11 Facts About Thomas Rainsborough

Thomas Rainsborough had three surviving half-siblings from his father's second marriage to Judith Hoxton ; Judith, Joan and Edward.

Some years before his death, Thomas Rainsborough married a woman called Margaret about whom little is known, other than that they had a son, William, and at least one other child.

The expansion of the Royal Navy under Charles I increased demand for experienced captains and despite being in his sixties, William Thomas Rainsborough was among those selected by the Earl of Northumberland, then Lord High Admiral.

The absence of a significant Royalist navy meant the fleet was largely employed supporting coastal operations or cutting supply lines, and accompanied by his brother William, who had returned from North America, Thomas Rainsborough spent most of the first year of the war on patrol duty in the Irish Sea.

Thomas Rainsborough left the navy in summer 1643 to join the besieged Parliamentarian garrison of Hull, and helped repulse an attack by the Marquess of Newcastle.

The talks were dominated by Ireton, speaking for the Grandees, and Thomas Rainsborough, representing the Leveller case.

Thomas Rainsborough now moved onto the siege of Pontefract Castle, one of the last remaining Royalist strongholds.

Thomas Rainsborough resisted and was dragged outside into the street, where he was killed, despite calling for help.

Thomas Rainsborough's death was the subject of a 1648 ballad titled Colonell Rainsborowes ghost.

In May 2013, a plaque commemorating Thomas Rainsborough was unveiled by Cllr Rania Khan, historian and writer John Rees and former MP Tony Benn at St John's church.

Thomas Rainsborough plays a minor but crucial role in the historical novel Traitor's Field, by Robert Wilton, published in 2013.