Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
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Wikipedia
Colonel John Birch (September 7, 1615 – May 10, 1691) was a soldier in the English civil war and later Member of parliament for Leominster and Weobley, Herefordshire.
Birch played a significant role in the battle of Cropredy Bridge, Oxfordshire on June 29, 1644.
On December 18, 1645, Parliamentarians under the command of Birch and Colonel Morgan captured the City of Hereford.
In 1646 Birch besieged and captured Goodrich Castle from the Royalist Sir Henry Lingen.
Birch is buried in a monumental tomb in Weobley Church.
One of the regiments of the Sealed Knot historical reenactment association is Col. John Birch's Regiment.
[edit] External links
- Brief history of the Life of John Birch (up to the start of his political career)
- Biography on British Civil Wars site
- Battle of Cropredy Bridge
- House of Commons Journal for December 22, 1645 recording the arrival of news of the capture of Hereford
- References to Col Birch in The Diary of Samuel Pepys
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
| Parliament of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Unknown | Leominster (UK Parliament constituency) 1660–1661 With: Edward Pytts | Succeeded by Ranald Grahme Humphrey Cornewall |
| Preceded by John Barneby William Gregory | Weobley (UK Parliament constituency) 1679–1685 With: William Gregory 1679 John Booth 1679-1685 | Succeeded by Robert Price Henry Cornewall |
| Preceded by Robert Price Henry Cornewall | Weobley (UK Parliament constituency) 1689–1691 With: James Morgan 1689-1690 Robert Price 1690-1691 | Succeeded by Thomas Foley Robert Price |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Birch, John |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | British politician |
| Date of birth | September 7, 1615 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | May 10, 1691 |
| Place of death | |
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Annotations
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According to “Military memoirs of Colonel John Birch, sometime governor of Herefore in the civil war” in de “The Cornell Library Historical Monographs” Birch was a Bristol merchant who started a regiment of volunteers. Fought on the side of the cavaliers.
Made a nice profit when, on orders of Parliament, the lead covering of Worcester Cathedral, at an estimated value of 1200 lb., was sold to him for 617 lb. 4s. 2d. (“for the repair of certain almhouses and churches in that city”).
Signed the Remonstrance in 1656 and present, as Member for Leominster, at the inauguration of the Protector.
Apparently the Restoration did not do him any harm; he seems to be in a position of authority as SP meets him.
Colonel Birch is also recorded as having submitted a plan for the rebuilding of the City after the Great Fire (as did several others of SP’s acquintance).
http://historical.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/cul.cdl/docviewer?did=cdl371&seq=258&frames=0&view=50
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additional information on Coll: Birch letters by sect:
http://historical.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/cul.cdl/docviewer?did=cdl371&view=50&frames=0&seq=23
another page:
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This excellent site on the Civil War explains Colonel Birch’s role in the “Copredy Bridge” encounter. Obviously I was wrong in my entry above: Birch was a “roundhead” from the start.
http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/military/1644-lyme-copredy-lostwithiel.htm#copredy
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Per L&M Companion:
(1619-91). Politician. A self-made Mancunian, originally a carrier. His interests in naval affairs brought him into frequent contact and occasional conflict with Pepys. He had fought for Parliament in the Civil War, and sat for Leominster 1646-60, for Penryn 1661-Jan.79, and for Weobley March 1679-91, serving as a commissioner for paying off the forces 1660-1, as chairman of the Commons’ Navy Committee in 1661, and as a member of the Committee on Miscarriages in 1667-8 as well as on numerous committees on financial and commercial maters. He supported the Navy Board against its critics in 1668. In the ‘60’s he accepted office as an Admiralty Commissioner March-July 1660, as Auditor of the Excise 1661-91, and as a member of the Committee for Trade 1688-72.
But in the ‘70’s he was more distrustful of the court, becoming a Whig and exclusionist, and led the outcry in the Commons 1677-8 against the cost of Pepys ship-building programme. A moderate Presbyterian, he supported attempts at union with the Church of England in 1668-9, and himself became an Anglican in 1673. He lived to welcome the Revolution of 1688. Most of his contemporaries, though they might suffer like Pepys from his rough tongue and abrasive manner, could not, any more than Pepys, withhold their admiration of his ability.