Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke (May 1607-2 March 1643) was an English politician and general who served as MP for Warwick from January to May 1628 and as the Parliamentarian commander in Staffordshire and Warwickshire from August 1642 to March 1643 during the English Civil War. He was killed by a Royalist sniper during the defense of Lichfield in 1643.
Biography[]
Robert Greville was born in Helpringham, Lincolnshire, England in May 1607, and he became the brother-in-law of Arthur Haselrig. He traveled through Europe from 1624 to 1627 and became a devout Puritan after visiting the Calvinist strongholds of Leiden and Geneva. In 1628, Greville was elected MP for Warwick, and, while his election was challenged and voided, he succeeded his late father in the House of Lords before a by-election could take place for his House of Commons seat. Greville became prominent in the Parliamentary opposition to King Charles I of England, and, in 1639, he and William Fiennes were imprisoned in York for refusing to support the King during the Bishops' Wars in Scotland; he may have also been in contact with the rebellious Covenanters. In 1641, he played a key role in securing the execution of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, and, in April 1642, he became Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire. Baron Brooke was made commander of the troops recruited to intervene in Ireland, but the outbreak of the First English Civil War led to Greville becoming a fundraiser and general for the Parliamentarian cause. His regiment fought at the Battle of Edgehill and helped to check the Royalist advance on London at the November 1642 Battle of Brentford; in February 1643, he went on to capture Stratford-upon-Avon. However, on 2 March 1643, Greville was killed by a Royalist sniper during the first siege of Lichfield.