John Birch (Roundhead)


Colonel John Birch was an English soldier and politician, who fought for the Parliamentarian cause in the First English Civil War, and sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1646 and 1691.
Excluded from Parliament in Pride's Purge of December 1648, he was also prevented from taking his seat for Leominster under the Protectorate. After the 1660 Restoration, he sat on over 122 Parliamentary Committees, particularly those connected with finance.
Although Presbyterian by upbringing, he voted in favour of the 1673 and 1678 Test Acts, requiring holders of public office to be members of the Church of England. He himself conformed, supported the exclusion of the Catholic James II in 1679, and backed the 1689 Glorious Revolution.
Considered a "great Parliamentarian", his contemporary Gilbert Burnet summarised him as follows; "He was the roughest and boldest speaker in the House, and talked in the language and phrases of a carrier, but with a beauty and eloquence that was always acceptable. He spoke always with much life and heat, but judgment was not his talent."

Biography

John Birch was born 7 September 1615, second but eldest surviving son of Samuel and Mary Birch. His father was a wealthy Presbyterian merchant, who owned Ardwick Manor, outside Manchester. He had two brothers, Samuel, and Thomas. He moved to Bristol in 1633, where he set up as a wine merchant.
Birch married Alice Deane, daughter of a Bristol merchant. They had five children who lived to adulthood; John, Samuel, Mary, Elizabeth and Sarah. There were no children from his second marriage to Winifred Norris, who died in 1717.

Career

When the First English Civil War began in 1642, Birch was a captain in the Bristol militia, and served in the Parliamentarian garrison. In the early stages, some viewed it as a break from routine, with better pay and rations than in civilian life; he later recorded some were concerned it might end too soon.
When the Royalists captured the town in June 1643, the garrison was given a pass to London. With the help of Sir Arthur Haselrig, Birch was commissioned in the army commanded by William Waller, and quickly proved an energetic and courageous officer. In November 1643, he served in the first Siege of Basing House, and was slightly wounded in the Battle of Alton on 13 December. Less than a week later, he was shot in the stomach in an assault on Arundel Castle, allegedly surviving only because the cold weather stemmed the flow of blood.
After recovering, he took part in the Battle of Cheriton in March 1644; at Cropredy Bridge in June, he commanded the rearguard that held the bridge long enough for Waller's main force to retreat. He later served in Wales and the south-west, and led the attack that took Hereford on 17 December 1645. He fought at Stow-on-the-Wold in March 1646, and captured Goodrich Castle in June, just before the war ended.
In September 1646, Birch was elected to fill a vacancy as MP for Leominster. He was appointed High steward of Leominster in 1648, and invested heavily in purchasing church lands, which made him extremely wealthy.
Disputes over a peace settlement with Charles I, and religious policy, split Parliament between moderates like Birch, and more radical religious Independents such as Oliver Cromwell, who dominated the New Model Army. Although he did not take part in the Second English Civil War, he was one of the MPs excluded from Parliament in Pride's Purge of 6 December 1648.
He met with Charles II prior to the Battle of Worcester in September 1651; he avoided direct participation, unlike his former colleague Edward Massey, who later became a political opponent. He retained his Leominster seat throughout the Protectorate, although he was not allowed to take his seat, and later claimed to have been arrested 21 times. After the 1660 Restoration, he was removed as High Steward of Leominster, and forced to sell his lands back to the church, ending his influence in the area. However, in 1661 he was returned as MP for Penryn, in the Cavalier Parliament.
, who worked with Birch on reviewing naval costs
Although he never held high political office, Birch sat on numerous committees, especially those connected to public spending and taxes, where he proved a relentless and astute auditor. His presence on the committee to review naval expenditure after the Second Anglo-Dutch War brought him into contact with Pepys, who noted he "do take it upon him to defend us, and do mightily do me right in all his discourse".
The 1662 Act of Uniformity expelled Presbyterians from the Church of England, who thus became Protestant Nonconformists. They included John, and his brother Samuel, who was evicted from his parish of Bampton as a result. However, Birch voted for the 1673 Test Act, which required holders of public office holders to be Anglicans, and became a member of the church. This was largely due to his opposition to Catholicism, and in the Exclusion Crisis, he supported barring Charles' Catholic brother James from the throne.
Birch purchased Garnstone Manor, Weobly, in 1661, giving him control of its Parliamentary seat. First elected in 1679, he held it until his death in 1691, with the exception of 1685, when he stood down following the accession of James II. He regained it after the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, and was prominent in debates over the Bill of Rights and the Revolutionary settlement.
His last recorded Parliamentary appearance was in April 1690; he died at home on 10 May 1691, and was buried at St Peter and St Paul's, Weobley. The railings around his monument extended into the altar space, and were removed in 1694 by Gilbert Ironside, Bishop of Hereford; the holes are still visible. His youngest daughter, Sarah, inherited Garnstone, on condition she marry her cousin, another John Birch; he held the Weobley seat almost continuously from 1701, until his death in 1735.