New Book
George Fenwick of Brinkburn
Reviewed by Peter Dodd
Angus Armstrong has made a great contribution to a genre, which the Society should encourage, namely that of writing about a largely unknown Northumberland man who achieved greatness nationally and internationally. The title on the cover of the booklet is itself astonishing; George Fenwick of Brinkburn, 1603-1656, Governor of Saybrook, Connecticut, Berwick upon Tweed and Edinburgh Castle. You are then compelled to open it to discover how anyone at that date could possibly do all those things, and that is the joy of the book. A fascinating history of Brinkburn is followed by an account of the creation of the “Warwick Patentees” – a select group allowed to colonise the New World. Fenwick travelled to Connecticut as their agent in 1636 and his role in colonisation is well described. He returned to Brinkburn after the death of his wife and was elected by the people of Morpeth to the Long Parliament. He was appointed Governor of Berwick in 1649 and received Cromwell on his march north to Edinburgh. The battle of Dunbar ensued, and the book contains two fascinating maps of the battle, as well as the story of the formation of the Coldstream Guards. From there Fenwick proceeded with Cromwell to the siege of Edinburgh Castle and duly became its Governor – the first Englishman to do so. At the end of the book there are nine pages of chronological index – excessive perhaps but very useful! – and the book concludes with two maps – of Northumberland and Long Island Sound. A splendid Christmas present for a discerning Northumbrian friend!
City and County
November 2009
