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BIOGRAPHIES

JOHN CLAY

1815-1886

Although John Clay stated that he was baptized at St. Margaret's Parish, Leicester in October of 1812, he was actually born in Weeden, Northamptonshire on May 1st, 1815, the son of James Clay and Cassandra Wheatcroft, origianlly of Wirksworth, Derbyshire. In 1830, at age 15, he stood 5'7", had brown hair, gray eyes, a round face and a "fresh" complexion. In November of that year, he left his job as a laborer in Leicester to join the 52nd Oxforshire Regiment of Foot. Thus began a military career which would take him to Ireland, Gibraltar, Barbados, the West Indies and finally to Canada. In Ireland, he met and married Mary Ann McNichol and had two children, John and George, born in "Armagh," probably the Parish of Armagh in County Tyrone. In the 1851 Canadian census for Niagara, Ontario, Catherine, William and Rebecca are added to his family. Sons Henry and James show up in later censuses. After 26 years of service, he retired from the army in 1856 as a sergeant, a rank he was proud of the rest of his life. He died in Puslinch, outside of Guelph on 8 February 1886.

The Clays of Wirksworth were mostly stonemasons by trade. By the late 1700's, Leicester had become a flourishing modern town, complementing its medieval Tudor buildings with new Georgian ones. In spite of being a hive of industry, pre-industrial age Leicester had still managed to keep its rural charm, as observed by a traveler who admired the abundance of trees throughout the town. Opportunities for stonemasons must have been plentiful, attracting John Clay, a great uncle to John, the first to arrive. Other family members soon followed. After the death of John Clay, stonemason, in 1795, his nephew Henry Clay took over the business, appearing in the Leicester business directory until his death in 1826, when his widow managed the operation for another year. In the meantime, John Clay's father had moved the family to Weeden, where he was most likely working on the construction of a military compound there. That is when young John Clay was born. The family returned to Leicester when he was five years old. No documents such as apprenticeship papers link the youth, John Clay, to Leicester until he "took the King's shilling" and marked his enlistment paper with an X, thereby joining the 52nd Oxfordshire Regiment of Foot, which was recruiting in the area at the time. It is very likely that a combination of anti-French sentiment resulting from the Napoleonic wars, the decline of the family enterprise and depressed wages due to the introduction of knitting machines to the wool trade decided John Clay to seek a better life for himself elsewhere.

John Clay's military adventures began when the regiment was deployed to Ireland to quell rioting there. At first they were headquartered in Dublin, but later were scattered all over the country including Dungannon in County Tyrone. Between 1836 and 1838, the regiment was stationed in Gibraltar where the troops were faced with a yellow fever epidemic, privation, malnutrition, scurvy, profiteering and political corruption. Because the colony was under martial law, drunkenness, for example, was considered a military crime and subject to court martial. In fact, John Clay suffered a court martial there, being deprived of his good conduct pay.

That same year, the regiment sailed for Barbados and the West Indies, where tropical rains brought fever, killing a number of the men and making everybody ill. For almost four years the troops endured unhealthy conditions until 1842 when they embarked for Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. It is not known exactly when and where in Canada John Clay was stationed, because the regiment was often split into detachments sent to different locales. Among the forts he may have been garrisoned in, we find Halifax, Windsor, Cape Breton, Quebec and Montreal.

In 1847, the 52nd Regiment left Canada to return to England and eventually to fight in India. Apparently many men, including John Clay, preferring life in North America to different places they had seen, transferred out of the 52nd into other regiments permanently stationed in Canada. Thus in 1846, John Clay joined the Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment, formed in 1840 and initially made up exclusively of veteran British soldiers, many with families, to guard the borders against U.S. invasion. The RCRR was colloquially nicknamed the "Bull Frogs." During its 30 year existence, the regiment gained more fame for sports than for military action, being credited with founding the Toronto Hunt Club in 1843 for fox hunting and inventing the game of ice hockey in 1855 at Kingston, Ontario.

Regimental records from Fort George, Niagara for 11 May 1852 order John Clay, soldier #1200 along with Company 2, to proceed to Toronto en route to Kingston in the steamer "Chief Justice Robinson." No other military record mentioning him can be found until his discharge in 1856 from Ft. Malden, Amherstburg, across from Detroit, Michigan. He was then 43 years of age and receiving a pension. Although his intent was to settle in the nearby town, he and his family do not appear in the 1861 Canadian census for the counties of Essex, York, Waterloo or Wellington. It is possible that he crossed the border into Michigan, especially since his son George is mentioned in a christening record as living there with his wife Hannah in 1872. Wherever he went, he shows back up in Ontario, eventually settling in Puslinch, just outside of Guelph. In later years he must have looked back over his life, feeling that it had been successful and rewarding. Upon his death on 8 February 1886, a notice in the Guelph Daily Advertiser urged all soldiers of the No. 3 Company of the Brigade Guards to pay their respects at his funeral service. He had been a military man to the very end.

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The following is an article taken from the "Victoria Daily Colonist" of Sunday, August 31, 1938 regarding Henry Ballantyne Clay, son of Sgt. John Clay and Mary Ann McNichol. Married to Janet "Jesse" Strachan, he ran a catering business and ice cream parlor in British Columbia in the late 1800's.

COLORFUL CATERER

For Years Clay's Was a Household Word in Old Victoria

By James K. Nesbitt


"We'll meet at Clay's." It was a popular place in the 1890's, Clay's on Fort Street.

It was a bakery and confectionery and in summer, an ice cream parlor, complete with the delightful, old-fashioned (then very stylish) iron legged tables and chairs, which are now collector's items.

In Honolulu there's such a parlor, and the old-fashioned tables and chairs are set under awnings and umbrellas on the main street up from famed Waikiki. It's an idea for someone in Victoria, if a summer like this one could be guaranteed.

Clay's too, was the place to go after a Saturday night promenade to the band of the old 5th Regiment, in the Drill Hall on Menzies Street.

There the young men and maidens of the town walked round and round the balcony while the band played below, and then it was a walk uptown and to Clay's for an ice cream. A nice leisurely age it seems to us today.

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ballantyne Clay came to Victoria in the 1880's from Ontario. They started a small bakery and soon it prospered. They had two daughters and a son and the family lived in quarters at the rear of the ice
cream parlor - commodious quarters that opened into a pretty garden.

Soon Mr. and Mrs. Clay found themselves in the catering business. A hostess would place her order at Clay's and then suggest that perhaps Mrs. Clay herself might see that the cake was well placed on the table, and suitably decorated.

In a special souvenir edition in September of 1894 The Colonist told of the activities of Mr. and Mrs. Clay.

"There is probably not a business in Victoria that is oftener called into requisition by the fashionable entertainers of the city than the catering establishment of Henry Clay, at No. 39 Fort Street.

"Clay is a household word in Victoria.

"The name is suggestive of receptions, parties, ball suppers, weddings, the choicest candies and crystallized fruits, confectionery, beautiful cakes and delicious ice creams.

"As a caterer Mr. Clay has no equal in British Columbia, as a confectioner he commands much of the very best items of the city and as a manufacturer of ice cream he is unrivalled.

"Mr. Clay established his present business in 1888. The confectionery store is fitted up in an elegant and attractive manner and is a favorite place of resort for the young and old alike. It may be truthfully said that the sweet tooth of young people of all ages is as frequently satisfied at Clay's as at any other place in the province.

"Much of Mr. Clay's time is taken up with duties connected with the catering department of his business and frequent patrons of the confectionery store more often receive a pleasant greeting from Mrs. Clay than see her husband.

"In the line of catering, Mr. Clay furnishes, when desired, waiters and fancy cooks, as well as fine china services, complete table silver, table linen and damask. In fact, he is prepared to furnish everything requisite for the most elegant and elaborate breakfast, dinner, banquet or supper."

There were occasions, at big parties at Government House, when Mr. and Mrs. Clay were called to assist, and they catered for dances and wedding receptions and banquets. To have Mr. and Mrs. Clay presiding was something like having Oscar of the Waldorf.

Death however, came to Mr. Clay just before Christmas of 1898, as we read in The Colonist: "Death yesterday relieved one of Victoria's most popular citizens of his sufferings. Henry Ballantyne Clay, the Fort Street baker and confectioner who had been ill for close on a year died....at his residence, 39 Fort Street.

"Last winter Mr. Clay started on a trip east, but a few days after leaving he was taken seriously ill. He continued on the trip and then returned to Victoria, his health being very seriously shattered. Since then he has been an almost continuous sufferer, at intervals, however, being able to participate in his favorite sports with the gun and rod. He will be missed by a large circle of friends, who extend to Mrs. Clay, her two daughters and son their sincerest sympathy in their bereavement.

"The deceased was a native of Niagara, Ont., and aged 46 years...A large number of sympathizing friends...attended the service conducted by Rev. Dr. W. Leslie Clay....and the following gentlemen acted as pallbearers: R.H. Jameson. C.A. Lombard. George Winn. W. Newbigging and Otto Weiler.

Mrs. Clay carried on the business and for another 10 or 12 years Clay's continued a household word in Victoria and a gather place for many citizens.

Mrs. Clay too, branched out in the catering business and often was called on to help with the naval dances, which were so much a part of the bright life of Victoria in those days.

In May of 1899 Mrs. Clay took on one of her biggest jobs: Out at the Royal Naval yards at Esquimalt...Capt. Finnish and his officers of HMS Amphion gave a ball to their Victoria friends that will not be forgotten
when the buds of today have blossomed into belles and matrons and tell a new generation of buds who are now children of the pleasures of that memorable night.

"It was an evening of jollity and pleasure unalloyed...a night when science and originality, artistic taste and thorough knowledge of what makes a perfect ball were brought to reinforce the hospitable determination to please - a night when Neptune and even grim Vulcan became the willing slaves of Terpsichore and lent their united service to the fair mistress of the dance.

".......Beyond the supper room were placed the smoking rooms, with their sociable whist tables for the non-dancers.....and the catering department of which Mrs. Henry Clay was in command."

And, in October of 1899 there was this: "Rear Admiral Beaumont and the officers of HM Navy were the guest last evening at the charming ball given in their honor by the citizens of Victoria, the Assembly Hall on Fort Street being the scene.

"At three corners of the hall were arranged cosily planned parlors, in the Japanese style, providing semi-privacy for between dance gossipers: the supervision of the decorative work devolved upon a committee composed of Messrs. D.R. Harris and W. Ridgeway Wilson, with Sentator W.J. Macdonald.

"The supper room was in the special care of a volunteer corps of lady workers - the Misses Prior, Miss Eva Loewen, Mrs. W.A. Ward and Miss Edith Davie.

"The tables were five in number, glistening with silver, cut glass and snowy napery, while the supper itself, supplied by Mrs. Henry Clay and under the direction of a committee composed of Capt. Palmer. Mr. W.A. Ward. Mr. W. Ridgway Wilson and Col. Prior was rightly to be termed a feast for epicures. The service, in the hands of Steward J. Smith and a well-trained corps of assistant was just as much perfection as the spread itself, or the Heidsick Dry Monopole in which the health of guest and hosts was courteously drunk.

"The Set of Honor was composed of the Mayor C.E. Redfern and Mrs. Beaumont (wife of the Admiral): the Admiral and Mrs. Redfern: the Lieutenant Governor Hon. T.R. McInnes and Mrs. Prior: Mr. Justice Walkem and Mrs. McInnes: Mr. Justice Martina and Mrs. Walkem: Capt. Kirby: R.N. and Mrs. W.J. Macdonald: Capt. Walker. R.N. and Mr. Martin: Capt Jacobsen. IGN and Mrs. Thomas Earle."

Thus Mrs. Henry Clay continued busy for many years, a very important person to many of the hosts and hostesses of her day.

She died here in 1933. There are no pictures of Mr. and Mrs. Clay or of their famous establishment. Perhaps someone in Victoria knows where some might be obtained, for Clay's was certainly a landmark of its time in this place.

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JOHN CONRADT MOLANUS
And the Dutchman's Mine


Johannes Conradus Molanus was born in the Netherlands, probably in Zeeland, around 1599. His arrival in England could have happened as early as the summer of 1626 after the renowned Dutch engineer, Cornelius Vermuyden, returned to his homeland of Zeeland from England to seek financial backing and to recruit Dutch and Huguenot workers for the Hatfield Chase drainage project he had just been awarded by King Charles I. In papers dating 1628, John Molanus was recorded as being the agent in charge of the project. Unfortunately, this must have been a difficult job due to the hostility of the local inhabitants, particularly those on the Isle of Axeholme, who engaged in acts of sabotage and rioting in which one man was killed. In spite of the problems with the Hatfield Chase, Cornelius Vermuyden was knighted in 1628 by the King for successful completion of the project and was subsequently commissioned to undertake the mammoth task of draining 300,000 acres of the East Anglian Fens in 1630. Meanwhile, a search of other profitable uses of his expertise led him and a small entourage of Dutch entrepreneurs to Wirksworth, Derbyshire, where flooding had made many of the mines unworkable. King Charles, always on the lookout for more sources of revenue, was only too happy to issue Sir Cornelius and a partner, Sir Robert Heath, rights to the Dovegang Rake, a rich mine lying idle.

John Molanus’ name became associated with the endeavor during a Duchy Court hearing in 1632 disputing the legality of the "takeover," where he was again described as Vermuyden’s agent, and accused of acting upon the orders of Vermuyden and Heath by which he intimidated former titleholders into relinquishing their claims to ownership. As overseer, it is estimated that he supervised 1000 workmen. By now, he had a wife, Madeline and one son, John, baptized at St. Mary’s Wirksworth in February of that year. In 1637, the year in which Vermuyden and Heath finally established legally their ownership of the mine, Sir Cornerlius was appointed barmaster of the Dovegang Mine, delegating his duties to Johannes Conradus Molanus, "his servant and agent." While the position of barmaster was not salaried, a gentleman could earn quite a handsome income by performing certain services, such as measuring loads of ore, checking on the validity of mine ownership, appearing at barmoot court during disputes and acting as coroner in cases of mining fatalities. Although position of barmaster was exclusively reserved for gentlemen who could read and write, it was mostly their appointed deputies who actually carried out the duties. For John Molanus, this was indeed an honor.

In October of 1642, the Civil War intruded upon the complacency of life in England. Though Sir Robert Heath continued his allegiance to King Charles I, Sir Cornelius Vermuyden declared himself on the side of Parliament. John Molanus followed suit. Thus, when Sir John Gell marched into Wirksworth recruiting for his incipient Derbyshire Regiment, John Molanus signed on, thereby going from mine agent to soldier to war hero. Between 1642 and 1646, in spite of going off to neighboring shires on numerous military expeditions, the now Major Molanus still managed to purchase ore on a regular basis, run Sir John Gell’s smelting mill and father his fifth child.

After the war ended in 1646 with the defeat of King Charles I, Sir John Gell rewarded Major Molanus with a tenancy and overseer position in his Upper Smelting Mill. In 1648 a personal tragedy occurred when his wife, Madeline Molanus died. Sometime later, John Molanus married Anne Whittingham, widow of royalist Captain Thomas Whittingham, whom he must have met during the Civil War. In 1650, a crisis erupted when John Molanus was charged with misappropriation of funds as Colonel John Gell’s first quartermaster, at the same time that Sir John was defending himself from accusations of high treason against Parliament. Protestations of innocence on the part of John Molanus did nothing to help the cause of Sir John Gell, who eventually was convicted and imprisoned. Further souring the relationship between the two, in 1655 John Molanus was found guilty of neglecting to pay excise duty, resulting in the removal of lead ore from the mill to cover the debt.

Meanwhile, his former boss, Cornelius Vermuyden was having his own legal woes with a colleague, Marcellus Vanduran, who had been appointed trustee of the Dovegang Mine for Vermuyden’s son John, who was to take possession of the title upon reaching his majority in 1648. Vanduran, who claimed that Vermuyden owed him several thousand pounds in unpaid loans and interest, refused to hand over the title. In a court case in 1652, John Molanus testified in favor of Vanduran. It’s possible that his son, Marcellus, born in 1640, had been named after Vanduran.

Were it not for the lamentable legal squabbles of the many people he was involved with, little would have been known of him today. John Molanus was buried on May 23rd, 1661. The entry in the Wirksworth parish records honors him with his well deserved title of Major. Although there appears to be no will, his son John and grandson Edward both died testate, leaving land and "mineral possessions" among other things. Apparently the friendship with the Gells was not entirely damaged, since Edward’s daughter Anne married a Ralph Gell in 1754. From humble origins in the Netherlands, to a prestigious position as trusted agent, to local fame as a war hero, to the enviable status of landowner, John Conradt Molanus enjoyed a fruitful and successful life in his adopted land. There is no doubt that this was due to his intelligence, capabilities and bravery. While a very minor player in the grand scheme of things, in his lifetime, John Molanus significantly contributed to the course of history, especially in that little corner of England known as Wirksworth.

Sources:

Crossley, David. "The Lead-Smelting Mills of Derbyshire." Derbyshire Archaeological Journal.112.

Fisher, F. N. "Sir Cornelius Vermuyden and the Dovegang Lead Mine." Derbyshire Archaeological Journal. 72 (1952)

Kirkham, Nellie. "The Tumultuous Course of Dovegang." Derbyshire Archaeological Journal. 73 (1953)

Slack, Ron. "The Dovegang Plot: Legal and Other Preliminaries to the Driving of Vermuyden’s Sough." Bulletin of the Peak District Mines Historical Society. 12.3 (1994).

---. "Gentlemen Barmasters: A Seventeenth Century Mining Dynasty." Bulletin of the Peak District Mines Historical Society. 11.4 (1991).

---. Man at War: John Gell in his troubled time. Chesterfield: Mastaprint Limited, 1997.

---. "Trouble and Strife: The Wirksworth Lead Industry in the Mid-17th Century." Bulletin of the Peak District Mines Historical Society. 12.2 (1993).

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MAJOR JOHN CONRADT MOLANUS
British Civil War Hero


On the 26th of October, 1642, Sir John Gell, estate owner and newly commissioned Colonel of the Parliamentary forces, marched into Wirksworth with 140 men to recruit an army of 1200 against King Charles’ I Royalists. Parliament, fed up with King Charles I's despotic practices, had set in motion a Civil War. John Conradt Molanus, a Dutch emigre with over 15 years of experience, was managing the Dovegang mine for Sir Cornelius Vermuyden. Whether he was a seasoned veteran of the Thiry Years War in the Netherlands is a matter for speculation. What is certain is that he had proven himself capable of handling large numbers of people under adverse conditions and was considered trustworthy by his employer. Perhaps because of his managerial skills, perhaps due to his natural daring and leadership, John Conradt Molanus was appointed quartermaster of the regiment. Within a short time, he was promoted to Major of foot in command of over 200 miners from Col. Gell’s estates outfitted as musketeers.

His first assignment sent him to Coventry for "two saccers and some ammunition." Successfully completing this mission, he stayed five days, then returned to Derby, the home base of the new army. Next, Col. Gell ordered him to take 400 foot to join Capt. White’s dragoons in an attack on Bratby, the home of the Earl of Chesterfield, defended only by "40 musketeers, horse and seven drakes." After but "halfe a dozen shots," the Earl and his guards fled to Litchfield, leaving his wife, the Countess, at the mercy of the looters. After seizing a sizeable cache of arms and munitions, the officers entreated the Countess to give every soldier a crown to spare her home from looting. When she declared that she wouldn’t give them a penny, the Greycoats ransacked the house, only sparing her private chamber.

Shortly after, Capt. White sent word to Col. Gell of his need to defend Nottingham Castle and to assist Col. Pierrepoint. Although Major Molanus was sent along with 300 foot soldiers, they were recalled after nine or ten days because the Royalist army under Col. Hastings was approaching from Ashby-de-la-Zouch and had already taken Sir John Harper’s house and Swarkeston Bridge. Quickly routing them, the Parliamentary troops returned to Derby. No sooner were they back, then the Moorlanders in Staffordshire requested assistance to defend Stafford town. Again, Major Molanus and 200 foot were dispatched to Uttoxeter, 18 miles away. Stranded there for two to three days, the major retreated back to Derby.

In the meantime, Lord Hastings had refortified Ashby-de-la-Zouch, requiring another assault on the town on Jan 17th, 1643. However, when Col. Gell and his council heard that Prince Rupert was arriving to retake the town, they decided to withdraw. On February 24th, 1643, in answer to another request for aid form the earl of Essex, Major Molanus with 500 foot went off to Burton upon Trent and then to Newark. In spite of having entered the town and "mastered the workes," Major Molanus felt betrayed by the commander in chief, Major General Ballard, who ordered a retreat, resulting in the loss of some 50 men, one drake and most of their ordinance (i.e., artillery). He gave his report to Col. Gell at Litchfield where the remainder of his troops had just secured Litchfield Close.

Immediately thereafter, the troops marched to Hopton Heath against the Earl of Northampton. In spite of being abandoned by the horse guard under Sir William Brereton, Col. Gell’s 1500 foot soldiers, strategically protected by a rabbit warren, withstood an assault of 1200 mounted soldiers in which the Earl was killed. Demoralized, the Royalists fled in panic. Victorious, but suffering heavy losses, Col. Gell’s forces retreated to Uttoxeter where they rested for three days. In spite of their victory, over 200 had either been killed or taken prisoner, most of their artillery had been captured, and their baggage and ammunition abandoned. Back at his headquarters at Derby, Col. Gell paraded the naked corpse of the Earl of Northampton through the streets before allowing for burial in the family vault. Needless to say, this was considered by all to be a shameful episode of the war.

Next, Major Molanus was sent with 500 men for a long siege of Bolsover Castle. With only the loss of two or three men, they breached the house and pillaged it. In the meantime, Prince Rupert was pressing onto Derby after a victory at Birmingham and retaking Litchfield Close. There he used the first bomb in the history of warfare. Before he could devastate Derby, Prince Rupert was recalled to Essex, leaving a garrison at Burton. This was a perfect opportunity to recapture and garrison Burton, which Col. Gell did, thus securing the river passage over the Trent and Dove.

In May of 1643, Lord Grey commanded Col. Gell’s forces and artillery to rendezvous at Nottingham. For the first time during the war, the Parliamentarians managed to form a united army of almost 6000 men who occupied the vale of Belvoir for a month under Lieutenant-General Hotham, an indecisive and ineffective leader, who was later executed for treason. Unfortunately, the only real action taken during that time was a brief attack against a Royalist garrison at Wiverton House, which ended prematurely when word reached them of Queen Henrietta Maria’s arrival in Newark with reinforcements. All units then retreated, including Col. Gell’s which headed back to Derby. Knowing that the Queen’s forces would eventually attack his detachment at Burton, Col. Gell mustered his men to Eggington Heath where he waited in vain for reinforcements. Unable to come to the rescue, Col. Gell soon heard of the slaughter at Burton in which any survivors were taken prisoner.

Not to be defeated by this one loss, Col. Gell, newly reinforced by men and provision from the House of Commons, led his men to besiege Tutbury Castle, only to withdraw when warned of Royalist reinforcements from Newcastle on the way. Instead, he dispatched Major Molanus to Gainsborough to aid Col. Hutchinson who only had 400 men on hand to defend the town’s extensive earthworks. Once he arrived, he ordered the town evacuated while his men occupied and plundered it, returning to Derby with Royalist prisoners. Defenseless again, the town was soon entered by the Royalists, so that Major Molanus had to return, this time with 500 musketeers. What happened next is best described in Col. Gell’s own words:

"The said Major Mollanus with Captayne Hacker, now Colonell Hacker, entered the towne with their horse, were presently beaten backe, lost four or five horses, instantly after the said Major broke thorrow the enemy and brought in the dragoons, and entered the towne againe, and drove the enemy before them, many of them slayne, and one hundred and sixty taken prisoners, but one man of our side slayne.. three men wounded and some five or six horses killed. Wee relieved at the same time at least four hundred townsmen and souldyers of the castle, who were almost famished. The remainder of the enemy fled to Nottingham bridge, which they were fortefying."

The next day, Col. Hutchinson entreated the men to attack the nearby fortified bridge over the Trent in the hands of Col. Hacker and 80 Royalists, but Major Molanus was convinced that "ten thousand men could not do it." Mrs. Hutchinson, in her memoirs, referred to the Major as a "dull headed old Dutchman" for his refusal. Nevertheless, ten days later, Col. Gell, challenged by a letter from Col. Hutchinson, returned with his men to Nottingham to join with the Nottingham regiments to attack the fort, only to find it already abandoned.

Toward the end of November 1643, while Col. Gell was preparing for a great onslaught of Royalist troops into Derbyshire, he sent major Molanus and 350 horse and dragoons to Leek to assist the Moorlanders. Before they could reach their allies, Col. Dudley and the Royalist got there first, charging the rebel forces and pursuing them into Staffordshire, slaying over 400 of them and taking 14 officers prisoners, whom Col. Gell later redeemed. Meeting the retreating army, Major Molanus had no choice but to retreat along with them. En route, his detachment managed to kill five of the Earl of Newcastle’s officers and to capture 36 prisoners in a skirmish. Waiting 14 days in vain for reinforcements to show up, Major Molanus headed back to Derby, taking another 26 prisoners of the Earl’s forces at Ashbourne. On the 6th of January 1644, Major Molanus was again sent out to Burton to take the bridge, which he did without losing a single man, but slaying five enemy soldiers and returning to Derby with 500 prisoners. On February 5th, 1644, Col. Gell and his men took King’s Mills from Col. Hastings, gaining much needed arms and taking about 200 prisoners.

Things began to turn against them, when on the 24th of February 1644, 500 men, including Col. Gell’s forces under Sir John Meldrum were sent to fortify Muskham Bridge near Newark. On March 21st, Major Molanus and the horse guard were protecting the workers when Prince Rupert with 6000 men routed them, slaying over 200 horse and dragoons and forcing a surrender of the survivors, whose arms and munitions were unceremoniously confiscated. Despite this major setback, a convoy of 45 guns had set out from London to resupply the beleaguered army. It was Major Molanus who was entrusted to meet it at Peterborough and escort it back to Derby. On the way, he stopped at Leek to join Col. Grey’s regiment to thwart the Royalist army from interfering with the delivery. Hearing of a Royalist gathering at nearby Tamworth, the united forces drove off the Royalists so that the convoy was able to proceed unmolested back to Derby.


The last time Major Molanus is mentioned in Col. Gell’s account is in reference to a rendezvous at Belvoir on 28 October 1645 when he was sent from Tutbury along with 520 foot soldiers to serve Capt. Lt. Drinkwater in an effort to get the Royalists to surrender at Newark. On New Year’s day, 1646, the Parliamentary camp at Stoke under Col. General Poyntz was attacked by a party of 800 horse and 300 foot. While the Parliamentary horse fled, Major Molanus stood firm with his foot and fought a fierce three hour battle, with only four killed and 30 wounded versus the enemy’s 72 killed and wounded. Still on the battle field, Major Molanus and his men received praise from Col.-Gen. Poyntz for their "courage and valour." Finally, on 8 May 1646, the Royalists surrendered. At this point, Col. Gell’s unit disbanded. The officers walked away without having received any pay for over two years.

From then on, John Molanus retained the title of Major. There’s no doubt that Sir John Gell held him in high esteem. Time and time again, the colonel had depended on his leadership and bravery to carry the day. While today, the name Major Molanus hardly appears in history books written on the subject, he was unquestionably a crucial figure in the Regiment of Derbyshire, which thwarted repearted attempts by the royalists to capture the territory. And so it is with pride that I salute my ancestor for playing such an important role in an event that changed the destiny of England and the world.

Taken from Derbyshire in the Civil War by Brian Stone, Scarthin Books, 1992.

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