Browne Bushell (1609 - 1651)

Born 17 May 1609 in Whitby, Yorkshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Anne Bowes — married 1631 in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, England

Died 29 Mar 1651 at age 41 in Tower of London, Middlesex, England

Biography

Browne Bushell was born in Yorkshire, England.

Browne Bushell is Notable.

Browne Bushell was born in Whitby, Yorkshire, England, and christened there on the 17th May 1609. ^[1]

Browne was a sea captain, the son of Nicholas Bushell of Ruswarpe (now Ruswarp), near Whitby, and Dorothy Cholmeley the daughter of Sir Henry Cholmley (or Cholmondley) of Rooksby, Yorkshire, a Knight. ^[2]

Brown's father, Nicholas, bought Bagdale Hall, which had originally been owned by James Conyers, Bailiff of Whitby. Some time after James was appointed Sergeant-at-Arms to King Henry VIII, James’ nephew, Gregory, took ownership. It was subsequently passed down through the family, and eventually sold to Nicholas. Browne inherited the Hall from his father. ^[3]

Browne had four siblings borne by Dorothy Cholmley: Hester Bushell, Mary Bushell, Michael Bushell, and Dorothy Bushell. ^[4]

Browne married Ann Bowes on the 20th August 1631, in All Saints, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England. ^[5] (Online image is not currently available for this source ~ June 2023).

Anne and Browne had a son, Nicholas, who was christened in Newcastle upon Tyne on the 29th April 1634. Nicholas died in infancy, and was buried in St Mary the Virgin, Whitby, on the 12th January 1638. ^{[6] [7] [8]} (Online images are not currently available for these sources ~ June 2023).

In 1916, two paintings were discovered, by the then new owner of in Bagdale Hall, Percy Shaw Jeffrey.

They were believed to be marriage portraits of Browne and his wife, or wife to be. The portraits were dated 1633, and the ages of the subjects were written on the back; the male 23, and the female 16. Both portraits show betrothal rings, on chains, around the subject's necks. ^[9]

Browne Bushell

Browne's wife

There is some uncertainty about the subject of the portrait purportedly depicting Browne's "wife". Some sources said it was Dorothy, others, that it was Elizabeth Fairfax; and there seems to be no mention of it being his wife Ann Bowes. (See research note Spouse, and the research notes on the profile of Anne Bowes )

Captain Bushell was active in the English Civil War. He initially sided with the Roundheads and, on 15th August 1641, he successfully led a small parliamentary force to secretly capture the ship "Henrietta Marie" in Portsmouth harbour without any shots being fired. ^[9]

Sir Hugh Cholmley, Browne's cousin, led 700 Royalist soldiers, and held Scarborough castle, and its strategic supply port. Cholmley originally occupied the castle as a Parliamentarian loyal to Cromwell, in September 1642. However, Sir Hugh lost the castle in a bloodless takeover by Browne, in March 1643, while he was away at York; but Cholmley persuaded Browne to give it back when he swapped sides in March 1643. It was this action that cost Browne Bushell his life, for siding with the "traitorous" Cholmley. ^[9]

Tower Hill execution site

The Parliamentary leaders had Captain Bushell executed for treason at Tower Hill on the 29th March 1651; beheaded, beneath the gallows. ^[10]

Beheading was regarded as the most dignified method of execution at the time.

From Browne's pre-execution speech, and confession, two important facts emerge. Firstly, Browne made mistakes but was, at heart, a Royalist, and, secondly, in death at least, he was "a true and faithful adherent of the Established Church". The full text can be viewed in full at Early English Books Online. ^[11]

The execution speech and confession was recorded by an eye witness "G.H". ^[12]

The ghost of Brown Bushell is said to haunt the grounds of Bagdale Hall, his presence being known by a feeling of dread and doom by those who experience his presence.

Research Notes

Christening

• Whitby Parish Register includes entries for Aislaby, Eskdale, Hawker, Newby-cum-Dunsley, Ruswarp, Sleights and Whitby. John Machell-121, 2 July 2023 (UTC)

• Browne would probably have been born in Bagdale Hall, Whitby, where his father Nicholas lived while he was having Ruswarp Hall built. Ruswarp Hall was completed in 1609, Browne's birth year. John Machell-121, 2 July 2023 (UTC)

Siblings

• The Parish Register of Whitby list Hesther Bushell's father as Robti Bushell. A research note has been added to Hesther's profile. John Machell-121, 2 July 2023 (UTC)

Spouse

• Some sources say that, Browne married Elizabeth, the daughter of Cromwell's Chief of Staff, Thomas Fairfax. Whitby Civic Society ART UK. However, this does not seem possible, because Cromwell's Thomas Fairfax MP (1612-1671), known as "Black Tom", was not born until 1712, in Denton Hall, near Ilkley, Yorkshire. Sir Thomas Fairfax of Denton.
• The freely visible summary of a Taylor and Francis online article sheds a little light. ^[9]
• Binns points out that Browne Bushell could not have married the daughter of Sir Thomas Fairfax, or the daughter of Thomas Fairfax of Dunsley, for reason of their timelines; and he suggests the marriage probably took place in the Spanish Netherlands. He also says that, "...how Browne's bride came to be called Elizabeth Fairfax remains a mystery."
• The idea his wife might have been Dorothy, could have arisen because the record of Browne's marriage to Ann, has only recently come to light, and Browne's mother and sister were both called Dorothy. ^[4]
• Two portrait paintings discovered in Bagdale hall, dated 1633, are thought to be the marriage portraits of Browne and his wife. The ages of the subjects in the paintings are written on the back of each portrait. The male is 23, and the female is 16.
• The Marriage record for Ann Bowes lists her husband as Browne Bushell; married in 1631.
• Given the age of the subject in the marriage portrait, 16, Ann's birth year would have been ~1617. John Machell-121, 2 July 2023 (UTC)

• Rev. Henry Aske Fairfax 1558-1615, stepfather-in-law to Dorothy (Bushell) Tempest, might possibly be where the 'Fairfax' association to the marriage originates. Lorraine Banks, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ The parish register of Whitby, 1600-1676, transcribed and edited by John Charlesworth, Vol 1 Part4, Page 2. "Browne Bushell filli9 Nicholai Bushell, Maij 17 1609" : Imaged, England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, database with images Christening : FamilySearch : (accessed 25 June 2023), digital film 007727845, Item 6, Image 544 of 850.
2. ↑ Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 08. William Hunt. Entry for “Bushell,” Parents: Wikisource : (accessed 25 June 2023)
3. ↑ "Parishes: Whitby," in A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 2, ed. William Page (London: Victoria County History, 1923), 506-528. British History Online, accessed July 1, 2023, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/north/vol2/pp506-528.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Robert Glover (Somerset Herald), The visitation of Yorkshire, made in the Years 1584/5, London, privately printed for the editor, Joseph Foster. 1875, page 220. Internet Archive (accessed 2 Jul 2023).
5. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973", database Marriage: FamilySearch : (accessed 25 June 2023), Ann Bowes in entry for Browne Bushell, 1631.
6. ↑ "England, Northumberland, Parish Registers, 1538-1950", database with images Christening: FamilySearch : (accessed 26 June 2023), Nicholas Bushell, 1634.
7. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database Christening: FamilySearch  : (accessed 26 June 2023), Nicholas Bushell, 1634.
8. ↑ "England, Yorkshire, Parish Registers, 1538-2016", database Burial: FamilySearch  : (accessed 26 June 2023), Nicholas Bushel, 1638.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3} Jack Binns (1991) Captain Browne Bushell: North Sea Adventurer and Pirate, Northern History, 27:1, 90-105, DOI: [10.1179/007817291790175736 Online article] : (accessed 1 July 2023).
10. ↑ Richard Clark. The Capital Punishment UK website, Executions at the Tower of London Confirmed executions at the Tower of London. Browne Bushell. 29/03/1651. Tower Hill. Beheading. Offering to betray Scarborough Castle to King Charles I.
11. ↑ University of Michigan Library, Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership, Online database, The speech and Confession of Captain Browne Bushell : (accessed 02 Jul 2023).
12. ↑ Catalogue of the pamphlets, books, newspapers, and manuscripts relating to the civil war, the commonwealth, and restoration, collected by George Thomason, 1640-1661 - Thomason Vol.1 page 831. March 29.—The Speech and Confession of Capt. Brown-Bushel at the place of execution. By G. H. Imprinted by B. W. E. 626. (14.)

See Also

• "A Place of Great Importance" Scarborough in the Civil Wars. Jack Binns Carnegie Publishing 1996 ISBN 1-85936-18-1 Page 38
• Wikipedia: Browne Bushell
• Bagdale Hall
• The Great Siege of Scarborough Castle

• Associated Image Freespace page: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Bushell_images

Acknowledgements

This profile has been improved by a member of the England Project's Orphan Trail.