Patten

ROBERT PATTEN (fl. 1715)

The historian of the Jacobite rebellion was a curate in Allendale. He gathered a party of keelmen to join the insurgents, and on his arrival in Wooler he was warmly welcomed by 'General' Tom Forster and James Ratcliffe, third Earl of Derwentwater. Patten was at once appointed Forster's chaplain. On the way to Kelso, where the main body of Jacobites was to join them, Patten preached a sermon to inspirit the army. His text was from Deuteronomy xxi. 17: 'The right of the first-born is his.'

Patten engaged in spying, and also in active service. Near Penrith, where he had once been a curate, he attempted to intercept William Nicolson, Bishop of Carlisle. At Preston, where the rebels were defeated, Patten had his horse shot from under him, and he was taken to London as a prisoner. Patten decided to turn king's evidence and his offer was accepted. In gratitude Patten published in 1717 A History of the Late Rebellion, with Original Papers and the Characters of the Principal Noblemen and Gentlemen Concerned in it. Patten figures as 'Creeping Bob' in the novel Dorothy Forster by Sir Walter Besant (q.v.) which deals with the Northumbrian view of the rising.

Myers Literary Guide:	The North-East
ROBERT PATTEN (fl. 1715) The historian of the Jacobite rebellion was a curate in Allendale. He gathered a party of keelmen to join the insurgents, and on his arrival in Wooler he was warmly welcomed by 'General' Tom Forster and James Ratcliffe, third Earl of Derwentwater. Patten was at once appointed Forster's chaplain. On the way to Kelso, where the main body of Jacobites was to join them, Patten preached a sermon to inspirit the army. His text was from Deuteronomy xxi. 17: 'The right of the first-born is his.' Patten engaged in spying, and also in active service. Near Penrith, where he had once been a curate, he attempted to intercept William Nicolson, Bishop of Carlisle. At Preston, where the rebels were defeated, Patten had his horse shot from under him, and he was taken to London as a prisoner. Patten decided to turn king's evidence and his offer was accepted. In gratitude Patten published in 1717 A History of the Late Rebellion, with Original Papers and the Characters of the Principal Noblemen and Gentlemen Concerned in it. Patten figures as 'Creeping Bob' in the novel Dorothy Forster by Sir Walter Besant (q.v.) which deals with the Northumbrian view of the rising.
Return to Index	On to next Author