Jane Cavendish - The English Civil Wars

The English Civil Wars

As for other staunch Royalists, the English Civil War was a trying time for the Cavendish family. The closing of the theatres in 1642 would have been of especial significance for them, since William had written plays that were publicly performed before the war and his daughters were familiar with the networks of theatre culture that ranged from public theatrical performances to private readings of dramas. Of course, the closing of the theatres was not the most traumatic event of the Civil War for the Cavendish family. Elizabeth Basset Howard died in 1643, leaving her children in possession of her money but without her guidance and compassion. Soon after his first wife’s death, William was defeated in a critical battle at Marston Moor. He subsequently fled to France, leaving his daughters to maintain his property at Welbeck Abbey on their own. Welbeck Abbey was captured by Parliamentarian forces on August 2, 1644. Although Royalists briefly recaptured the home in 1645, they surrendered it in November. Amid these volatile circumstances, Jane and her sisters Elizabeth and Frances twice entertained Charles I at Welbeck in 1645. After Charles’s execution in 1649, however, the sisters’ world took on a grimmer tone. Their father was labeled a traitor, and they were forced to live under house arrest, where the conduct of the Parliamentarian troops was often rude at best. Jane continued to work toward preserving her family’s possessions. She managed to barter with Royalist soldiers in order to have her father’s valuable Van Dyck paintings and some tapestries moved to safety, and she and Frances sent out letters that provided information to the Royalist army about the status of Welbeck and its surroundings. Moreover, during this period of unrest, Jane and her sister Elizabeth began compiling a variety of manuscript writings that they probably started working on as early as 1635—although most of the contents were written during the Civil War. These works, which were copied by their father’s scribe John Rollston, are now held by the Beinecke and Bodleian libraries. Beinecke Osborn MS b. 233 is a presentation copy manuscript of poetry written exclusively by Jane. Bodleian Library, MS Rawl., Poet. 16 is a larger compilation, titled Poems Songs a Pastorall and a Play by the Right Honorable the Lady Jane Cavendish and Lady Elizabeth Brackley, comprising writings by Jane and Elizabeth. The sisters’ individual contributions are noted in the margins by Rollston. The sisters’ collaborative writings were probably interrupted when Elizabeth moved to Ashridge to live with her husband, John Egerton. Frances and Jane would eventually follow Elizabeth to Ashridge for a brief interval because of the relative stability that it offered in contrast to their own besieged home. In 1654, Jane married Charles Cheyne (who would later become Viscount Newhaven). Jane and Charles had three children: Elizabeth (b. 1656), William (b. 1657), and Catherine (b. 1658). Even as the Civil War continued, Jane and her husband found themselves able to enjoy a degree of comfort. Charles even managed to buy the former royal palace and manor of Chelsea with his wife’s dowry.