John Norreys - Legacy

Legacy

In 1600, during the course of the Nine Years' War, Sir Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy, the commander who eventually defeated Tyrone, built a double-ditch fort between Newry and Armagh, which he named Mountnorris in honour of Norreys. It was built on a round earthwork believed to have been constructed by the Danes on a site that Norreys had once considered in the course of his northern campaign.

Mountjoy referred to Norreys as his tutor in war, and took note of his former understanding that Ireland was not to be brought to obedience except by force and large permanent garrisons. But Norreys' conduct at the start of the Nine Years' War suggests a mellowing during his maturity. Ironically, the aggressive Essex - an equally ill-fated hero of the people - also came to temporise with Tyrone, and it was Norreys' original notion that eventually succeeded under the generalship of Mountjoy.

The most significant legacy of Norreys' long military career lay in his support of the rebellion in the Netherlands against the Habsburg forces, and later in helping the French in holding Brittany against the Catholic League and Habsburg Spain.