# Percy Kirke

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English Army officer (c. 1646–1691)

For his son, see [Percy Kirke (British Army officer)](/source/Percy_Kirke_(British_Army_officer)).

Lieutenant-General Percy Kirke Painting of Percy Kirke, c. 1680 Born c. 1646 Died 31 October 1691 (aged 45 yrs) Brussels, Belgium Allegiance England Rank Lieutenant-General Conflicts Franco-Dutch War Monmouth Rebellion Glorious Revolution

[Lieutenant-General](/source/Lieutenant-General) **Percy Kirke** (c. 1646 – 31 October 1691) was an [English Army](/source/English_Army) officer who was the son of [George Kirke](/source/George_Kirke), a court official to [Charles I](/source/Charles_I_of_England) and [Charles II](/source/Charles_II_of_England).

## Career

In 1666 Kirke obtained his first Army commission in Lord Admiral's regiment, and subsequently served in the [Blues](/source/Royal_Horse_Guards). In 1673 he was with [Monmouth](/source/Duke_of_Monmouth) at [Maastricht](/source/Siege_of_Maastricht_(1673)) during the [Franco-Dutch War](/source/Franco-Dutch_War) and was present during two campaigns with [Turenne](/source/Henri_de_la_Tour_d'Auvergne%2C_Vicomte_de_Turenne) on the [Rhine](/source/Rhine).[1] In 1680 he was promoted [lieutenant-colonel](/source/Lieutenant-colonel), and soon afterwards [colonel](/source/Colonel) of the [2nd Tangier Regiment](/source/2nd_Tangier_Regiment) (afterwards the King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment).[2] In 1682 he became [Governor of Tangier](/source/List_of_governors_of_Tangier)[2] and colonel of the [Tangier Regiment](/source/Queen's_Royal_Regiment_(West_Surrey)) (afterwards the Queens Royal West Surrey Regiment).[1] That same year, he visited [Meknes](/source/Meknes), where [Moulay Ismail](/source/Moulay_Ismail), as a gesture of goodwill, freed one of his English slaves and delivered him to Kirke.[3]

*[A View of Tangier](/source/A_View_of_Tangier)* by [Hendrick Danckerts](/source/Hendrick_Danckerts), 1669

In the view of the historian [Thomas Babington Macaulay](/source/Thomas_Babington_Macaulay), he was "a military adventurer whose vices had been developed by the worst of all schools, Tangier.... Within the ramparts of his fortress he was a despotic prince. The only check on his tyranny was the fear of being called to account by a distant and a careless government. He might therefore safely proceed to the most audacious excesses of rapacity, licentiousness, and cruelty. He lived with boundless dissoluteness, and procured by extortion the means of indulgence."

Kirke commanded his regiment at the [Battle of Sedgemoor](/source/Battle_of_Sedgemoor) in July 1685 during the [Monmouth Rebellion](/source/Monmouth_Rebellion) and then ruthlessly hunted down the fugitives after the battle.[1]

Brigadier Kirke took a notable part in the [Glorious Revolution](/source/Glorious_Revolution) three years later, and [William III](/source/William_III_of_England) promoted him. He commanded at the relief of [Derry](/source/Derry), breaking the [Jacobite](/source/Jacobitism) [Irish Army](/source/Irish_Army_(Kingdom_of_Ireland))'s [siege of the city](/source/Siege_of_Derry). Following the [Battle of the Boyne](/source/Battle_of_the_Boyne) on 1 July 1690, he oversaw the [Capture of Waterford](/source/Capture_of_Waterford), Ireland's second largest settlement at the time, on 25 July 1690.[1] He took part in his last campaign in [Flanders](/source/Flanders) in 1691.

He was appointed a [Groom of the Bedchamber](/source/Groom_of_the_Bedchamber) to King William from 1689 to his death. He also briefly served as MP for [West Looe](/source/West_Looe_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) as a [Tory](/source/Tory_Party_(UK)) in 1689–90.[4]

He died, with the rank of [lieutenant general](/source/Lieutenant_general), at [Brussels](/source/Brussels) on 31 October 1691.[1] His eldest son, Lieutenant General [Percy Kirke](/source/Percy_Kirke_(British_Army_officer)) (1684–1741), was also colonel of the Lambs.[1]

## Notes

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-odnb_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-odnb_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-odnb_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-odnb_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-odnb_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-odnb_1-5) ["Kirke, Percy (d. 1691)"](http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/15664?docPos=1). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 28 February 2016.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-kings_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-kings_2-1) ["Percy Kirke"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160304100351/http://www.kingsownmuseum.plus.com/cor-kirke.htm). King's Own Royal Regiment Museum Lancaster. Archived from [the original](http://www.kingsownmuseum.plus.com/cor-kirke.htm) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ([Claudio 2012](#CITEREFClaudio2012), The Last Account from Fez, in a Letter from One of the Embassy to a Person of Honor in London, containing a Relation of Colonel Kirk’s Reception at Mequinez, by the Emperor, with Several Passages in Relation to the Affairs at Tangiers (1682)): «perceiving an English slave at his labour, his Majesty, after a very gracious manner, gave him his liberty and gave him to Col. Kirk»

1. **[^](#cite_ref-hop_4-0)** Watson, Paula. ["Percy Kirke"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150924031132/http://www.histparl.ac.uk/volume/1660-1690/member/kirke-percy-1691). History of Parliament. Archived from [the original](http://www.histparl.ac.uk/volume/1660-1690/member/kirke-percy-1691) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2014.

## Bibliography

- Claudio, Vicki, ed. (2012). *A Pastoral Letter to the Captives*. Exagorazo Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1441417930](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1441417930).

## References

- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the [public domain](/source/Public_domain): [Chisholm, Hugh](/source/Hugh_Chisholm), ed. (1911). "[Kirke, Percy](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Kirke,_Percy)". *[Encyclopædia Britannica](/source/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition)*. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 833.

Military offices Preceded by Sir Edward Sackville Governor of Tangier 1681–1683 Succeeded by George Legge, Admiral Lord Dartmouth Preceded by Sir Palmes Fairborne Colonel of the Tangier Regiment 1682–1691 Succeeded by William Selwyn

v t e Dominion of New England Monarchs Charles II of England James II of England William III and Mary II of England Administrators Colonel Percy Kirke Joseph Dudley Sir Edmund Andros Francis Nicholson Opponents Simon Bradstreet Jacob Leisler Increase Mather Cotton Mather Sir William Phips Background New England Puritans The Navigation Acts Assimilated colonies Massachusetts Bay New Hampshire Plymouth Rhode Island Connecticut New York East Jersey West Jersey Events Creation of the dominion Charter Oak incident 1689 Boston revolt Leisler's Rebellion

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Italy People Ireland Other IdRef Open Library SNAC

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Percy Kirke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Kirke) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Kirke?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.