View source for Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington

{{short description|English naval officer and politician (1648–1716)}}
{{other people||Arthur Herbert (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox military person
|honorific_prefix=[[Admiral (Royal Navy)|Admiral]] [[The Right Honourable]] 
|name= The Earl of Torrington
|image=Arthur Herbert (c.1648–1716), 1st Earl of Torrington.jpg
|image_size=
|caption=Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington, portrait by [[John Closterman]]
|birth_date=c.1648
|death_date= 13 April {{death year and age|1716|1648}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wWnM-tMf85sC&pg=PA383 |page=383 |title=A topographical history of Surrey: the geological section by Gedeon Mantell|author1=Edward Wedlake Brayley |author2=Mantell |publisher=G. Willis |year=1850}}</ref>
|birth_place=
|death_place=
|placeofburial =[[Westminster Abbey]]
|nickname=
|allegiance={{flagcountry|Kingdom of England}}<br>{{flagcountry|Dutch Republic}} (1688)
|serviceyears=1663–1690
|rank=[[Admiral (Royal Navy)]]<br>Lieutenant-admiral general (States Navy){{efn|The rank of lieutenant-admiral general was specifically created specifically for [[Michiel de Ruyter]] and [[Cornelis Tromp]], to distinguish them from other naval officers with the rank of lieutenant-admiral.}}
|branch={{navy|Kingdom of England}}<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Secretary of Defence of the Netherlands.svg}} [[Dutch States Navy]] (1688)
|commands= [[HMS Pembroke (1660)|HMS ''Pembroke'']]<br>[[HMS Constant Warwick (1660)|HMS ''Constant Warwick'']]<br>[[HMS Dragon (1660)|HMS ''Dragon'']]<br>[[HMS Dreadnought (1660)|HMS ''Dreadnought'']]<br>[[HMS Cambridge (1666)|HMS ''Cambridge'']]<br>[[HMS Rupert (1666)|HMS ''Rupert'']] 
|unit=
|battles={{tree list}}
*[[Second Anglo-Dutch War]]
**[[St. James's Day Battle]]
*[[Battle of Bugia Bay]]
*[[Third Anglo-Dutch War]] and [[Franco-Dutch War]]
**[[Battle of Solebay]]
**[[Battle of Schooneveld]]
*[[Nine Years' War]]
**[[Glorious Revolution#Crossing and landing|Invasion of England]]
**[[Battle of Bantry Bay]]
**[[Battle of Beachy Head (1690)|Battle of Beachy Head]]
{{tree list/end}}
|awards=
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}

'''Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington''' ({{circa|1648}} – 13 April 1716) was an English naval officer and politician. Dismissed by [[James II of England]] in 1688 for refusing to vote to repeal the [[Test Act]], which prevented Catholics from holding public office in England, he brought the ''[[Invitation to William]]'' to [[William III of England|William of Orange]] at [[The Hague]], disguised as a simple sailor. As a reward he was made commander of William's invasion fleet which landed at [[Torbay]], [[Devon]] on 5 November 1688, which initiated the [[Glorious Revolution]].

==Early life==
Born the son of [[Edward Herbert (attorney-general)|Sir Edward Herbert]] and Margaret Smith, daughter of [[Thomas Smith (English judge)|Thomas Smith]], Herbert joined the [[Royal Navy]] in 1663.<ref name=dnb>{{cite DNB|wstitle=Herbert, Arthur (1647-1716)|volume=26|first= John Knox|last=Laughton}}</ref> He was appointed a [[Lieutenant (navy)|lieutenant]] in the [[third-rate]] [[HMS Defiance (1666)|HMS ''Defiance'']] and saw action at the [[St. James's Day Battle]] in July 1666 during the [[Second Anglo-Dutch War]].<ref name=dnb/>

Promoted to [[post-captain]] in 1666, he was given command of the [[fifth-rate]] [[HMS Pembroke (1660)|HMS ''Pembroke'']] in April 1667, of the [[fourth-rate]] [[HMS Constant Warwick (1660)|HMS ''Constant Warwick'']] in September 1668 and of the fourth-rate [[HMS Dragon (1660)|HMS ''Dragon'']] in May 1672.<ref name=decks>{{cite web|url=https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_crewman&id=1758|title=Arthur Herbert|publisher=Three Decks|access-date=5 August 2017}}</ref>

He went on to captain the third-rate [[HMS Dreadnought (1660)|HMS ''Dreadnought'']] in spring 1672 and commanded her at the [[Battle of Solebay]] in May 1672 during the [[Franco-Dutch War]].<ref name=dnb/> After that he took command of the third-rate [[HMS Cambridge (1666)|HMS ''Cambridge'']] in October 1673 and was severely injured while commanding her at the [[Battle of Schooneveld]] in June 1673.<ref name=decks/> 

He commissioned the third-rate [[HMS Rupert (1666)|HMS ''Rupert'']] in February 1678, serving under [[John Narborough]] with the British fleet in the Mediterranean. In April 1679, Narborough returned to England, leaving Herbert in command of a squadron to continue the task of defending British interests in the Mediterranean in general and the colony of [[Tangier]] in particular. In July 1680, the Admiralty promoted Herbert to Admiral.  Herbert was more successful than his predecessor, with a smaller force. In 1682, he negotiated a peace with Algiers that endured until 1816. His practice of convoying British merchant vessels showed much better protection of trade interests. Since Tangier was not well sited for action against the [[Barbary corsairs|Barbary pirate]] ports of [[Algiers]], [[Republic of Salé|Salé]], [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]], and [[Tunis]], Herbert made use of [[Gibraltar]] as a base for the fleet (arranging access with the Spanish in a local informal arrangement). Herbert's command in the Mediterranean continued until June 1683.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davies |first1=J. D. |title=Pepys's Navy: Ships, Men and Warfare, 1649-1689 |date=2008 |publisher=Pen & Sword Books Limited |location=Havertown |isbn=9781848320147}}</ref>{{rp|at=ch 2}}<ref name=dnb/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=J. D. |year=2017 |title=Kings of the Sea: Charles II, James II and the Royal Navy |publisher=Seaforth |isbn=978-1-84832-400-8}}</ref>{{rp|116-117}}

==Flag officer==
[[File:Charles Rochussen - Anno 1690. Schout-bij-nacht Schey verwijt lord Torrington voor de krijgsraad het verlies van de slag bij Kaap Bevesier - SA 4966 - Amsterdam Museum.jpg|thumb|Dutch Admiral [[Gilles Schey]] blaming Torrington for the defeat at Beachy Head in the post-battle court-martial]]

Herbert was appointed [[Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom|Rear-admiral of England]] in 1683 and [[Master of the Robes]] in 1685.<ref name=dnb/> These employments brought him in £4,000 a year.<ref name=dnb/> However, when [[James II of England]] required him to promise that he would vote for the repeal of the [[Test Act]], which prevented Roman Catholics from holding public office, his answer was "that his honour and conscience would not permit him to give any such pledge". The King replied: "Nobody doubts your honour, but a man who lives as you do ought not to talk about his conscience". To this reproach (which came from a bad grace from the lover of [[Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester|Catherine Sedley]]) Herbert replied: "I have my faults, sir; but I could name people who talk much more about conscience than I am in the habit of doing, and yet lead lives as loose as mine."<ref>{{cite book|last=Macaulay|first=Thomas Babington|title=The History of England from the Accession of James the Second|year=1848|publisher=Porter & Coates}}</ref> The King immediately dismissed him from all his offices.<ref name=dnb/>

Disguised as a common sailor, Herbert went to the [[Dutch Republic]] in June 1688, carrying the ''[[Invitation to William]]''. There, he offered his services to [[William III of England|William, Prince of Orange]] at [[The Hague]].<ref name=dnb/> Herbert was actively involved in the preparations for the 1688 invasion and for propaganda purposes the Prince appointed him as the lieutenant-admiral general of the [[Dutch States Navy]] and commander-in-chief of the fleet which would take him to England on 6 October. However, the Prince decreed that until the moment of rendezvous with the English fleet, Herbert would share command with Lieutenant-Admiral [[Cornelis Evertsen the Youngest]] and consult with him on all significant matters. [[Cornelis Tromp]], an aging Dutch officer who still nominally held the post of lieutenant-admiral general, was not consulted by the Prince.{{Sfn|Prud'homme van Reine|2009|p=288–289}}

Following the [[Glorious Revolution]], Herbert became [[Lord High Admiral of England|Lord High Admiral]] and then, when the post of Lord High Admiral had been put into commission, he became [[First Lord of the Admiralty]] and [[First Sea Lord|Senior Naval Lord]]<ref>Rodger, p. 34</ref> on the [[Board of Admiralty]] in March 1689.<ref name=Sainty-18-31>{{cite web|title=Sainty, JC, ''Lord High Admiral and Commissioners of the Admiralty 1660–1870, Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4: Admiralty Officials 1660–1870'' (1975), pp. 18–31|url=http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=16652|access-date=4 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007025436/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=16652|archive-date=7 October 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> He was raised to the peerage by the new King William III as '''Earl of Torrington''' and '''Baron Herbert of Torbay''' in May 1689,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=2458 |date=3 June 1689 |page=2}}</ref> following on his command of the English squadron at the [[Battle of Bantry Bay]]. He was credited with being the first to use the expression, "[[fleet in being]]". He proposed avoiding a set battle, except under very favourable conditions, until the arrival of reinforcements: by maintaining his fleet in being, he would force the French to remain in the area and prevent them from undertaking other operations.<ref>Maltby, p. 160</ref>

Herbert commanded the [[Royal Navy|English]] and [[Royal Netherlands Navy|Dutch]] fleets at the [[Battle of Beachy Head (1690)|Battle of Beachy Head]] in July 1690, a serious defeat for the allied fleet, in the [[Nine Years' War]].<ref name=dnb/> He was imprisoned in the [[Tower of London]] and was court-martialed for failing to support the Dutch van squadron against the French, but was acquitted. Nevertheless, he lost his position as First Lord of the Admiralty, and took no further part in public life. The stories that Torrington was not a popular commander, because of his reputation of being a drunk and his habit of taking several prostitutes with him to sea, have been discredited.<ref name="gent">van Gent, p. 90</ref><ref name="fine">Le Fevre, pp. 19–42</ref>

In 1696, he acquired [[Oatlands Palace|Oatlands Park]], an estate forfeited by his brother, [[Edward Herbert (judge)|Sir Edward Herbert]], who had followed King James II into exile.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/herbert-arthur-1648-1716|title=Herbert, Arthur (c.1648–1716), of Oatlands Park, Weybridge, Surrey|publisher=History of Parliament|access-date=7 August 2017}}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He died on 13 April 1716 without children, rendering his titles extinct,<ref name=dnb/> and was buried in [[Westminster Abbey]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/arthur-herbert,-earl-of-torrington|title=Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington|publisher=Westminster Abbey|access-date=7 August 2017}}</ref>

==Marriages==
Torrington married twice, but had no issue by either wife:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/torrington1689.htm|title=Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington|publisher=Cracroft's Peerage|access-date=5 August 2017|archive-date=17 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617154814/http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/online/content/torrington1689.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Firstly to Anne Hadley, from whom he later separated;
*Secondly to the twice widowed Anne ([[Thomas Crew, 2nd Baron Crew|dowager Lady Crew]]), daughter and co-heiress of [[Sir William Armine, 2nd Baronet]].

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Explanatory notes==
{{notelist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Torrington, Arthur Herbert, Earl of|volume=27}}
*{{cite ODNB|first=John B.|last=Hattendorf|title=Herbert, Arthur, earl of Torrington (1648–1716)|id=13017}}
*{{cite DNB|wstitle=Herbert, Arthur (1647{{nat|-}}1716)|display=Herbert, Arthur (1647–1716)|volume=26|first= John Knox|last=Laughton}}
*{{cite book|first=Peter|last= Le Fevre|title=Precursors of Nelson: British Admirals of the Eighteenth Century|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A1Nmhx-ZO_kC&pg=PA423|year=2000|publisher=Stackpole Books|isbn=978-0-8117-2901-7|pages=19–42|chapter=Arthur Herbert Earl of Torrington}}
*{{cite book|last=Maltby|first=William S|editor=Williamson Murray |display-editors=etal |title=The making of strategy: rulers, states, and war|year=1994|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, England|isbn=978-0-521-56627-8|chapter=The Origins of a global strategy: England from 1558 to 1713}}
*{{cite book|last=Rodger|first=N.A.M.|author-link=Nicholas A. M. Rodger|year=1979|title=The Admiralty. Offices of State|publisher= Lavenham: T. Dalton Ltd|isbn=0900963948}}
*{{cite book|last1=van Gent|first1=T.|title=17 Zeventiende Eeuwse Admiralen en hun Zeeslagen|date=2000|publisher=Koninklijke Vereniging van Marineofficieren|location=Den Haag|isbn=9789090136585|page=90|language=nl}}
*[[Burke's Peerage|''Burke's Extinct Peerages'': TORRINGTON, E]]
* {{Cite book |last=Prud'homme van Reine |first=Ronald |title=Opkomst en Ondergang van Nederlands Gouden Vloot – Door de ogen van de zeeschilders Willem van de Velde de Oude en de Jonge |date=2009 |publisher=De Arbeiderspers |isbn=978-90-295-6696-4 |location=Amsterdam}}

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{{Succession box
 | title=[[Dover (UK Parliament constituency)|Member of Parliament for Dover]]
 | with = [[William Chapman (MP for Dover)|William Chapman]]
 | before=[[William Stokes (MP)|William Stokes]]
 | before2=[[Thomas Papillon]]
 | years=1685–1689
 | after=[[Dixwell baronets|Sir Basil Dixwell]]
 | after2=[[Thomas Papillon]]
}}
{{Succession box
 | title=[[Plymouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Member of Parliament for Plymouth]]
 | with = [[John Maynard (1604–1690)|Sir John Maynard]]
 | before=[[Bernard Granville (MP died 1701)|Bernard Granville]]
 | before2=[[Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh|The Earl of Ranelagh]]
 | years=1689
 | after= [[John Maynard (1604–1690)|Sir John Maynard]]
 | after2=[[John Granville, 1st Baron Granville of Potheridge|The Hon. John Granville]]
}}
{{s-court}}
{{succession box
 | title  = [[Master of the Robes]]
 | before = [[Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney|The Hon. Henry Sydney]]
 | after  = [[Lord Thomas Howard (d. 1689)|Lord Thomas Howard]]
 | years  = 1685–1687}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef | before=[[Sir William Clifton, 3rd Baronet|Sir William Clifton]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Colonel]] of [[East Yorkshire Regiment|Arthur Herbert's Regiment of Foot]] | years=1686–1687}}
{{s-aft | after=[[Sackville Tufton|The Hon. Sackville Tufton]]}}
{{succession box
 | title  = [[Lord High Admiral of England|Lord High Admiral]]
 | years  = 1689
 | before = [[William III of England|King William III]]|after=In commission}}
{{succession box
 | title  = [[First Lord of the Admiralty]]
 | years  = 1689–1690
 | before = Himself<br /><small>(Lord High Admiral)</small>
 | after  = [[Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke|The Earl of Pembroke]]}}
|-
{{s-new| post}}
{{s-ttl
 | title=[[First Sea Lord|Senior Naval Lord]]
 | years=1689–1690
}}
{{s-aft| after=[[John Chicheley|Sir John Chicheley]]}}
|-
{{s-new | regiment}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Honourable Artillery Company|Colonel of the 1st Maritime Regiment]] | years=1690}}
{{s-aft | after=[[Duke of Leeds|Earl of Danby]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}
{{First Lords of the Admiralty|state=collapsed}}
{{First Sea Lord}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torrington, Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl Of}}
[[Category:1640s births]]
[[Category:1716 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:17th-century Royal Navy personnel]]
[[Category:Herbert family|Arthur, Earl of Torrington]]
[[Category:Earls in the Peerage of England]]
[[Category:Peers of England created by William III]]
[[Category:East Yorkshire Regiment officers]]
[[Category:Lords of the Admiralty]]
[[Category:Royal Navy admirals]]
[[Category:English MPs 1685–1687]]
[[Category:English MPs 1689–1690]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of England for Dover]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of England for Plymouth]]
[[Category:Lord high admirals of England]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Second Anglo-Dutch War]]
[[Category:Admirals of the navy of the Dutch Republic]]