Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
William Batten
Sir William Batten (c. 1601 – 5 October 1667) was an English naval officer and administrator from Somerset, who began his career as a merchant seaman, served as second-in-command of the Parliamentarian navy during the First English Civil War, then defected to the Royalists when the Second English Civil War began in 1648. After the 1660 Stuart Restoration, he was elected Member of Parliament for Rochester and re-appointed Surveyor of the Navy, a position he had previously held from 1638 to 1648. In this capacity, he was a colleague of the author Samuel Pepys, who mentions him frequently in his "Diary", often to his detriment.
William Batten was born around 1601 in Easton in Gordano, Somerset, second son of Andrew Batten, Master mariner of a merchant ship. Little is known of his family, except that his elder brother was also in the merchant navy, while he had at least one sister, who married Captain John Browne, another master who served with Batten in the Parliamentarian navy.
In 1625, he married John Browne's sister Margaret, daughter of a London cobbler. They had six children, of whom at least four survived him; William (1626–after 1675), a member of Lincoln's Inn, Benjamin (c. 1644–1684), who followed his father into the navy, Mary, who married James Lemon, and Martha (born 1637) who in 1663 married William Castle, a shipwright. Samuel Pepys mentions the children and their spouses in his "Diary", and has little good to say of any of them, particularly William Castle. He is more positive about Margaret's brother John, who died in 1663 after a drunken fight with one of his servants.
Margaret died sometime in the 1650s, and in 1659 Batten married again, this time to Elizabeth Woodstocke (died 1683), widow of William Woodstocke of Westminster. His second marriage produced no children.
Batten started as an apprentice with the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors in London, becoming a fully-fledged member in 1623. However, he decided instead to follow his father and brother into the merchant marine, and in 1625 appears as commander of one of two whalers sent to Spitsbergen by Thomas Horth, a merchant from Great Yarmouth.
An Anglo-Spanish war began in 1625 and in August 1626 Batten became captain of the 350-ton "Salutation", an armed merchant ship licensed to attack Spanish shipping. He later resumed his whaling career and by 1630 was master and part-owner of the Charles, a position he retained until 1638 when he took over the Confident, a merchant ship converted for military use and hired by the Royal Navy, paid for by Ship money. In return for a payment of £1,500, Batten became Surveyor of the Navy in September 1638, supported by the Earl of Northumberland, who was Lord High Admiral from 1638 to 1642.
Like many officers appointed by Northumberland, including William Rainsborough, father of the political and religious radicals Thomas and William, Batten was a Presbyterian with no previous service in the Royal Navy, a policy intended to increase the number of "Godly" captains within the fleet. As the political struggle with Charles I intensified, in March 1642 Parliament nominated the devout Puritan Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, as commander of the navy, with Batten as his vice admiral and second-in-command. These positions were confirmed on 1 July, shortly before Batten received orders from the king, requiring him to place the fleet at his disposal. He immediately sent for Warwick, who declared for Parliament, followed by the majority of his captains.
As later noted by Royalist statesman and historian Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, Batten's prompt action in securing the fleet was a major boost to the Parliamentarian cause. Its possession allowed them to protect their own trade routes and block Royalist imports, while other countries were wary of antagonising one of the strongest navies in Europe by supporting their opponents. With the exception of Newcastle, when the First English Civil War began in August 1642, Parliament held every major port in England and Wales. This gave them control of access to internal waterways, the primary method of moving large bodies of men and supplies until the advent of railways in the 19th century, and prevented Royalist areas in Wales, South-West and North-East England from supporting each other. In early 1642, Charles had sent his wife, Henrietta Maria, to Europe to purchase weapons; the absence of a secure port delayed her return until February 1643, and even then, she reached Scarborough only after narrowly escaping a squadron led by Batten.
Hub AI
William Batten AI simulator
(@William Batten_simulator)
William Batten
Sir William Batten (c. 1601 – 5 October 1667) was an English naval officer and administrator from Somerset, who began his career as a merchant seaman, served as second-in-command of the Parliamentarian navy during the First English Civil War, then defected to the Royalists when the Second English Civil War began in 1648. After the 1660 Stuart Restoration, he was elected Member of Parliament for Rochester and re-appointed Surveyor of the Navy, a position he had previously held from 1638 to 1648. In this capacity, he was a colleague of the author Samuel Pepys, who mentions him frequently in his "Diary", often to his detriment.
William Batten was born around 1601 in Easton in Gordano, Somerset, second son of Andrew Batten, Master mariner of a merchant ship. Little is known of his family, except that his elder brother was also in the merchant navy, while he had at least one sister, who married Captain John Browne, another master who served with Batten in the Parliamentarian navy.
In 1625, he married John Browne's sister Margaret, daughter of a London cobbler. They had six children, of whom at least four survived him; William (1626–after 1675), a member of Lincoln's Inn, Benjamin (c. 1644–1684), who followed his father into the navy, Mary, who married James Lemon, and Martha (born 1637) who in 1663 married William Castle, a shipwright. Samuel Pepys mentions the children and their spouses in his "Diary", and has little good to say of any of them, particularly William Castle. He is more positive about Margaret's brother John, who died in 1663 after a drunken fight with one of his servants.
Margaret died sometime in the 1650s, and in 1659 Batten married again, this time to Elizabeth Woodstocke (died 1683), widow of William Woodstocke of Westminster. His second marriage produced no children.
Batten started as an apprentice with the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors in London, becoming a fully-fledged member in 1623. However, he decided instead to follow his father and brother into the merchant marine, and in 1625 appears as commander of one of two whalers sent to Spitsbergen by Thomas Horth, a merchant from Great Yarmouth.
An Anglo-Spanish war began in 1625 and in August 1626 Batten became captain of the 350-ton "Salutation", an armed merchant ship licensed to attack Spanish shipping. He later resumed his whaling career and by 1630 was master and part-owner of the Charles, a position he retained until 1638 when he took over the Confident, a merchant ship converted for military use and hired by the Royal Navy, paid for by Ship money. In return for a payment of £1,500, Batten became Surveyor of the Navy in September 1638, supported by the Earl of Northumberland, who was Lord High Admiral from 1638 to 1642.
Like many officers appointed by Northumberland, including William Rainsborough, father of the political and religious radicals Thomas and William, Batten was a Presbyterian with no previous service in the Royal Navy, a policy intended to increase the number of "Godly" captains within the fleet. As the political struggle with Charles I intensified, in March 1642 Parliament nominated the devout Puritan Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, as commander of the navy, with Batten as his vice admiral and second-in-command. These positions were confirmed on 1 July, shortly before Batten received orders from the king, requiring him to place the fleet at his disposal. He immediately sent for Warwick, who declared for Parliament, followed by the majority of his captains.
As later noted by Royalist statesman and historian Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, Batten's prompt action in securing the fleet was a major boost to the Parliamentarian cause. Its possession allowed them to protect their own trade routes and block Royalist imports, while other countries were wary of antagonising one of the strongest navies in Europe by supporting their opponents. With the exception of Newcastle, when the First English Civil War began in August 1642, Parliament held every major port in England and Wales. This gave them control of access to internal waterways, the primary method of moving large bodies of men and supplies until the advent of railways in the 19th century, and prevented Royalist areas in Wales, South-West and North-East England from supporting each other. In early 1642, Charles had sent his wife, Henrietta Maria, to Europe to purchase weapons; the absence of a secure port delayed her return until February 1643, and even then, she reached Scarborough only after narrowly escaping a squadron led by Batten.