The fate of Charles Radcliffe has been regarded as one of the most
severe, and his death as one of the most unjustifiable acts inflicted on
those who suffered for their adherence to the Stuart cause.
This unfortunate man was the third son of Francis Earl of Derwentwater,
by the Lady Mary Tudor, the daughter of Charles the Second, and was born
in 1693. He was the younger brother of James Earl of Derwentwater, who
suffered in 1716, for his adherence to the Stuart cause. There was also
another elder brother, Francis, who died unmarried, not taking any
apparent interest in the politics of the day.
The family of Radcliffe were not regarded by the descendants of their
common ancestor, Charles the Second, in the light of kindred whom the
rules of decorum, and the usages of society might induce them to
disclaim, or at all events, to acknowledge with shame or reluctance; the
vitiated notions of the day attached a very different value to the
parentage of royalty, even when associated with dishonour. The marriage
of Sir Francis Radcliffe to the daughter of Mary Davis was that event
which procured his elevation to the peerage; and this alliance, was
considered as elevating the dignity of an ancient house.[399] The
closest ties of friendship united the Stuarts and the Radcliffes, even
from their earliest infancy. Educated, as well as his elder brother,
James, chiefly at St. Germains, and with the Chevalier James Stuart, and
brought up in the Roman Catholic faith, Charles Radcliffe, owing to the
natural ardour of his disposition, imbibed much more readily than his
brother the strong party views which characterized the Jacobites as a
body.
In James, Earl of Derwentwater, the convictions of his faith, grounded
as they are upon the belief of those great truths common to all
Christians, worked healthfully; expanding the benevolence of his heart,
teaching him mercy, moderation, and forbearance. On Charles, impetuous,
zealous, stronger in intellect than his brother, but devoid of prudence,
the same mode of culture, the same precepts acted differently. He
became, even in early life, violent in his opinions, until the horror of
what he deemed error, amounted to bigotry. Henceforth his destiny was
swayed by those fierce resentments towards the opposite party by which
not only his brother, but even the Chevalier himself, seem to have been
so rarely actuated; a remarkable degree of moderation and candour
raising the character of James Stuart, whilst Lord Derwentwater was the
gentlest of opponents, the most honourable of foes.
In early life Charles Radcliffe appears to have been chiefly dependent
upon his brother's kindness and bounty; whilst his pursuits and
inclinations, characterized in a letter by Lord Derwentwater as his
"pleasures," were of an expensive description. But it was not long
before other causes of concern besides want of money, or a love of
dissipation began to disquiet those who were interested in the welfare
of the Radcliffe family. About the year 1710, the young Earl of
Derwentwater returned from the continent to his patrimonial property at
Dilstone, in Northumberland, accompanied by his brother Francis, and by
Charles who either frequently visited him, or wholly resided with him at
his seat. During this period of the life of Charles Radcliffe, an
insight into the general state of the family is afforded by several
letters, addressed by the Earl of Derwentwater to Lady Swinburne of
Capheaton, whom he styles his "cousin." The relationship between these
families originated in the marriage of Mrs. Lawson, daughter of Sir
William Fenwick of Meldon, after the death of her first husband, with
Francis, first Earl of Derwentwater, and grandfather of James Radcliffe,
and of his brothers. Mrs. Lawson's daughter, Isabel, married Sir John
Swinburne of Capheaton who was rescued from a singular fate by one of
the Radcliffe family. When a child, he was sent to a monastery in
France, where a member of that family accidentally saw him, and
observing that he resembled the Swinburnes in Northumberland, he
inquired his name, and how he came there? To these questions, the monks
answered that they knew not his name; a sum of money was sent annually
from England to defray his expenses; but of all other particulars they
were wholly ignorant. On investigating the matter, it was found,
however, that the child had been taught that his name was Swinburne; and
that circumstance, coupled with the mysterious disappearance of the heir
of that family from Northumberland induced the superior of the convent
to permit his return home, where he identified himself to be the son of
John Swinburne and of Jane Blount, by the description which he gave of
the marks of a cat, and of a punchbowl, which were still in the
house.[400] He was afterwards advanced by Charles the Second to the
dignity of a baronet.
To Mary, the daughter of Anthony Englefield, of Whiteknights, Berks, and
wife of Sir William Swinburne, of Capheaton, the son of that man whose
childhood has so romantic a story associated with it, the following
letters are addressed. Of these, the first is written by the celebrated
John Radcliffe, Physician to Queen Anne. Dr. Radcliffe was probably a
distant relation of the family, although no distinctive trace of that
connection appears: he was a native of Wakefield, near Yorkshire; but
when these letters were written, he had attained the highest eminence in
his profession that could be secured by one man; and was in the
possession of wealth which he eventually employed in the foundation of
the Radcliffe Library, at Oxford.[401] The "Mr. Radcliffe" to whom he
refers, and to whose malady his skill was called upon to administer, was
Colonel Thomas Radcliffe, the uncle of Lord Derwentwater: the patient
was at the time suffering from mental delusion, in consequence of a
fever.