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Jacob Astley, 1st Baron Astley of Reading
*** Shopping-Tip: Jacob Astley, 1st Baron Astley of Reading
'''Jacob Astley, 1st Baron Astley of Reading''' (
1579–
1652), was a
cavaliers Royalist commander in the
English Civil War.
He came from an established
Norfolk family, and was born at
Melton Constable. His first experiences of war were at the age of 18 when he joined the
Islands Voyage expedition in 1597 under the
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Earl of Essex and Sir
Walter Raleigh to the Spanish
Azores. In 1598 he joined
Maurice of Nassau and
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange Henry of Orange in the
Netherlands, where he served with distinction, and afterwards fought under
Frederick V, Elector Palatine and
Gustavus Adolphus in the
Thirty Years' War. He was evidently thought highly of by the States-General, for when he was absent, serving under
Christian V of Denmark, his position in the Dutch army was kept open for him. He married a Dutch woman, Agnes Impel, who bore him two sons and a daughter.
In
1622 Astley was involved in the rescue of
Elizabeth of Bohemia Elizabeth, daughter of
James I of England and wife of
Frederick V, Elector Palatine Frederick, King of Bohemia, from
Prague which was under attack from Imperial forces of
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II. He joined their household and was tutor to Frederick's son
Prince Rupert of the Rhine.
Returning to England with a well-deserved reputation, he was in the employment of
Charles I of England Charles I in various military capacities. As "
Major-General Sergeant-Major-General" of the infantry, he went north in
1639 to organize the defence against the expected
Scotland Scottish invasion. Here his duties were as much diplomatic as military, as the discontent which ended in the Civil War was now coming to a head. In the ill-starred
Bishops' Wars, Astley did good service to the cause of the king, and he was involved in the so-called "Army Plot".
At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1643 he at once joined Charles, and was made Major-General of the Foot (infantry) - the cavalry was under the command of his former student Prince Rupert. His characteristic battle-prayer at the
Battle of Edgehill has become famous:
:"O Lord, Thou knowest how busy I must be this day. If I forget Thee, do not forget me" which he followed promptly with the order "March on, boys!"
Both sides troops were poorly trained and neither could take victory leading Edgehill to become a bloodied draw.
Astley was loyal to the crown, while his own East Anglia was strongly Parliamentarian. His opposite number at in the Parliamentarians was
Philip Skippon, another Norfolkman. At
Gloucester Astley commanded a division, and at the
Battle of Newbury (1643) first Battle of Newbury he led the infantry of the royal army. With
Ralph Hopton, in 1644, he served at
Arundel and
Cheriton. At the
Battle of Newbury (1644) second Battle of Newbury he made a gallant and memorable defence of Shaw House. He was made a
baron by the king, and at the
Battle of Naseby he once more commanded the main body of the infantry. He afterwards served in the west, and with 1,500 men fought stubbornly but vainly at the
Battle of Stow-on-the-Wold (March 1646), the last
pitched battle of the
First English Civil War First Civil War.
He surrendered to the
Parliamentarians with the words "Well, boys, you have done your work, now you may go and play - if you don't fall out among yourselves."
His scrupulous sense of honour forbade him to take any part in the
Second English Civil War Second Civil War, as he had given his parole at
Stow-on-the-Wold; but he had to undergo his share of the discomforts that were the lot of the vanquished royalists he was imprisoned initially but able to retire to
Maidstone. He died in February
1652. The barony became extinct in 1668.
References
*{{1911}}
*''Anglian Annals 87:Jacob Astley'', Peter Sargent
Eastern Daily Press Saturday 31st December 2005.
Category:1579 births Astley, Jacob
Category:1652 deaths Astley, Jacob
Category:British Army officers Astley
Category:Natives of Norfolk Astley
*** Shopping-Tip: Jacob Astley, 1st Baron Astley of Reading
