Prince Rupert (1619-82) borne in Prague, sometimes known as 'The Mad Cavalier', had fought in the Thirty Years War on the continent and following his capture been imprisoned for some 3 years. Arriving in England at the outbreak of the Civil War, Charles I had appointed him Commander of Horse in 1642. On 12/11/1642 he surprised the Parliamentary forces camped to the west of Brentford by moving his force from Colnbrook under the cover of fog. The action was particularly fiercely fought here at Brentford Bridge. Many Parliamentarians were slain, many drowned, 500 taken prisoner and the populace of the area were horrified. Brentford Bridge is hardly a mile from where his mother, Elizabeth Stuart, lived as a girl at Kew farm on the opposite bank enjoying the company of her brother Henry Stuart, Prince of Wales, and his courtiers at Richmond Palace.

This was a fairly minor event in Rupert's eventful career. After many successes and failures in his uncle's cause he surrendered to Fairfax after the battle of Oxford in 1646 and went to France. There, in 1648, he took command of the Royalist portion of the English fleet with which he had some successful actions before most of his ships were destroyed in an engagement in 1650. He took the remainder to the West Indies where he became a privateer for 2 or 3 years before returning to France. Back in England after the restoration he was involved in naval actions against the Dutch but also started commercial and scientific activities. He was a founder of the Hudson Bay Company which received its charter in 1670. He gave an address to the Royal Society in 1662 on improvements in the processes of mezzotint and was also the inventor of an alloy called 'Princes metal' and an improved formulation of gunpowder.

O/S Co-ords:1730.7730
Source(s):

Chambers Biographical Dictionary

Kew Past

The County Books - Middlesex

John Lilburne was one of the 500 Parliamentarians taken prisoner in the Battle of Brentford. John had been an apprentice in the London cloth trade but had been imprisoned for his pamphleteering. In 1640 there were some 30,000 apprentices about London. A substantial number were from families well above the level of serfdom and with an active interest in politics. Lilburne became a leader of the radical thinkers amongst these. From 1645 with William Walwyn and Richard Overton he headed the Leveller movement appealing particularly to craft- and tradesmen.

O/S Co-ords:1730.7730
Source(s):

A History of London

The County Books - Middlesex