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Tinker Fox
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<h2 id="life-and-career">Life and career</h2> <p>Fox was baptised in the parish church of <a href="/facts/Walsall/fTRkMEM4">Walsall</a>, <a href="/facts/Staffordshire/w4KJHAXz">Staffordshire</a> on 1 April 1610 and is recorded marrying in the same church 1634.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> He probably worked in the metal trades of nearby <a href="/facts/Birmingham/lNd1h81V">Birmingham</a> – the origin of his caricature as a <a href="/facts/Tinsmith/NKMBfPCd">tinker</a> – before serving as a <a href="/facts/Captain_(land)/cqlntj0j">captain</a> in the <a href="/facts/Roundhead/8VCBEMF9">Roundhead</a> cavalry under <a href="/facts/Robert_Greville%2c_2nd_Baron_Brooke/pP9AKDFL">Lord Brooke</a> from February 1643.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p><p> By October 1643 Fox had recruited a garrison to occupy <a href="/facts/Edgbaston_Hall/BbD4DYRB">Edgbaston Hall</a>, to the south east of Birmingham, a town whose <a href="/facts/Puritan/BJQsWCfT">puritan</a> traditions had made it a bastion of support for <a href="/facts/Parliament_of_England/y4aNV9gj">Parliament</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> and whose metal trades provided Fox with a fertile recruiting ground.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> Fox was commissioned as a <a href="/facts/Colonel/ASSc95Et">colonel</a> by the <a href="/facts/Basil_Feilding%2c_2nd_Earl_of_Denbigh/sumj7t4M">Earl of Denbigh</a> in March 1644 to command the regiment at Edgbaston, which by June 1644 consisted of 256 <a href="/facts/Cavalry/BstsEn1G">horse</a>, <a href="/facts/Dragoon/dK4f3lrH">dragoons</a> and <a href="/facts/Reconnaissance/WbBwMhqs">scouts</a>, and by July was made up of three separate troops commanded by Fox himself, his brother Reighnold and his brother-in-law Humphrey Tudman.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> The royalist newspaper <i><a href="/facts/Mercurius_Aulicus/MMzz7oFI">Mercurius Aulicus</a></i> quickly sought to capitalise on Fox's background: </p><blockquote><p>one Fox, a tinker of Walsall, in Staffordshire, having got a horse and his hammer for a poleaxe, invited to his society 16 men of his brethren … marched seven miles to Birmingham in Warwickshire near which Towne they fortified a house called Edgebaston House … In this house they have nestled so long that their 16 are swollen up to 200, which rob and pillage very sufficiently.</p>— <i><a href="/facts/Mercurius_Aulicus/MMzz7oFI">Mercurius Aulicus</a></i></blockquote> <p>Fox's garrison was highly active: his men probably took part in the attack on <a href="/facts/Aston_Hall/rIoAhPb5">Aston Hall</a> on 28 December 1643, removing the main royalist base in the Birmingham area,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> and Fox's troops would regularly patrol local roads to intercept merchants heading towards royalist areas<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p>On 22 March 1644, his brother led a raid in which they captured <a href="/facts/Stourton_Castle/1VuYmj7y">Stourton Castle</a>. The royalists lay siege to the castle, so Fox led a relief column, but it was intercepted and routed by royalists under the command of Sir <a href="/facts/Gilbert_Gerard_(Governor_of_Worcester)/uff08N1W">Gilbert Gerard</a>, the Governor of Worcester, in an <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Stourbridge_Heath/ceQvBEr0">action on Stourbridge Heath</a>. With no hope of relief the Parliamentary garrison of Stourton Castle surrendered on terms.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p>Undaunted on 3 May 1644 — in an escapade that in the opinion of historian <a href="/facts/John_William_Willis-Bund/SCrqfsNo">J. W. Willis-Bund</a> "reads far more like an incident out of '<a href="/facts/The_Three_Musketeers/TMFMRIq6">The Three Musketeers</a>', or some other of <a href="/facts/Alexandre_Dumas/K5qTNg5J">Dumas'</a> novels than an actual event"<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> — sixty of Fox's troops raided the royalist garrison at <a href="/facts/Bewdley/NkcNqBM3">Bewdley</a>, taking forty prisoners including <a href="/facts/Sir_Thomas_Lyttelton%2c_1st_Baronet/DDSIRWIp">Sir Thomas Lyttelton</a>, the royalist governor.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p><p>Fox also had a very capable intelligence network which regularly passed timely information onto the <a href="/facts/Basil_Feilding%2c_2nd_Earl_of_Denbigh/sumj7t4M">Earl of Denbigh</a>: predicting <a href="/facts/Prince_Rupert_of_the_Rhine/M5SIcQPs">Prince Rupert of the Rhine</a>'s rendezvous at <a href="/facts/Bloxwich/ozYoqFwq">Bloxwich</a> and subsequent move to <a href="/facts/Newark-on-Trent/YYen6EQJ">Newark</a> on 18 March 1644 and passing on the location of the King himself on 8 July.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> In December 1644, Fox raided <a href="/facts/Dudley/FXLQwPGd">Dudley</a> a matter of hours after the departure of its royalist garrison.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> </p><p>That September, Fox headed the list of officers appointed to the County Committee for Worcestershire, a county still largely in royalist hands. They were authorised to meet at Hawkesley House (in <a href="/facts/Kings_Norton/0IKpCTbb">Kings Norton</a>), a new garrison established by Fox.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p><p>Throughout his occupation of Edgbaston, Fox seems to have been ill-provided with money to feed and pay his troops. He was accused of having unruly soldiers and of embezzlement, but his lack of funding from the Warwick County Committee makes the behaviour hardly surprising. He died in 1650 in great debt, and leaving his children impoverished and dependent on his brother-in-law, Humphrey Tudman.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Worcestershire_in_the_English_Civil_War/rK3yddLu">Worcestershire in the English Civil War</a></li></ul> <h2 id="notes">Notes</h2> <ul><li>Hopper, Andrew (1999), <a href="https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf">"'Tinker' Fox and the Politics of Garrison Warfare in the West Midlands, 1643-50"</a> (PDF), <i>Midland History</i>, 26 (1): 98–113, <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1179%2Fmdh.1999.24.1.98">10.1179/mdh.1999.24.1.98</a>, <a href="/facts/Hdl_(identifier)/rdebSxmC">hdl</a>:<a href="https://hdl.handle.net/2381%2F361">2381/361</a>, retrieved 6 June 2010</li> <li>Hopper, Andrew (2004), "Fox, John [called Tinker Fox] (bap. 1610, d. 1650), parliamentarian army officer", <i><a href="/facts/Dictionary_of_National_Biography/QCm9t1Sn">Oxford Dictionary of National Biography</a></i> (online ed.), Oxford University Press, <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F66618">10.1093/ref:odnb/66618</a> (Subscription or <a href="https://www.oxforddnb.com/help/subscribe#public">UK public library membership</a> required.)</li> <li>Hughes, Ann (2002), <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=0QpcE0fwP-kC"><i>Politics, Society and Civil War in Warwickshire, 1620-1660</i></a>, Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-521-52015-0, retrieved 6 June 2010</li> <li><a href="/facts/John_William_Willis-Bund/SCrqfsNo">Willis-Bund, John William</a> (1905), <i>The Civil War in Worcestershire 1642-1646 and the Scotch invasion of 1651</i>, Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent and Company, pp. <a href="https://archive.org/stream/civilwarinworce00bundgoog#page/n131/mode/1up/search/Gerrard">119</a>–123</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Hopper 1999, p. 99 - Hopper, Andrew (1999), "'Tinker' Fox and the Politics of Garrison Warfare in the West Midlands, 1643-50" (PDF), Midland History, 26 (1): 98–113, doi:10.1179/mdh.1999.24.1.98, hdl:2381/361, retrieved 6 June 2010 <a href="https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf" target="_blank">https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Hopper 1999, p. 98 - Hopper, Andrew (1999), "'Tinker' Fox and the Politics of Garrison Warfare in the West Midlands, 1643-50" (PDF), Midland History, 26 (1): 98–113, doi:10.1179/mdh.1999.24.1.98, hdl:2381/361, retrieved 6 June 2010 <a href="https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf" target="_blank">https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Hopper 2004 - Hopper, Andrew (2004), "Fox, John [called Tinker Fox] (bap. 1610, d. 1650), parliamentarian army officer", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/66618 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F66618" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F66618</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Hopper 1999, p. 100 - Hopper, Andrew (1999), "'Tinker' Fox and the Politics of Garrison Warfare in the West Midlands, 1643-50" (PDF), Midland History, 26 (1): 98–113, doi:10.1179/mdh.1999.24.1.98, hdl:2381/361, retrieved 6 June 2010 <a href="https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf" target="_blank">https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Hughes 2002, pp. 9–10 - Hughes, Ann (2002), Politics, Society and Civil War in Warwickshire, 1620-1660, Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-52015-0, retrieved 6 June 2010 <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=0QpcE0fwP-kC" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=0QpcE0fwP-kC</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Hopper 1999, pp. 100–102 - Hopper, Andrew (1999), "'Tinker' Fox and the Politics of Garrison Warfare in the West Midlands, 1643-50" (PDF), Midland History, 26 (1): 98–113, doi:10.1179/mdh.1999.24.1.98, hdl:2381/361, retrieved 6 June 2010 <a href="https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf" target="_blank">https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Hopper 1999, pp. 102–103 - Hopper, Andrew (1999), "'Tinker' Fox and the Politics of Garrison Warfare in the West Midlands, 1643-50" (PDF), Midland History, 26 (1): 98–113, doi:10.1179/mdh.1999.24.1.98, hdl:2381/361, retrieved 6 June 2010 <a href="https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf" target="_blank">https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Hopper 1999, p. 102 - Hopper, Andrew (1999), "'Tinker' Fox and the Politics of Garrison Warfare in the West Midlands, 1643-50" (PDF), Midland History, 26 (1): 98–113, doi:10.1179/mdh.1999.24.1.98, hdl:2381/361, retrieved 6 June 2010 <a href="https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf" target="_blank">https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Hopper 1999, p. 105 - Hopper, Andrew (1999), "'Tinker' Fox and the Politics of Garrison Warfare in the West Midlands, 1643-50" (PDF), Midland History, 26 (1): 98–113, doi:10.1179/mdh.1999.24.1.98, hdl:2381/361, retrieved 6 June 2010 <a href="https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf" target="_blank">https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Willis-Bund 1905, p. 121. - Willis-Bund, John William (1905), The Civil War in Worcestershire 1642-1646 and the Scotch invasion of 1651, Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent and Company, pp. 119–123 <a href="https://archive.org/stream/civilwarinworce00bundgoog#page/n131/mode/1up/search/Gerrard" target="_blank">https://archive.org/stream/civilwarinworce00bundgoog#page/n131/mode/1up/search/Gerrard</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Willis-Bund 1905, p. 122. - Willis-Bund, John William (1905), The Civil War in Worcestershire 1642-1646 and the Scotch invasion of 1651, Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent and Company, pp. 119–123 <a href="https://archive.org/stream/civilwarinworce00bundgoog#page/n131/mode/1up/search/Gerrard" target="_blank">https://archive.org/stream/civilwarinworce00bundgoog#page/n131/mode/1up/search/Gerrard</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Hopper 1999, pp. 107–8 - Hopper, Andrew (1999), "'Tinker' Fox and the Politics of Garrison Warfare in the West Midlands, 1643-50" (PDF), Midland History, 26 (1): 98–113, doi:10.1179/mdh.1999.24.1.98, hdl:2381/361, retrieved 6 June 2010 <a href="https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf" target="_blank">https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Hopper 1999, p. 106 - Hopper, Andrew (1999), "'Tinker' Fox and the Politics of Garrison Warfare in the West Midlands, 1643-50" (PDF), Midland History, 26 (1): 98–113, doi:10.1179/mdh.1999.24.1.98, hdl:2381/361, retrieved 6 June 2010 <a href="https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf" target="_blank">https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Hopper 1999, p. 106 - Hopper, Andrew (1999), "'Tinker' Fox and the Politics of Garrison Warfare in the West Midlands, 1643-50" (PDF), Midland History, 26 (1): 98–113, doi:10.1179/mdh.1999.24.1.98, hdl:2381/361, retrieved 6 June 2010 <a href="https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf" target="_blank">https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Hopper 1999, p. 106 - Hopper, Andrew (1999), "'Tinker' Fox and the Politics of Garrison Warfare in the West Midlands, 1643-50" (PDF), Midland History, 26 (1): 98–113, doi:10.1179/mdh.1999.24.1.98, hdl:2381/361, retrieved 6 June 2010 <a href="https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf" target="_blank">https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Hopper 1999, p. 109 - Hopper, Andrew (1999), "'Tinker' Fox and the Politics of Garrison Warfare in the West Midlands, 1643-50" (PDF), Midland History, 26 (1): 98–113, doi:10.1179/mdh.1999.24.1.98, hdl:2381/361, retrieved 6 June 2010 <a href="https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf" target="_blank">https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/361/1/hoppera.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>