PHILIP SKIPPON 

The Man and The Regiment

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By Martin G Russell

(Researched from multiple sources) 

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Philip Skippon was the son of Luke Skippon (c. 1567-1638), who in turn was the son of Bartholomew Skippon of Weasenham St Peter, Norfolk. Luke and his elder brother William (born c. 1566) went to school at Dereham and studied at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. William lived at Tawstock in north Devon where he was Secretary to Lord Bath, and died there on 1 January 1633 or 1634. Luke (born c. 1567) had his seat at West Lexham, Norfolk, and was father of two notable sons, Philip, and Luke. Luke entered Peterhouse, Cambridge in 1614 and made his career there, becoming Junior Proctor in 1633-34, and being nominated for Mastership of the College in 1663 but not appointed, he died in 1676.

Philip Skippon, c.1600-60

Stalwart veteran of the Dutch service, he commanded the London Trained Bands, the Earl of Essex's infantry, then the New Model Army infantry.

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As the son of a minor gentry family of West Lexham in Norfolk, Philip Skippon went as a volunteer on Sir Horace Vere's expeditionary force to aid Frederick V of Bohemia in the Electorate of the Palatinate in 1620. He served there until the Bohemian defeat in 1623 having served at the two sieges of Frankenthal. He then served Maurice of Nassau in the Netherlands, receiving a commission in 1625. He established his reputation for courage on the battlefield at the first siege of Breda in 1625 when he led 30 English soldiers to drive off a force of 200 Spaniards. He was with Sir Horace Vere again at the attacks on ’s Hertogenbosch and Maastricht in 1629. By 1632 he was a sergeant major and led many of the other sorties at Maastricht with distinction. He also served at the second siege of Breda in 1637 where he was wounded. He later became deeply interested in religion, writing small private religious volumes for his family. He inherited property at Foulsham Hall in Norfolk in 1634, and returned to England with his wife Maria, whom he had married in 1622, and their seven children in 1638 a veteran of 18 years.

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Skippon and his family moved to London in October 1639 when he was recommended for the post of Captain-General of the Gentlemen of the Artillery Garden. When the King was forced to flee from London in January 1642, Parliament appointed Skippon commander of the London Trained Bands on the 10th and ordered him to raise a guard for the defence of Parliament in defiance of the king's authority, and two days later he mustered them to welcome the five members who Charles had failed to arrest. The King ordered his attendance at York on 13th May 1642 but Skippon chose to support Parliament, having become disaffected from the King's cause on religious grounds, he answered, "I desire to honour God and not to honour men,” and Parliament declared Charles's order illegal. When the Royalist army marched on London after the battle of Edgehill, Skippon commanded the Trained Bands at the stand-off at Turnham Green, where he encouraged his under-trained militiamen with the words:

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“Come my boys, my brave boys, let us pray heartily and fight heartily. I will run the same hazards and fortunes with you. Remember the cause is for God, and for the defence of yourselves, your wives, your children. Come, my honest brave boys, pray heartily and fight heartily, and God will bless us.”

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His popularity amongst the troops was noticed by the Earl of Essex, who appointed him Sergeant-Major-General of Parliament's army.

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In 1643 his religious tracts written in the Netherlands were collected and published as “The Christian Centurion,” one of many devotional tracts he published for his troops to read. His high level of experience meant that Parliament was unwilling to risk him in action early in the war. He did however take part in the siege of Reading in April 1643 and led the London Trained Bands on Essex's march to relieve the siege of Gloucester in August. On 20th September 1643, at the first Battle of Newbury, Skippon commanded the infantry and artillery positioned on Round Hill which stood firm against Royalist artillery bombardment and repeated cavalry attacks. In 1644, Skippon took part in Essex's disastrous march into the West. After the Parliamentarian cavalry had broken out of Lostwithiel and the Earl of Essex had escaped by sea, Skippon was left in command of the beleaguered infantry, some 6000 men. He tried to persuade his officers to fight their way out, but was obliged to surrender to the King the following day. The defeated army was allowed to march away after surrendering all its weapons, artillery and stores. He then gathered the infantrymen from that force in October and marched them to take part in the second Battle of Newbury, occupying the centre of the high ground near Stockcross and recapturing six or seven of the guns they had lost at Lostwithiel.

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On the formation of the New Model Army in 1645, Skippon was appointed Major-General of Foot. His appointment persuaded many reluctant officers and men of Essex's old army to enlist in the New Model. In this capacity he supported Sir Thomas Fairfax, the Lord General, as loyally as he had supported Essex. At Naesby in June 1645, Skippon fought at the head of the infantry in the centre. He was dangerously wounded by a musket ball that splintered his armour, but he refused to leave the field until victory was assured. For his conduct on this decisive occasion, the two Houses of Parliament thanked him, and they sent him special physicians to cure him of his wound. It was a long time before he was fit to serve in the field again. He only reappeared at the siege of Oxford, which he directed.

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Skippon tried to mediate between the Army and Parliament during the troubles of 1647 and was one of the military commissioners sent to Saffron Walden in April to persuade discontented officers and men to enlist for service in Ireland. He refused to support the attempt by Presbyterians to mobilise the London Trained Bands and marched with Fairfax and Cromwell when the Army occupied London in August. During the Second Civil War, he secured London for Parliament while General Fairfax suppressed the Royalist uprisings in Kent and Essex. In December 1648, Skippon persuaded the London Trained Bands charged with guarding Parliament to stand down during Pride’s Purge. The following month, he was commissioned one of the King's judges, but like Fairfax, never attended any sessions of the High Court of Justice.

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During the Commonwealth and Protectorate, Skippon continued to hold high military and civil office, with particular responsibility for maintaining the security of London. He was appointed military governor of London during the Rule of the Major Generals in 1655, but left the day-to-day running of the capital to his deputy, John Barkstead. Skippon was also elected to the First and Second Protectorate Parliaments, where he rarely spoke, except to join the condemnation of the Quaker James Naylor in 1656 with the comment, "If this be liberty, God deliver us from such liberty!". Cromwell appointed Skippon to his Upper House as Lord Skippon. Although he supported Richard Cromwell after Oliver's death, Skippon was generally held in such high regard that the restored Long Parliament voted to keep him on as commander of the London militia in July 1659.

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Skippon died in the March of 1660 and left a substantial estate, having been well-rewarded for his loyal service. He was the author of three devotional books, published at his own expense, which reflect his faith as a Puritan soldier.

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He had first married Maria Comes of Frankenthal, Lower Palatinate, in the Netherland church there on 14 May 1622, by whom he had several children, most of whom did not survive infancy. These were Anna (born in Utrecht, 1623-1624), Anna (born in Montfoort, 1625), William (born in Amersfoort, 1628-1646/47), Marie (also born in Amersfoort, 1631), Phillip (also in Amersfoort, 1633-1633), Susanna (born in West Lexham, 1635), Luke (born in Foulsham, 1638) and Philip (born in Hackney, 1641). Their son and surviving heir Philip became MP for Dunwich. The General's wife, Maria Skippon died at Acton on 24 January 1655 or 56, and had a monument in the church there. There was a second marriage, for his widow Dame Katherine Skippon is first-named in his will written at Acton, Middlesex, which leaves lands there, and at Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, and in Norfolk and Suffolk. The will also refers to his son Philip and daughters Anne Bragge, Mary Skippon and Susan Meredith. Susan was the wife of Sir Richard Meredith, 2nd Baronet of Leeds Abbey, Kent.

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