A Respectable Mordaunt

General Sir John Mordaunt lived at Bevois Mount House from 1755 until his death in 1780. He inherited the estate after the death of Anastasia Robinson, second wife of his uncle, the 3rd earl of Peterborough. In comparison with his colourful and mercurial uncle, the general seems to have been quite a staid and respectable character. Nevertheless he had both a military and a political career and played a role in many of the significant events of his time. It would seem that he revered his late uncle because he had a mausoleum built in the grounds of the estate and on this was a marble plaque lauding the great earl and his exploits. This can now be seen at the Tudor House Museum in Southampton. John Mordaunt was a Member of Parliament and took his seat in the House of Commons for nearly forty years. He was a loyal supporter of Sir Robert Walpole, the first British prime minister and part of the Whig movement which foreshadowed the Liberal Party. The Whigs supported the Hanoverian monarchy and the Protestant church. Tory MPs, on the other hand were often suspected of hankering after the Stuart regime which had ended after James II vacated his throne during the Glorious revolution of 1688. Mordaunt was MP for Pontefract 1730-4, for Whitchurch, Hampshire 1735-41 and for Cockermouth 1741-68.The electoral system at the time was unrecognisable by todays standards: the House of Commons represented a very small group of male landowners and the seats were usually in the gift of local nobility. Sir Johns seat in Cockermouth, for example, was controlled by the influential Lawson family into which his sister had married. He was an active participant in debates, particularly on military matters, but does not seem to have displayed the eloquence and wit for which his uncle had Parliament in the 18th century been famous in the House of Lords. His military career was more remarkable and began in 1721. He progressed steadily through the ranks and by 1744 was fighting under the Duke of Cumberland (a son of George II) against the French in Europe. In 1745 Charles Edward Stuart, the grandson of James II and popularly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, landed in Scotland with only a handful of men. The clansmen of Scotland rallied to his side and the Battle of Prestonpans was a resounding Jacobite victory. Edinburgh was taken without difficulty and the princes army marched into England reaching as far south as Derby. Then occurred one of the pivotal moments in British history Charles was determined to march upon London and restore the Stuart monarchy but his Scottish supporters erred on the sign of caution and
General Sir John Mordaunt

overruled him.

He had no choice but to withdraw to Scotland and this proved to be a fatal move. In the meantime Cumberland had been recalled from the Continent. Sir John, now promoted to Brigadier General, was sent alongside him against the Jacobite uprising. At the decisive battle of Culloden (the last to be fought on British soil) Mordaunt commanded the reserve but after the battle was sent with 900 volunteers to mop up the fleeing rebels. For his services Cumberland presented him with the carriage of Bonny Prince Charlie, on condition that he drove to London with it. He is supposed to have replied, That I will, sir, and drive on till it stops at the Cocoa Tree (a well- known Tory haunt). James Wolfe was an eminent figure of the time who Sir John would first have encountered as one of his junior officers. They went onto become friends and Wolfe described a visit to Mordaunts home near Whitchurch in a letter of 1754: Sir J. Mordaunts civility, good breeding and good humour make his house easy and pleasant to his guests. Hopefully Wolfes opinion was not coloured by the fact that he was paying court to Sir Johns niece at the time. James Wolfe is yet another candidate for soldier hero of the 18th century but unfortunately he was victim as well as victor of the battle for Quebec in 1759. Mordaunts own military career continued to be most distinguished until he was involved in a somewhat ignominious expedition which has tended to define his reputation in spite of him being completely exonerated of blame. The outbreak of the Seven Years War in 1756 began badly with defeats for the British in both North America and in Europe. The French were poised to invade Hanover, Britains ally. William Pitt, the Foreign Minister, badly wanted a diversionary tactic which would also serve as a propaganda coup and decided upon a descent upon a French port. Rochefort had already been identified as potentially vulnerable to attack. George II and Newcastle, the prime minister, had misgivings about the policy from the beginning but finally agreed that it should go ahead. Mordaunt was personally selected by the king to lead the expedition in spite of being more than sixty years of age and not in the best of health. Both he and Edward Hawke, the naval commander, had strong doubts about the outcome of the mission. The fleet sailed for France but was severely delayed by adverse weather and then lay at anchor off the coast while the leaders debated the likely strength of the French defences and An excerpt from his will. the shallow water which made it impossible for the ships to get close enough to unload troops. On 25th September 1757, after a council of war, it was decided that a raid was neither advisable nor practicable. The lone dissenting voice belonged to James Wolfe who had at one point told the
James Wolfe

General that he could capture Rochefort if given only 500 men but Mordaunt refused him permission. Both Pitt and the king were furious about the failure and cost of the expedition and would have liked to have seen Sir John pay the price. He was court martialled but then unanimously found not guilty and acquitted. He remained in the army but never took command in the field again. He died at Bevois Mount House in 1780 and is buried in St Marys churchyard in Southampton. He never married and had no children. The detailed and generous dispositions of his will indicate that he had managed to succeed in a field where his uncle had consistently failed he was able to manage his finances! Allyson Hayes