Keep Your Powder Dry

The ECWtravelogue finally gets around to visiting Leicester, well known home of malcontents who like to bury royalty in car parks. The Magazine Gateway aka Newarke Gateway Leicester was a Parliamentarian stronghold pretty much untroubled by the King until the dying days of the First Civil War; that is not to stay nothing happened here, there were a number of skirmishes between the opposing forces around the Thurcaston Road bridge and inside St Peter's Church; but it wasn't until May 1645, when the King's Army attacked the town (to draw the threat of the Army Newly Modelled away from Charles's capital of Oxford) that Leicester saw significant fighting. The Guildhall Rupert deployed his artillery outside the town, prior to demanding that the garrison surrender. The garrison rebutted Rupert's request and the assault began at 3pm on 30 May 1645.  The garrison normally consisted of four companies of foot under the command of Colonel Theophilus Grey, and about 200 horse...

The Civil Wars in Leicestershire are overshadowed by events leading upto, and after the Battle of Naseby just over the border in Northamptonshire.  For more Leicestershire Civil War locations see  the storming of Leicester (coming soon), Market Harborough's role after  Naseby , and Belvoir Castle . Kirby Bellars , the remains of this C14th moated manor house were reinforced with earthworks to provide protection for its Parliamentarian garrison. The garrison deserted the site after the fall of Leicester. Marked on the OS map as 'moat' it is best viewed on satellite mapping apps. More hardy souls might want to take the footpath from 36 Main Street westwards that curves round to the south to meet Leicester Road. 1620s House Slightly before 'our' period the 1620s House and Gardens at Donington le Heath gives a fascinating insight into how people lived during the troubled times. Excellent tea rooms (the menu is not C17th themed). The original Tudor manor of Coleorton Hal...

Belvoir Castle dominates the landscape around the Vale of Belvoir, so it doesn't take much to see why the Normans built the original castle on the site, nor does it take too much working out to why they named it 'beautiful view'. Of course, if you are wondering how to pronounce it, the locals pronounce it 'beaver'. The current 'castle' is a Regency house in a castle style, surrounded by a landscape envisaged by Capability Brown*. The original castle had fallen into ruin by Tudor times, and had been rebuilt by Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland. It is this second incarnation of the castle that became a thorn in Parliament's side. Belvoir was ideally located to protect the route from Oxford to Newark, the garrison used the castle as a stronghold from which to sally forth and disrupt Parliament's machinations in Lincolnshire , and Newark . The castle was owned by John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland a Parliamentarian and Covenanter. In January 1643 one of...