John Killigrew

Arms of Killigrew: Argent, an eagle displayed with two heads sable a bordure of the second bezantée. The bezantée bordure indicates a connection to the ancient Earls of Cornwall Sir John Killigrew (died 5 March 1584) of Arwenack, near Penryn, Cornwall, was the second Governor of Pendennis Castle (1568–1584), appointed by Queen Elizabeth I, as stated on his father's brass in St Budock's Church. He was MP for Lostwithiel in 1563 and twice for the family's pocket borough of Penryn, in 1571 and 1572.

His appointment as a commissioner to enquire into piracy notwithstanding, he was himself a notorious pirate and smuggler.

In the late 14th century Ralph's descendant Simon Killigrew acquired the manor of Arwenack (near the old custom house of the town of Falmouth, neither of which then existed), and other extensive lands, by marriage to Jane, daughter and heir of Robert, lord of that manor. Simon's son and heir Thomas Killigrew of Arwenack had two sons both named John, the elder of whom was seated at Arwenack and the younger (who died in 1461) at Penryn. Each had a son named Thomas. Thomas of Penryn (born c. 1445), of the junior line, died testate in 1501 leaving a daughter and three sons, the eldest of whom (the heir) was John Killigrew (died 1536). His younger brother Robert died in 1531. This John, on the failure of the elder line of his cousin Thomas of Arwenack (who died in Aragon in 1513), became master both of Penryn and of Arwenack. and James Killigrew (died 1567), and his sister Elizabeth who married Thomas Treffry of Fowey in 1505, all have a significant part in the story of the Tudor Killigrews. and (Sir) William Killigrew, M.P. They had five sisters: Margaret Killigrew was contracted to marry Sir Francis Godolphin (c.1534-1606) in 1552.

Career His brothers, particularly Peter and Thomas Killigrew, had been engaged in piracy off the Irish coast during Edward's reign. Together with his father, John opposed the Catholic Queen Mary I (1553–1558) and her husband, Philip II of Spain, and used his fleet of ships to keep the Protestant exiles in France abreast of political developments and to attack Spanish shipping in the Channel. In 1556, he was imprisoned by Mary with his father in the Fleet, but released after three weeks. Peter Killigrew maintained his activities in opposition to Mary's reign, while his brother Henry Killigrew remained an exile abroad.

Upon the succession of the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), John was restored to royal favour. He was knighted on 25 December 1576. were suspected of involvement in a notorious act of piracy concerning a Spanish ship which had sheltered from a storm in an anchorage opposite Arwenack. It was said that he and his wife had acted together to overpower or murder the crew and steal the cargo of cloth, before ordering the ship to be disposed of in Ireland.

Marriage and children Monument to Sir John and Dame Mary Killigrew at St Budock. Image: Tim Green. He married Mary Wolverston, a daughter of Philip Wolverston of Wolverston Hall in Suffolk, and widow of Henry Knyvett. Their children included: Simon Killigrew Thomas Killigrew

Death and burial He died on 5 March 1584. He was buried in St Budock's Church, near Arwenack, where there is a mural monument to him, erected by his grandson in 1617, showing effigies of him and his wife facing each other kneeling in prayer. He died heavily in debt: his brother, the leading diplomat Sir Henry Killigrew, paid off some of his more pressing debts, but his son John entered on an inheritance which was already insolvent, and died a ruined man in 1605.

In fiction

In the historical novel The Grove of Eagles by Winston Graham, Sir John's formidable widow Mary Wolverston ("old Lady Killigrew") is arguably the dominant character - the protagonist's highly intimidating grandmother. In her bitter old age, she regards the Killigrew family with contempt, but acknowledges that her husband was probably "the best of a poor lot".

Additionally, he appears in the novel The Sea Hawk by Raphael Sabatini, and in With the Knights of Malta by Douglas Valder Duff (using the pseudonym of Peter Wickloe).