- Henry Lingen
Sir Henry Lingen (
23 October 1612 -22 January 1662 ) of Sutton,Lingen andStoke Edith was a Royalist military commander inHerefordshire during theEnglish Civil War , and later aMember of Parliament .Early career
He was born in
Herefordshire into the family of Lingen (he shared an ancestor withRalph Lingen, 1st Baron Lingen ).He became High Sheriff of
Herefordshire in 1635, and made much money from collectingtax es and rent.The English Civil War
During the Civil War he commanded
Goodrich Castle , defending it against the Parliamentarians until July 1645 when Colonel John Birch finally broke the defences using the famouscannon Roaring Meg .His house of Freen's Court at Sutton was
besieged untilPrince Rupert of the Rhine was called to the rescue. Lingen was knighted by Charles I on his visit toHereford in 1645. He himself in turn besiegedBrampton Bryan Castle , home of his distant kinsmanRobert Harley (1579-1656) (quite a common occurrence during the Civil War), the Harley family were later holders of the titleEarl of Oxford . This siege was defended by LadyBrilliana Harley but to no avail.Aftermath of War
After the Civil War, Sir Henry retired to
Stoke Edith "The Fairer House of the Lingens" nearHereford but was fined heavily by parliament for supporting the former King and later his heirs had to sell Stoke Edith, his principal estate to the Foley family (later holders of the titleEarl of Dudley ).Marriage
Sir Henry married Alice Pye of the Mynnd. (Both were later interred in the Church at Stoke Edith but during remodelling of the Church their monuments were lost). With the
Restoration he became aMember of Parliament forHerefordshire but died ofsmallpox inGloucester on his way back from a sitting inLondon in 1662.His male heirs died with no issue, other cadet lines exist including heirs of his daughters.
Legacy
The Herefordshire folk song "Sir Harry's Fancy" was based upon his Civil War days and sung by his troops after his surrender of Goodrich Castle.
External links
* [http://www.smr.herefordshire.gov.uk/education/tudor/the%20destruction%20of%20goodrich%20castle.htm The Destruction of Goodrich Castle (mentions Lingen)]
* [http://www.smr.herefordshire.gov.uk/castles/civil_war_hrfds.htm The Civil War in Herefordshire]References
*rayment|hc
*"Concise Dictionary of National Biography" (1930)
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