Well this is embarrassing – what happened to an entire month! I hope that all History Jar readers have had a good summer with plenty of history to keep them entertained. I’ve been researching Colchester, Nottinghamshire and the Stuarts – which perhaps explains the prolonged pause. I’ve also been drawing a parish map for where I live which took a bit longer than I anticipated but which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed doing. For those of you who spotted that someone in the family was doing their GCSEs this year – I’m delighted to report that she passed with flying colours and is now poised to begin her A level history – the Luddites will be beckoning, and I’m quite looking forward to exploring the Pentrich Rebellion.
So today – where am I at? I’d like to introduce you to Joseph Bampfield – a man who was probably born in Devon and who had something of a shady employment history. He first appears in the Bishops’ War against the Scots in 1639 as an ensign when he was still only 17 years old. By September 1642 he was a major in the Royalist army – when he was captured by forces loyal to Parliament. In December he escaped custody and in January 1643, still only about 19 years old, was commissioned as a colonel by Charles I. He turns up in the southwest throughout the rest of the year but in December was at Arundel trying to capture the castle there. Unfortunately having been given command of the castle he was himself besieged and once again taken prisoner having surrendered in January 1644. After a spell in the Tower he was released on parole…which he promptly broke. He turned up in Oxford and rejoined the royal court.
In 1645 having had a somewhat colourful career he became one of Charles I’s couriers and intelligencers. Which is where he really enters my current field of interest. In April 1648 he was in London where on the night of 20 April Bampfield helped James Duke of York, who was 14 years old by then, to escape his custodians at St James’ Palace dressed in women’s clothes. James knew Bampfield by sight and was apparently trusted by the king to fulfil his task helped by Anne Murray. The pair landed in the Low Counties at Zealand on 22 April.
Bampfield returned to London would go on to have a bigamous relationship with Anne – he told her his wife, who he married when he was very young, was dead. In reality the pair had been estranged since almost the beginning of the First Civil War but whether Bampfield truly believed his wife to be dead or it was just a convenient lie is another matter entirely. Anne would eventually become Lady Halkett.
The spy continue to serve the royalist cause but fail to gain King Charles II’s – or more importantly Lord Clarendon’s trust- after he fled to Holland. He was also forced to fight a duel with Anne’s brother-in-law who was not amused by Bampfield’s deception. By 1652 he had returned to England but was politely asked to leave the country. He spent the next few years roaming Europe, including a spell in Vienna. He wrote an account of his career in 1685. By then he had lived his life as a professional spy and there were several versions of events to choose from as well as many variations of his name. In summing up he was something of a rogue who lived by his wits.
