The Pennyman
family were big players in seventeenth century Cleveland . In 1625,
they raised the fine pile that is Marske Hall and, in 1632, a certain Sir James
Pennyman became Lord of the Manor.
As family
tradition dictated, James was a staunch Royalist, so successfully chose the
wrong side in the English Civil War. Keen to do his bit, though, at a time in
the dispute when the outcome was in the balance, he created a little private
army of his own made up of tenants from his estate. And, in 1643, this band of
brothers was called into action in the little-known ‘Battle of Marske Beach’.
It seems that Cromwell, keen to gain a foothold in this part of the world,
tried to land a party of men on the seafront near to the village … and was
successfully repelled by Sir James and his army.
When he
eventually ‘surrendered’, he was punished for his delinquency and fined £1,200
in 1646. It is thought that it was this financial ‘hit’ which forced him to
sell his estate to the Lowthers in 1650. Sir James made his comeback, though:
he was elevated to the Baronetage after the Restoration and died – vindicated,
presumably – in 1679.
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