"Nottingham In the Civil War"
October 2004 Meeting Report
Guest Speaker - Dr Martyn Bennett
The October meeting of the Keyworth & District Local History Society was held in the Centenary Lounge on Friday 1st October, 2004. A packed house was present to hear Dr Martyn Bennett of Trent University give his talk on Nottingham in the Civil war. Around a dozen visitors swelled the ranks of our own members filling the room to capacity.
Dr Bennett began by stressing that his talk would be principally about the first English Civil War that lasted from 1642 to 1646. Nottingham played an important role in the Civil War. Indeed, it was in Nottingham that the King raised his Standard on four successive days in 1642 to rally support for the Royalist cause. Dr Bennett went on to state that the title of English Civil War was in many respects a misnomer. It wasn’t an English War at all in its origins. England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland had been gripped by over 50 years of social unrest, rebellion, border wars and, at times, open warfare. It would be fair to say that the origins of the 1642 to 1646 War began as far back as 1625, in Scotland, when that country’s monarch, James VI, (James I of England), died and was succeed by his son Charles I. In many ways James was the most politically astute monarch of the 17th century. One example of his vision was his desire to unite, in 1603, England, Scotland, and Ireland and to form the United Kingdom, (ironically Oliver Cromwell achieved this 50 years later). He was responsible for the introduction of many reforms into the Scottish Church, some of which required considerable guile and political prowess. James was a patient man and always had his eye on the long game rather than the immediate future.
James’ son, Charles I, on the other hand was a different character altogether. He was impatient, heavy-handed and arrogant. One dream held by Charles was to create a single, unified church throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. This was never a viable proposition given the very diverse religious beliefs obtaining at the time. Ireland was predominantly Catholic whilst Scotland was, for the greater part, Protestant. The rift with Rome was still relatively new and feelings between Protestants and Catholics were far from cordial. It was due to Charles’ political ineptitude and mismanagement of the country over the next 20 years or so that the seeds for the Civil War were sown. One example of his insensitivity was his Coronation in Scotland. This occurred 8 years after his English Coronation. Charles insisted that the Church of England take precedence over the Scottish Church and this caused much ill feeling north of the border.
In 1629 Charles dissatisfaction with the Welsh Parliament resulted in its dissolution by him. By 1637 his religious policies had brought nationwide revolt to Scotland. In 1638 opinions in Scotland were polarized into opposing groups by the creation of a National Covenant that sought to bind the nation in a contract with God to defend the church, (Kirk). The Scottish Parliament and the General Assembly of the Kirk began a political and religious revolution. The King’s powers in Scotland were slowly eroded. This infuriated Charles so much that by 1639 he went to war against Scotland. The outcome was inconclusive but the Scots defended themselves successfully and they gained the confidence to stand up to the English Crown. The problems between Scotland and the English Crown continued to fester and by 1640 outright war broke out again. This time, however, the Scots were more successful and the North of England was occupied by bands of Scottish soldiers. By the end of 1640 the Parliaments of England, Wales, and Scotland had all begun to dismantle monarchical government.
Policies and stratagems introduced by Charles had no effect and in 1641 rebellion also broke out in Ireland. The bone of contention in Ireland being that the Catholics there were not able to achieve the same reforms and political power that had been won from the Crown in England, Scotland and Wales. By 1640 Charles had dismissed the English Parliament twice. This caused great anger and resentment with the Protestant Church, particularly the Puritan element within it. Charles was beset on all sides of his Kingdom by civil unrest and political opposition. Sometimes he chose to fight his enemies in the Courts. One example of this was when he attempted to have the Earl of Stafford prosecuted for treason. When this failed Charles introduced the Act of Attainder which, to say the least, was a desperate measure. Under the terms of this act rumour of treasonous actions could result in conviction. This act was used to re-try the Earl of Strafford for treason. This time the prosecution was successful and the Earl was executed. This action provoked widespread anger and was directly responsible for the revolt in Ireland.
The Parliament that was established in England sought to by-pass the King in the running of the country. Charles could not let this situation remain unresolved. It was to this end that he raised his Standard in Nottingham in 1642. He needed to raise an army to wrest control back from Parliament. The King was legally able to raise militia throughout his realm in order to defend it and this is what he set out to do. Along with the militia there were supplies of military stores and equipment that were kept at various locations throughout the land, (often in Guild Halls etc). To counter this move by the King Parliament decided to raise it’s own troops and to try and gain control of the military stores and equipment. Charles might have raised his Standard in Nottingham but the town itself was staunchly Parliamentarian.
The scene was set for confrontation and it was believed by both sides that a single, decisive battle would resolve the issue one way or the other. That battle took play at Edge Hill but it’s outcome was far from decisive. After the battle the war tended to settle down into something of a stalemate. Parliament controlled large areas of the country, as did the Royalists. Each established it’s own government and civil law in their own territory. More importantly, each side organised it’s own tax collecting system, as any war needed to be paid for and ultimately it would be the side with the greatest monetary wealth that would win the day.
Battles were fought throughout the country, many were inconclusive, but were important in establishing which of the two factions controlled the surrounding lands, and in consequence, the ability to raise taxes. In this respect some locations were pivotal in the struggle, not least of these were Nottingham and Newark. They stood at vital, strategic points and for the duration of the first Civil War were often in the thick of things. The Royalists held Newark, sometimes under siege conditions and it was vital to the Royalist cause to hold it. By 1643 the situation had resolved itself to the position where Royalist troops controlled Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Kent and other widespread land. The Royalists held large areas of land but they were unable to inflict any telling defeats on Parliament. Parliament controlled the North East and the South West. The East Midlands tended to be undecided, at one time Royalist, at another time Parliamentarian. This tended to make Nottingham a pivotal location in the prosecution of the war. Parliament held many strongholds in Nottingham and Notts but everywhere they were pinned down by Royalist troops.
The Earl of Newcastle was one of only two millionaires in the country and he was a Royalist. With his vast wealth and influence his allegiance to either cause would be a great asset. As it was he threw his lot in with the Royalists and it was their cause that he supported in Nottinghamshire. In fact it was with his direct help that the Parliamentarians in Nottingham fell to the Royalists, (albeit for a short time). It was at this time that events in Scotland began to have a very major bearing on the war in England. Once again, with Parliamentarian assistance, Scotland threatened the North of England. The Scots had raised a massive force and threatened to invade England from the North. It was to repel this threat that the Royalists needed to strengthen their forces in the North. The only way that this could be done was to take troops from the South and this weakened the Royalist position there. In order to counter the treat Charles attempted to defeat the Scots by launching an invasion of Scotland from Ireland. The result was a disaster. As a counter to this Parliament restructured it’s war effort and created the New Model Army. The effects of this were to prove pivotal to the outcome of the war.
Charles’ attempts to retake Scotland were to prove disastrous and Royalist resistance in the North collapsed. The battle of Marston Moor signalled the end of a Royalist presence in the North. Virtually the whole of Northern England was now under the sway of Parliament. After Marston Moor the Royalists area of influence begins to decline everywhere. They lose Nottinghamshire and their sphere if influence decreases, never to regain its former strength. One little known skirmish in our neighbourhood relates to the battle of Denton, (near Grantham). This was part of the overwhelming of Royalist troops in the East Midlands. The Royalists were surrounded on three sides and overwhelmed. They tried to retreat to the relative safety of Belvoir but were caught in boggy marshland and a great many drowned. Indeed more were drowned after the skirmish than were actually killed fighting.
The New Model Army continued to grow in strength and effectiveness. It becomes a truly professional army and is well led by rising stars such as Oliver Cromwell. As the area controlled by Parliament expands so does it’s ability to raise revenue and thus pay for its New Model Army. The Royalists finally face defeat at Naseby and with it the virtual collapse of the Royalist resistance. Everywhere the King faced Parliamentarian control. His policies in Ireland, Scotland and England had all come to naught and he finally surrended to the Scots in 1646. The first English Civil War drew to a close. Peace of a kind reigned for a few years until old differences re-emerged in the Second English Civil War of 1648 broke out but that, as they say, is another story.