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The Glorious Revolution

Chatsworth, Derbyshire

In 1661 Charles the Second was restored to the throne following the death of Oliver Cromwell. The Restoration was known for its lascivious king and permissive court, which set the general social tone. Following many years of stern puritan rule, the King was more interested in enjoying himself than in religious dogma. Many people followed the King's lead. It is still possible to visit the Walks at Gray's Inn, where smartly dressed crowds promenaded about seeing and being seen, checking out each other's outfits. After all the years of revolution and misguided idealism, many people were now more interested in this year's fashion. But of course not everyone was as sensible: even though the King was religiously tolerant, society in general was not. The fanatic Titus Oates whipped up groundless rumours about a catholic plot to kill Charles, which caused hysteria, and led to arrests and needless executions. The real threat to the King came not from imaginary catholic plots, but from Parliament which was growing in strength all the time.

In February 1685 Charles the Second died and was succeeded by his brother James, as James the Second. The problem with James was his catholic faith. Charles the Second's illegitimate son James Duke of Monmouth, a protestant, attempted to stage a rising to snatch the throne, but his makeshift force was defeated in July 1685 at the Battle of Sedgemoor near Bridgewater in Somerset. The inn where Monmouth ran his failed campaign, the George at Norton St Philip still exists. The Exeter Guildhall where Judge Jeffreys passed sentence on the captured rebels is still used for local government activities, and can be visited.

James Stuart held his throne, and practiced his faith privately. He fitted up a small disused chapel at Windsor Castle as his own personal catholic refuge. Meanwhile he would go through the motions of the Anglican Church in public. James set about trying to sweep away institutional religious discrimination, but society was not ready for such toleration. Prejudice against catholics was deeply engrained.

Rubens ceiling painting proclaiming the divine right of kings at the Banqueting House

In June 1688, Maria d'Este, James's second wife gave birth to a son. Now the promise of succession by his protestant daughter Mary, married to the safely protestant William of Orange, was taken away. A group of Whig and Tory conspirators, in which the Earl of Devonshire played a leading role, met at the Cock and Pynot in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. This group invited William to invade and take the throne. William tried first to land at Hull, but was blown back by what became known as a "popish wind." William tried again, and this time he had a "protestant wind" behind him, which blew him to Brixham in Devon where he landed unopposed on the fifth of November 1688. As this was also the date of Bonfire Night celebrating the defeat of a catholic attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1604, the power of the protestant wind must have seemed particularly strong. On the 18th of December 1688 James woke up in his bed at Whitehall Palace, ( a bed which survives and can be seen at Knole) and saw Dutch troops outside. James fled to the continent with his family. William and Mary were then officially proclaimed king and queen at the Banqueting House in Whitehall, Ironically the ceremony took place beneath the huge ceiling painting by Rubens which Charles the First had commissioned to portray the divine right of kings. James, meanwhile, briefly attempted to regain the throne with the help of Scottish and Irish allies. At Killiecrankie just south of Pitlochry in 1689, Highlanders fighting for James scored a victory over government troops - mostly consisting of lowland Scots. But this victory led to nothing. James was finally defeated in 1690 at the Battle of the Boyne near Drogheda. After the battle James lived the rest of his life in exile.

The Earl of Devonshire was rewarded for his support of the Revolution by being made a duke. He became the First Duke of Devonshire, and his home at Chatsworth can be visited. There are many reminders of 1688 at Chatsworth. The Cock and Pynot in Chesterfield where the Duke of Devonshire met his fellow conspirators survives. It is now called the Revolution House, and is open to visitors. There is a monument to William of Orange at Brixham where he landed with help from the protestant wind in 1688. In the west country Francis Luttrell, of Dunster Castle in Somerset, raised a regiment to support William. His regiment, the Green Howards, remains part of the British Army today. Muskets thought to have been used by members of the original Green Howards are on display at Dunster.

 

So the Glorious Revolution succeeded, although to the men who brought it about, this was not a revolution, but an attempt to head one off. By 1688 England was a protestant country, with a protestant ruling establishment. Parliament saw James, with his strong catholic faith, as a potential threat. In deposing the king Parliament saw itself as maintaining the status quo rather than overthrowing it. This strange mixture of revolutionary change masquerading as defence against it is a familiar pattern in English history. Every year the defeat of the catholic Gunpowder Plot of 1605 is celebrated on Guy Fawkes Night. Fireworks enact what would have happened if the plotters had been successful in their attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament. And yet this enactment of the plot's success is a celebration of its defeat. People want change, and they want stability. Often these seemingly incompatible desires are combined.

 

 

The Act of Settlement in 1701 brought a final end to the divine right of kings. Parliament now had the power to choose monarchs. The power first used during the Glorious Revolution was now formalised. When the combined reign of William and Mary ended with William's death in 1702 at Kensington Palace, James the Second's daughter Anne succeeded. Anne was a protestant, which meant Parliament approved. Even though Anne was the last monarch to veto an act of parliament, she reigned only with their tacit approval. Parliament meanwhile acted robustly to protect its victory against the deposed Stuart line, by making sure that foreign intervention would not restore it. In 1701 Philip of Anjou succeeded to the Spanish throne, and immediately recognised James Francis Edward Stuart, "the Old Pretender", son of James the Second, as the rightful English king. Britain entered into the War of the Spanish Succession to counter Philip's influence. The greatest British commander in this war was John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. A grateful Parliament voted funds to build Churchill a palace in recognition of his services. This palace survives today as Blenheim Palace, a huge memorial to Parliament's protection of its new found rights.

One of the most far reaching consequences of the Glorious Revolution was the change it brought to Britain's finanaces. See our page on Stourhead for more details.

When Anne died in 1714 Parliament decided to hand the crown over to the protestant House of Hanover, with George the First becoming king. The British monarchy has remained in this German line ever since, in an increasingly ceremonial capacity.

The writer who perhaps best reflects Britain following the Glorious Revolution is Alexander Pope, a catholic who was actually born in 1688, the year of the Revolution. Pope suffered the restictions that were placed on catholics, and wrote poems which explored the nature of differences between people.