Histroy

Fenwick, George (c. 1603-1657, colonist in America, army officer, and politician, was the son of George Fenwick of Brinkburn, Northumberland, a country squire, and his wife, Dorothy, daughter of John Forster of Newham. He matriculated at Queens' College, Cambridge, in 1619, and was called to the bar at Gray's Inn, London, on 21st November 1631, and was admitted ancient on 24th May 1650. He married, at some time between 1634 and 1639, Alice (d.1645/1648), daughter of Sir Edward Apsley of Thakenham, Sussex, and widow of Sir John Boteler of Teston, Kent (d. 1634). Fenwick was a proprietor of land in southern New England acquired through the 1632 patent of Robert Rich, second earl of Warwick.

In 1636 he arrived in New England as the vanguard of an expected wave of puritan grandees preparing to settle along the Connecticut River. This grand migration never fully materialized and Fenwick's initial stay was short. Nevertheless, he helped establish a defensive fort called Saybrook, in honour of Lord Saye and Sele and Lord Brook, two patent holders, at the mouth of the Connecticut River before departing for England that same year. He returned with his wife and household to establish a plantation at Saybrook in 1639. There he served as agent for the patentees and de facto governor until 1644. Although he did not accept their invitation in 1639 to become a freeman and magistrate, Fenwick worked co-operatively with the leaders of neighbouring Connecticut colony. On 29th July 1641 he joined with agents of Connecticut and New Haven to acquire the earl of Stirling's land claims to Long Island. In 1643 Connecticut paid £40 for repairs to the Saybrook Fort, which protected both the Saybrook plantation and Connecticut's upriver towns. That same year Fenwick served as a commissioner from Connecticut for the United Colonies of New England, an intra-colonial defensive alliance. He was reappointed commissioner in 1644 and 1645, and named a magistrate of Connecticut colony in 1644 and 1645 and in absentia in 1647 and 1648. On 5th December 1644 Fenwick, as agent for the Warwick patentees, sold the Saybrook Fort and lands along the Connecticut River to Connecticut colony for £1800, of which Fenwick received £1600 through levies on goods passing the mouth of the Connecticut River. Fenwick had also promised to convey to Connecticut lands mentioned in the Warwick patent between the Connecticut River and Narragansett Bay, if it came into his power to do so. His inability to make good on the transfer of these patent lands, which may have been due to the questionable validity of the Warwick patent itself, led in later years to numerous disputes. In 1657 Connecticut refused to give Fenwick's heirs possession of his estate until they paid £500 for non-fulfilment of the agreement.Fenwick returned to England in 1645. His wife, Alice, who died at Saybrook shortly afterwards, following the birth of their second child, Dorothy, was interred within the fort. In England Fenwick served under Warwick as a member of the parliamentary commission for the English plantations in America. On 20th October 1645 he was elected to the Long Parliament as a member for Morpeth.

Meanwhile, in England the Civil War had broke out and King Charles 1st was eventually defeated, and then beheaded. The two Morpeth MPs - John Fenwick and Sir William Carnaby were both royalists and expelled leaving the way clear for George Fenwick who was elected MP for Morpeth in 1645. He was not in Morpeth at the time of the siege of Newcastle but when the second Civil War broke out, with the Scots now supporting the King, he played a prominent role. Royalists had captured Berwick and Holy Island, so Col. Fenwick was sent to deal with the rebellion and was able to report a complete success to Sir Arthur Hazelrigg Governor of Newcastle.

Berwick was recaptured, Holy Island was relieved and the neighbouring Fenham Castle was recovered as well. The Royalist rebels were defeated and many were taken prisoner and in the aftermath Col. Fenwick was handed the role of Governor of Berwick; he then went on to become Governor of Edinburgh and the Port of Leith. In 1654 Fenwick ceased to be MP for Morpeth and was elected for Berwick, although in 1656 he was excluded from the second assembly, he was made a Freeman of Newcastle and appointed as one of eight commissioners to deal with Scotland In June of 1650.

Cromwell the Lord Protector wished to create a regiment of foot to be commanded by George Monck, a fine soldier who had originally fought for the Royalist cause but was now a staunch Parliamentarian. It was first proposed that Monck should take over Bright's Regiment but as Bright's captured Monck at Nantwich when he was fighting for the King they were more than reluctant to have him as their Colonel. Cromwell therefore created a new regiment by taking five companies from Sir Arthur Hazelrigg's Regiment and five from George Fenwick's Regiment and handed them over to Monck as his Regiment of Foote.The new Regiment was officially known as "Monks Regiment Of Foot", and fought with distinction at the Battle of Dunbar in the same year. Monks Regiment went on to become The Guard at Coldstream. The Coldstream Guards.

Coldstream Guards History

In some accounts Fenwick is confused with Lieutenant-Colonel Roger Fenwick, who was killed in the battle of Dunkirk on 4th June 1658.