John Killigrew (d.1584)

Arms of Killigrew: Argent, an eagle displayed with two heads sable a bordure of the second bezantée. The bezantée bordure indicates a connection to the ancient Earls of Cornwall

Sir John IV Killigrew (d.1584) of Arwenack, near Penryn, Cornwall, was the 2nd Governor of Pendennis Castle,[1] (1568-1584)[2] appointed by Queen Elizabeth I, as stated on his father's brass in St Budock's Church. He was MP for Lostwithiel in 1563 and twice for the family's pocket borough of Penryn, in 1571 and 1572.[3] Although appointed a commissioner to enquire into piracy, he was himself a notorious pirate and smuggler.

Origins

He was the eldest son and heir of John III Killigrew (d.1567) of Arwenack, the first Governor of Pendennis Castle appointed by King Henry VIII, by his wife Elizabeth Trewennard, 2nd daughter of James Trewennard of Trewennard, in the parish of St Erth, Cornwall.

Career

Together with his father he opposed the Catholic Queen Mary (1553-1558) and her Spanish husband, and used his fleet of ships to keep the Protestant exiles in France abreast of political developments and attacked Spanish shipping in the Channel. In 1556 he was imprisoned by Mary with his father in the Fleet, but released after three weeks. On the succession of the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) he was restored to royal favour.[4] He became notorious for engaging in cattle theft, "evil usage in keeping of a castle" and as a Justice of the peace for abuses in arranging the quarter sessions. Having been appointed a Commissioner to inquire into piracy, he himself was heavily engaged in that activity and traded with smugglers and pirates who frequented the waters around Arwenack. He was the subject of an official investigation in 1565. In January 1582 both he and his wife Mary Wolverston[5] were suspected of involvement in a notorious act of piracy concerning a Spanish ship which had sheltered from a storm in an anchorage opposite Arwenack. It was said that he and his wife had acted together to overpower or murder the crew and steal the cargo of cloth, before ordering the ship to be disposed of in Ireland.[6]

Marriage & progeny

He married Mary Wolverston, a daughter of Philip Wolverston (often described as a "gentleman pirate") of Wolverston Hall in Suffolk, and widow of Henry Knyvett. By his wife he had progeny including:

Death & burial

He died in 1584 and was buried in St Budock's Church, near Arwenack, where survives his mural monument, erected by his son, showing effigies of him and his wife facing each other kneeling in prayer.

In fiction

In the historical novel The Grove of Eagles by Winston Graham, Sir John's formidable widow Mary Wolverston ("old Lady Killigrew") is arguably the dominant character. In her bitter old age she regards the Killigrews with contempt, but acknowledges that her husband was "the best of a poor lot". Additionally, he appears in the novel "The Sea Hawk" by Raphael Sabatini.

References

  1. ↑ Pedigree of Killigrew, Vivian, J.L., ed. (1887). The Visitations of Cornwall: comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1530, 1573 & 1620; with additions by J.L. Vivian. Exeter, p.268
  2. ↑ Fuidge
  3. ↑ Fuidge, N.M., biography of Killigrew, John I (d.1584), of Arwennack, Cornw., published in History of Parliament: House of Commons 1558-1603, ed. P.W. Hasler, 1981
  4. ↑ Fuidge
  5. ↑ Sources are very confused as to the identity of the female Killigrew supposed to have been engaged in piracy, the most reliable ones giving her as Mary Wolverston
  6. ↑ Fuidge; The original source for this famous story, which has been much added to and embroidered by several writers, is Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, 15 January 1582 & 2 March 1582
  7. ↑ History of Parliament biography
  8. ↑ Vivian, 1887, p.269; History of Parliament biography of Henry Billingsley
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