The Governor of Pendennis Castle was a military officer who commanded the fortifications at Pendennis Castle, part of the defences of the River Fal and Carrick Roads, on the south coast of Cornwall near Falmouth. Originally fortified under Henry VIII, defences in the area were intermittently maintained until after the Second World War. The office of governor was abolished in 1837, when Gen. Anderson received the colonelcy of the 78th Regiment of Foot.
Governors of Pendennis Castle
The early Governorship was a quasi-hereditary office, whose holders were as follows:
John III Killigrew (d.1567) of Arwenack, Falmouth, first Governor, appointed by King Henry VIII.Dunkin, Edwin Hadlow Wise, The Monumental Brasses of Cornwall with Descriptive, Genealogical and Heraldic Notes, 1882, pp.36-7 His monumental brass survives in St Budock's Church, Budock Water, near Falmouth, inscribed as follows: "Heere lyeth John Killigrew, Esquier, of Arwenack and lord of ye manor of Killigrew in Cornewall, and Elizabeth Trewinnard his wife. He was the first Captaine of Pendennis Castle, made by King Henry the eight and so continued the nynth of Queene Elizabeth at which time God tooke him to his mercye, being the yeare of Our Lord 1567. Sr John Killigrew, Knight, his son(n)e succeeded him in ye same place by the gift of Queene Elizabeth".Dunkin, Edwin Hadlow Wise, The Monumental Brasses of Cornwall with Descriptive, Genealogical and Heraldic Notes, 1882, pp.36-7, Plate 31 1567–1583/4: Sir John IV Killigrew (d.1583/4) of Arwenack, son, 2nd Governor,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 appointed by Queen Elizabeth I, as stated on his father's brass in St Budock's Church. 1584–1598: John V Killigrew (c. 1557 – 1605), of Arwennack, son, 3rd Governor. He was removed from office due to grave suspicions about his loyalty to the English Crown, and for a generation, the Killigrews lost their quasi-hereditary right to the office.History of Parliament biography 1598–1603: Sir Nicholas Parker (died 1603)Nicholas Hals Pender, A Falmouth Guide: Containing a Concise Account of the History, Trade, Port and Public Establishments of Falmouth, etc., Falmouth, 1825, p.86 An inscribed slate ledger stone in his memory exists against the south wall of the chancel of St Budock's Church.Lysons, Magna Britannia, Vol.3, p.48 1603–?1614: Sir John Parker 1614–April 1633: Sir Robert Killigrew (died 1633) of Hanworth, Middlesex, jointly with his eldest son Sir William Killigrew (1606–1695)History of Parliament biography of Kempton Park, Middlesex, a grandson and great-grandson respectively of John Killigrew (d.1567) of Arwennack, the first Governor.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, pp.268,270 1633–1635: Sir William Killigrew April 1635 – 1643: Sir Nicholas Slanning (1606–1643),See History of Parliament biography of Sir William Killigrew (1606–1695) a Royalist commander during the Civil War. Killed at the battle of Bristol, in 1643. His widow Gertrude Bagg remarried to Richard Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Trerice (c.1616-1687), the 2nd son of the next Governor. c. 1643 – 1646: Sir John VII Arundell (1576–1654), of Trerice, nicknamed "Jack-for-the-King". During the Civil War in 1646 he held the castle for King Charles I, and withstood a five-month long siege by Parliamentarian forces, at the end of which his forces were reduced by hunger to eating their horses. He obtained an honourable surrender. 1646–1648: Col. Richard Fortescue (d.1657), for Parliament. His relationship to the prominent Devonshire family of Fortescue of Filleigh and Weare Giffard is unclear. He was seated at Hickfield in the county of Southampton, and was later Commander-in-Chief in Jamaica, where he died in 1657.http://www.fortescue.org 1648-1649: John Fox, for Parliament/Commonwealth.Nicholas Hals Pender, A Falmouth Guide, 1825, p.86 1649–1658?: Sir Hardres Waller, for Parliament/Commonwealth. 1659–1660: Anthony Rowse, for Parliament/Commonwealth. 1660–1662: Sir Peter Killigrew, 2nd Baronet (c. 1634–1704), appointed at the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, by General George Monck. A grandson of the 3rd Governor John V Killigrew (c. 1557 – 1605), of Arwennack. 1662: Richard Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Trerice (c. 1616 – 1687), 2nd son of Governor Sir John VII Arundell (1576–1654), of Trerice, "Jack-for-the-King". 1680–1696: John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath (1628–1701), of Stowe, Kilkhampton, Cornwall, who played a leading role in the Restoration of the Monarchy of 1660. He was a cousin of the Arundells of Trerice.They shared common descent from Sir Thomas Grenville (died 1513) 1696–1703: Bevil Granville (d.1706), a nephew of the previous Governor John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath (1628–1701) 1703–1714: George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne, successor to his brother, Governor Bevil Granville (d.1706) 1714–1725: Brig-Gen. Richard Munden 1726–1734: John Hobart 1735–1737: Lt-Gen. James Tyrrell 1737–1749: Lt-Gen. William Barrell 1749–1753: Lt-Col. John Laforey 1753–1774: Lt-Col. Arthur Owen 1774–1775: Lt-Col. Charles Beauclerk 1775–1793: Lt-Col. Robert Robinson (previously Colonel of 32nd Foot) 1793–1823: General Felix Buckley 1823–1832: General Sir Martin Hunter (Governor of Stirling Castle, 1832–46) 1832–1837: General Paul Anderson(Colonel of 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot, 1837–51) office abolished
Lieutenant-Governors of Pendennis c.1613: Sir Nicholas Halse c.1628: John Tresahar 1658–: Robert Roberts 1663–: Colonel Legg 1666–: Sir John Stevens 1697-1717 Captain Richard Trevanion
1729–1739?: John Folliott ?–1747: Daniel Houghton 1747–?: John Waite 1749–1769: Richard Bowles 12 January 1770 – 1776: William Fawcett 1776–1797: Nevinson Poole 1797–1811: Philip Melvill 1811–1814: James Considine 1814–1832: William Fenwick 1832–1835: Loftus Grey office abolished
References