesley fell, and records his military achievements in these appropriate terms :— 

An high Act of Gratitude, which conveys the Memory of

SIR THOMAS TYLDESLEY

To posterity,

Who served King Charles the First as Lieutenant-Colonel at Edge-Hill Battle,

After raising Regiments of Horse, Foot, and Dragoons,

And for

The desperate storming of Burton-upon-Trent, over a bridge of 36 arches,

RECEIVED THE HONOUR OF KNIGHTHOOD

He afterwards served in all the wars in great command,

Was Governor of Lichfield,

And followed the fortune of the Crown through the Three Kingdoms,

And never compounded with the Rebels, though strongly invested ;

And on the 25th August, A.D. 1651, was here slain,

Commanding as Major-General under the EARL OF DERBY,

To whom the grateful Erector, ALEXANDER RIGBY, Esq. was Cornet;

And when he was High Sheriff of this County (A.D. 1679)

Placed this high obligation on the whole Family of the Tyldesleys,

To follow the noble example of their Loyal Ancestor. 

1. In Whitelocke's Memorial, p. 504, it is said that the earl of Derby had got together 1500 men; Secombe, in his History of the House of Stanley, says "about 600."

2. According to Whitelocke, p. 505, the earl of Derby lost on this occasion in prisoners, five colonels, the adjutant-general, four lieutenant-colonels, one major, four captains, two lieutenants, and 400 men; and had slain Lord Widdrington, Major-General Sir Thomas Tyldesley, one colonel, two majors, and divers others of quality. So highly did the Parliament estimate the " victory of Wigan Lane," that they voted to Colonel Lilburne £500, and £200 per annum as a mark of honour for his services, with £100 to the lieutenant who conveyed the despatches; and public thanksgivings were ordered to be offered up in the churches of London and Westminster for this victory.

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1. The History of the County Palatine and Duch of Lancaster, Edward Baines, John Harland, Brooke Herford, 1870 (Vol II p179)

Banished—"to goe beyond the seas" 1648

Appleby Castle

After the Parliamentarians under Colonel General Ashton broke the siege of  Cockermouth Castle in September 1648, the Royalist cavalry regrouped at Appleby Castle—with Sir Thomas Tyldesley 1612-1651 amongst their number.

Pursued by Ashton's, there was little choice but for the Royalists to surrender Appleby Castle. Ashton's report to Parliament includes a grim summary of the surrender:

• 5 Peace of Ordnance
• 1200 Horse
• 1000 Armes
• 15 Collonels
• 9 Lieutenant Collonels
• 6 Serjeant Majors
• 46 Captains
• 17 Lieutenants
• 10 Cornets
• 3 Ensignes

Under the terms agreed, Sir Thomas Tyldesley was one of those obliged to "goe beyond the seas" within six months:

The termes were, For the inferiour Officers and Common-Souldiers to goe home, lay downe their Armes and be quiet, and observe all Orders and Ordinances of Parliament, and Sir Philip Musgrave, Sir Thomas Tilsley, Sir Robert Strickeland, Sir William Huddleston, and the rest of the Officers to goe beyond the Seas, And to have 6 months allowed to stay and provide for their going, except the Parliament shall in the interim doe any thing in their behalfe, They to observe all Orders, and Ordinances of Parliament, which if they doe not, then to have no benefit of the Articles, and to be at the Parliaments mercy.

I have sent you herewith a List of the Officers, and also a List of the Ordnance, Horse and Armes. On Munday Oct. 9. they delivered the Castle, and surrendred their Horses and Armes that were left, most of which they had sold before, and so the number surrendred was but smal, save only 500 foot Arms in the Castle, But however (though the Souldiers paid a smal matter for them, and indeed it was but small, yet) wee have 1200 of their Horse. For the other particulars I referre you to the inclosed.

Appleby 11. Octo. 1648.

A List of the Officers surrendred, and Ordnance, Armes, Ammunition and Horse taken at  Appleby by Col. Gen. Ashton the 9th of Octo. 1648.

Col. Sir Phil. Musgrave Commander in cheif
Col. Sir Tho. Tilsley
Col. Sir Rob. Strickland
Col. Sir Wil. Huddleston

Clarendon records that after the murder of Charles I on 30 January 1649, Sir Thomas Tyldesley did indeed "goe beyond the seas", travelling to Ireland to join the Marquis of Ormond. This is no doubt the source for similar comments in the Dictionary of National Biography.

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1. A great victory at Applebey, Col. General Ashton, 9 October 1648. 

Sir Thomas Tyldesley 1612-1651—Dictionary of National Biography

The Dictionary of National Biography [FN1]:

TYLDESLEY, SIR THOMAS (1596-1651), royalist general, born in 1596 [FN2], was the elder son of Edward Tyldesley of Morleys Hall, Astley, in the parish of Leigh, Lancashire, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Christopher Preston of Holker. In early life he adopted the military profession and served in the wars in Germany. At the time of the outbreak of the civil war Tyldesley was living at Myerscough Lodge, one of the estates inherited from his father, and, when war seemed unavoidable, was one of the first to whom James Stanley, lord Strange (afterwards seventh Earl of Derby) [q. v.], looked for help. His father was at one time steward of the household of Ferdinando Stanley, fifth earl of Derby, uncle of Lord Strange. At his own charge Tyldesley raised regiments of horse, foot, and dragoons, in command of which he served with distinction at the battle of Edgehill. His next notable exploit was the storming of the town of Burton-upon-Trent. For his conduct he received from the king the honour of knighthood and was made a brigadier. In May 1644 he commanded under the Earl of Derby at the siege of Bolton, when, after a hot engagement, they captured the town. He was appointed governor of Lichfield in 1645, and surrendered the place in obedience to the royal warrant on 10 July 1646. He was afterwards in command of a division of the army besieging Lancaster with the expectation of a quick surrender of the place when the royal forces were totally defeated at Preston on 17 Aug. 1648. Obliged to retreat to the north, Tyldesley joined others of the royalists at Appleby. Colonel-general Ashton, having relieved Cockermouth Castle, marched against them. Sir Philip Musgrave [q. v.], the governor, and Tyldesley, finding defence impossible, surrendered at once on 9 Oct. 1648, on terms which required the officers to go beyond the seas within six months, and to observe meanwhile all orders and ordinances of parliament.

After the king's death in the following January, Tyldesley, unwilling to make any composition, passed over to Ireland, joining the Marquis of Ormonde ; but the jealousy of the Irish officers soon obliged him to retire. He had a hearty welcome from his old commander and friend, Derby, in the Isle of Man late in 1649, and, after an expedition to Scotland, returned to the island to assist in taking over the troops to join Charles II in his advance into England, The king sent word for them to hasten to him in the summer of 1651, when he was actually quartered at Myerscough Lodge, Tyldesley's home. Although delayed by contrary winds, Derby, with Tyldesley as his major-general, landed at Wyre Water in Lancashire on 15 Aug., and called upon their friends, including both papists and presbyterians, to meet them at Preston. Before they could gather and equip an efficient force, Colonel Robert Lilburne, one of the parliament's officers, advanced against them with some well-trained troops and brought them to an engagement at Wigan Lane in Lancashire on 25 Aug. 1651. In that desperate struggle the royal army, which lost nearly half its officers and men, was totally defeated and Tyldesley was killed.

Tyldesley was buried in his chapel of St. Nicholas in the church of Leigh, where a monument covers his remains. The Earl of Derby, who grieved much at the loss of his old companion-in-arms when himself on his way to his execution at Bolton two months later, requested in vain to be allowed to go into the church as he passed by Leigh to look upon his friend's grave. No forfeiture is known to have followed Tyldesley's decease as far as related to his Astley and Tyldesley estates. A monument, of which there is an engraving in Baines's 'History of Lancashire,' was erected in the hedge by the roadside half a mile from Wigan, where Tyldesley fell, by Alexander Rigby, high sheriff of the county, who served under him as cornet. There is a fine portrait of Tyldesley at Hulton Park, near Bolton, which is engraved by J. Cochrane in Baines's 'Lancashire ' (iii. 610). Another portrait, engraved by William Nelson Gardiner, was published in 1816.

About 1634 he married Frances, elder daughter of Ralph Standish of Standish, by whom he had three sons and seven daughters. His eldest son, Edward, joined the Jacobite rebels under Lord Derwentwater in 1715, and was captured at Preston, but was acquitted on his trial.

[Ormerod's Lancashire Civil War Tracts (Chetham Soc.) ; Raines's Stanley Papers (Chetham Soc.), II. i. and ii. The notice of Tyldesley in Baines's Lancashire is inaccurate.]

A. N.

There is an updated entry for Sir Thomas Tyldesley written by Gordon Blackwood for the more recent Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (subscription required).

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1.The Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 57, 1899 (page 417—the author of this entry was Albert Nicholson).
2. The correct year of birth is 1612—this has been corrected in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Breaking the Siege of Montgomery Castle 1644

Montgomery Castle is today a mere ruin having been "slighted" or dismantled by order of Parliament issued in 1646.

The Castle had been surrendered by Lord Herbert to the Parliamentarian forces under Sir Thomas Myddelton and Colonel Thomas Mytton in September 1644. Several days later Royalist forces arrived and commenced preparations for a siege. On 17 September 1644 Sir John Meldrum and Sir William Brereton arrived with Parliamentarian forces determined to break the siege.  In the battle that followed 500 Royalists were killed and 1,500 were taken prisoner—including Sir Thomas Tyldesley 1612-1651.

On 23 September 1644 a letter was received by the House of Commons giving details of the Parliamentarian success:

Military Successes.

A Letter from Sir Wm. Brereton, from Montgomerie, of September 18, 1644; relating the great Success it has pleased God to give the Parliament's Forces under the Command of Sir J. Meldrum, upon relieving the Siege of Montgomerie Castle, wherein the Lord Herbert of Cherbery was besieged.

The House of Commons immediately passed a resolution singling out Sir Thomas Tyldesley for exclusion from any arrangements for the release or exchange of prisoners:

Prisoner of War.

Resolved, &c. That Serjeant Major General Tildesley, taken Prisoner at the Siege of Montgomery Castle, shall not be released, by way of Exchange, or otherwise, with out the Consent of this House: And Mr. Ashton is to take care to send down this Order.

A Poem on the Marriage of Edward Tyldesley and Ann Fleetwood 1656

Edward Tyldesley 1635-1685 was the son of Sir Thomas Tyldesley 1612-1651 the Cavalier, and father of Col. Thomas Tyldesley 1657-1715 the Diarist. He married Anne Fleetwood in 1656.

To celebrate the wedding, Sir Aston Cokayne, a fellow Catholic and Royalist, wrote a verse which he later published as part of his collection entitled A Chain of Golden Poems in 1658 [FN1].

47. Upon the Marriage of Mr. Edward Tilsly, and Mrs. Anne Fleetwood. 

So all your fears are past; you both are sped,
And have no trouble but to go to bed:
Where (what young married couples love the best)
I wish you a good night with little rest. 

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1. A Chain of Golden Poems, Sir Aston Cokayne, 1658

Stratologia—eating horse-flesh in Lichfield

In 1660, Andrew Cooper, a Royalist reporter and poet published Stratologia, or, The history of the English civil vvarrs in English verse : containing a brief account of all fights, most skirmishes, stratagems and sieges in England, from the very first originall of our late warres, till the martyrdome of King Charles the First of blessed memory by an eye-witnesse of many of them, A.C. 

Stratologia contains four mentions of "Tinsley"—Sir Thomas Tyldesley 1612-1651. Tinsley is a phonetic spelling based on the local dialect pronunciation of Tyldesley.

Before Manchester did Lord Strange Difplay
His new-raif'd forces, but was beat away
Thence with fome loffe : alas ! who can declare, 
All the occurrences of this fad Warre.
The valiant Tinfley did with fword and fire 
Lancafter fall upon; the Rogues retire, 
Out of thofe flaming ftreets, difcoloured 
With blood, and with dead corps alfo befpread; 
Then on the Caftle Tinfley makes affay, 
But leaves it, and for York-fhire march'd away. 

Perform : this the Oxfordians fully finde.
Wallingford is to Fairfax too refign'd, 
Though Blague the place moft nobly did defend, 
But who 'gainft fwords and famine can contend? 
This place like others muft fubmit to fate.
Litchfield, the next comes to capitulate 
On tearms: here valiant Tinfley plaid his part, 
Not all their Force, not all their Miners art, 
Not all their Batteries and Granado's great 
Prevail; at every ftorm, they off were beat 
With lofs, and fhame enough; the Moats were fil'd, 
With bodies of th' Affailants in them kil'd.
This place by ftorm had been twice tane before, 
Which did th' Affailants animate the more 
To bold attempts; but fo they anfwered were, 
That no more Ladders did they dare to Rear, 
But clofe laid in their trenches and the town, 
But now provifions wonderous fcarce are grown 
Within; that Horfe-flefh they begin to eat, 
Neceffity Tinfley inforc'd to treat
With th' Enemy, and now to yeild the place.

John and Martha Tyldesley

In Loving Remembrance of

John Tyldesley

Who departed this life April 24th 1909

Aged 74 years

Also Martha Tyldesley

Wife of the above

Who departed this life September 25th 1908

Aged 76 years

Until the day dawns and the shadows flee away

Also Minnie

The beloved wife of

William Eaves

And youngest daughter of the above

John & Martha Tyldesley.

Who died January 11th 1947, Aged 76 years.

Also the above William Eaves

Who died April 22nd 1958, Aged 90 years

A life's work well done.