Godolphin's Regiment of Foote - History

The Civil War Regiment

During the English Civil War the story of a Regiment and its Colonel were intertwined. Often, the men within the Regiment came from the Colonel�s own family estate or home region and many would have been well known to the Colonel. This closeness built a kinship and brotherhood within the ranks of the Regiment that become the �Regiment�. The Colonel also paid for the all the uniforms, arms and other equipment out of his own funds. Sir William Godolphin and his Regiment of Foote is one such Regiment.

The Godolphin Family

Sir William Godolphin was born in 1605 in the Cornish parish of St Mabyn�s. He came from one of the famous Cornish families that produced a long line of both military and political figures. William�s uncle fought alongside Drake in 1588 and his cousin, Sidney, was a well-known seventeenth century poet. His nephew, another Sidney, became first Earl of Godolphin, Lord High Treasurer to Queen Anne and it was this Godolphin that founded the racehorse stables. Sidney was also secretary to the Duke of Monmouth and a close friend of the Duke of Marlborough.

The Regiment is Formed

William Godolphin became involved with the Cornish Trained Bands in 1638, possibly joining his brothers unit for the King�s Scottish Wars in 1640. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1642, William now Colonel, raised his Trained Band for King and Cornwall. Having trained together and been equipped from local armouries William�s men would have been ready and waiting for action within weeks of the Wars start. The kinship and local spirit would have made the men feel invincible - and with the rest of the "Cornish Army" they were. By October 1642 the Royalist had evicted Parliament from Cornwall. As the Trained Bands were raised on the premise that they could only fight within the county borders they could not cross the Tamar into Devon. The Army commander, Lord Hopton, had no choice but to raise a new volunteer force from the trained bands. Over 3000 volunteers came from the Trained Bands and these formed five new Regiments of the Cornish Army (Slanning�s, Trevanion�s, Grenvile�s, Mohun�s & Godolphin�s) and so Godolphin�s Regiment was reformed. The part time soldiers from the Trained Bands now formed the core of the new Regiment. For the next 2 years the story of William�s Regiment and that of the Cornish Army are one in the same.

On to Glory

The first attempt at taking of Devon ended disappointingly after an attack on Plymouth failed. By the 19th January 1643, things started to change with the Cornish winning an engagement at Braddock Down. Tragically, Williams� cousin Sidney died after a skirmish on the 8th February, at Chagford. Things then went from bad to worst as after a fight at Plympton on the 21st February the Army retired back into Cornwall. By April, the Rebels attacked Launceston with a strong force, but on the 23rd April the Cornish Army struck back and routed the enemy after a fierce battle. On the 25th the tables were turned and an outnumbered Cornish Army was beaten back into Cornwall. The Rebels again attacked Cornwall, but at Stratton on the 15th May, after a bloody battle lasting ten hours, the outnumbered Cornish smashed the Rebels. The victory was so decisive that by June, William and his Regiment were in Somerset, taking part in the capture of Taunton, Bridgwater, Dunster Castle and Wells. The Cornish Army had by this time joined other Western Royalists and together they inflicted defeats on the Rebels at Lansdown (nr Bath) on the 5th July and at Roundway Down (nr Devizes) on the 13th July. At both Battles the Cornish foot fought hard and played a critical part, earning the reputation they still have today. At Lansdown one of the great Cornish Colonel�s, Sir Bevil Grenvile, died.

High Water at Bristol

The high water mark for the Cornish was on the 26th July, when together with other Royalists units they stormed Bristol. The Battle lasted over thirteen hours and at the end the Royalist had taken the City, but at what cost? Both Sir Nicholas Slanning and Sir John Trevanion were mortally wounded along with countless other Cornish men either killed or wounded. After 4 hard months of campaigning the unbeatable Cornish must have been so diminished in numbers that they returned to Devon, to take the numerous Rebel strongholds that they had left after their rush north earlier in the year. Under a new commander, Prince Maurice, the Cornish took Exeter on the 4th September and Dartmonth on the 6th October, eventually arriving back outside Plymouth for the winter. For the Cornish outside Plymouth or in Garrisons around Devon and Cornwall, the first six months of 1644 were quiet. At this point it would appear that William and his Regiment were with the Army besieging Plymouth. By now the Regiment so diminished in numbers that at Lostwithiel it is described as a mere Foot company. The regiment fought during the Lostwithiel Campaign to finally see the rebel Army of the Earl Essex captured and disbanded on the 22nd August 1644.

The Wars End

The King stayed at Exeter on his return north, leaving the captured Artillery in the town�s safe keeping. It would appear that during the latter months of 1644, William and his men, probably escorting the captured guns, made their way to Oxford where the King knighted William. At some time during 1645 the Regiment returned to Exeter to become one of the Garrison units. The unit was still in Exeter at its fall on the 9th April 1646, with William being one of the signatories. Sir William Godolphin and his Regiment became some of the last Royalists to remain in arms for the King. From Plymouth to Bristol and finally to Exeter, Sir William and his Regiment, fought for four long years. Sir William lived to see the Restoration of King Charles II, but his story ends on the 26th November 1663.

See the Modern Regiment for more information on the Regiment today.