History
The Admiral Benbow - The same name as the fictional home of Jim Hawkins in the Robert Louis Stevenson novel
Treasure Island, however the connection with Milton is is not fictional.
The real Admiral Benbow was one of the illustrious ancestors of the Calton family, the major land owners of Milton village in earlier times. Admiral John Benbow (1653 – 1702) was the son of a tanner in Shrewsbury. He went to sea when very young, rising to the rank of Admiral. In the War of Spanish Succession he sighted and chased four French vessels, Benbows' captains became mutinous.
In the engagement, supported by his loyal officers, his right leg was shattered by a chain-shot, despite which he remained on the quarter-deck till morning.
After the encounter he returned to Jamaica, where his mutinous subordinates were tried by court-martial, he died of his wounds on 4 November 1702. Two battleships and a 74 gun ship of the line were named HMS Benbow in his honour.
The Admiral's daughter Catherine married Paul Calton of Milton, various Benbow artefacts remain in trust to the family, and it is reputed that the Admiral stayed with his daughter at Milton Manor.
