Keep Your Powder Dry

The mental images we have of seventeenth century dress are invariably of a dashing cavalier, wearing extravagant clothing and an ostentatious feather in a broad-brimmed hat; or a dour Puritan dressed in black and white. A heavily stylised, but very enduring set of images created by the Victorians. But what was the reality? Some clothing from the time still exists, although this will, by the very nature of things, have belonged to rich owners. It has been suggested too, that due to interest in the civil wars, that these surviving garments have been fancydress-ified by the Victorians to achieve the romantic nature of dashing cavaliers and their ladies. Thanks to rising temperatures the C17th and C18th graveyard at Spitsbergen is giving up its inhabitants - whalers buried in their clothes. Many of these remarkable garments are on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (they also have the fantastic Night Watch painting). If you can't just pop into Amsterdam you can see some high res...

Since I visited both Naseby and Marston Moor it was only a matter of time before I went for the hat-trick and visited Edgehill:  but it is a bit of a trek from deepest darkest Derbyshire. A weekend in London gave me the opportunity to have a detour and a break from driving on the way home. Sadly there is precious little to see as most of the site is occupied by an MoD site and as such is closed to public access. However, good views of the battlefield can be had from the ridgeline above. The best starting place is The Castle at Edgehill pub, where there is a Battlefield's Trust information board located in the beer garden. There have been a number of recorded ghost sightings of armies fighting. This was first reported in January 1643: A Great Wonder in Heaven and The New Year’s Wonder  both recounted the ghostly goings on. Mr Marshall, the minister in Kineton, went to Oxford to report the occurrences to the King. Charles sent six gentlemen to investigate, and th...

A quick thank you to everybody who has popped by to read my inane drivel / look at the pictures. Thank you too for the kind comments here, on forums and via e-mail. Much appreciated . Here's a  selfie of me dictating this post to my blog assistant. This blog was meant to be a way of organising my thoughts and ideas, with the bonus that anyone else interested could share in my research / thoughts. So far in it's  first five months just shy of 5000 page views, with two posts clocking up over 200 views each: Naseby Windmill, and Parliamentarian Foot (which staggeringly is only 8 days old). So I'm guessing one or two of you share my interest. If you enjoyed reading this, or any of the other posts, please consider  supporting  the blog.  Thanks .

Yet another of my eye candy posts, consider it task avoidance - I'd rather post pretty pictures on the blog than plaster a wall in the kitchen. My rationale for my regiments of foot can be found  here . Here are the first six regiments of foot, repressed common men press ganged into fighting for an unjust monarch. Lord Hopton's Regiment   Raised in Bristol in 1643, notable engagements at First and Second Newbury, Cheriton and Cropredy Bridge. Colonel John Talbot's Regiment Probably formed from troops released by the Cessation in Ireland; notable engagements were Second Newbury, Cheriton and Cropredy Bridge. Sir Charles Gerard's Regiment Raised as part of the Earl of Derby’s forces in Lancashire, they then served with the Oxford Army. Notable engagements include the siege of Manchester, Edgehill, and First Newbury. Sir Henry Bard's Regiment Raised in Northumberland in 1643, then served with the Oxford Army. The regiment was later re...

Here are my Parliamentarian cavalry for your delectation.  There was a previous Parliamentarian  Cavalry post which has been retitled 'Regiments of Horse". This post is pure eye candy, the RoH post now documents my rationale for making my cavalry units the way I have. Major General Richard Browne's Regiment Raised in London for the First Civil war, not much is known about them other than they were garrisoned in Abingdon. Colonel Christopher Copley's Regiment Part of Fairfax’s Northern Association they participated at Adwalton Moor, Siege of York, and Marston Moor. Sir William Waller's Regiment   The list of engagements that this regiment took part in is considerable, highlights include: Edgehill, Roundway Down, Cheriton, Cropredy, Basing House and Second Newbury before being disbanded in 1645. Colonel John Lambert's Regiment Another regiment that was part of Fairfax’s Northern Association. Participated in Hull, Adwalton Moor, Nant...

Another in the latest outbreak of eye candy posts. My rationale for my regiments of foot can be found  here . Here are the first six regiments of foot, parading in all their finest. Earl of Essex's Regiment Raised in 1642 for Edgehill, they also took part in both battles of Newbury before being Disbanded and drafted into  the General's Regiment of the New Model Army in 1645. They wore orange tawney coats from September 1642 until re-clothed in an unknown colour in August 1643. Colonel Edward Aldrich's Regiment Regiment of foot of Essex’s Army raised by Lord Saye and Sele but led by Meldrum until he was sent North and replaced by Aldrich. Entered the New Model Army under Colonel Lloyd . Took part at Edgehill, Newark, Lostwithiel and Second Newbury.  Colonel Charles Fairfax's Regiment Fought in the Second and Third Civil Wars, garrisoning in Scotland during the 1650s. Lord Robarte's Regiment Part of Essex's army, they...

Edit: regular readers will be thinking I've already read this, wasn't this originally a Parliamentarian specific post? It was, but I have decided that it is more of an overview of my rationale behind my regiments of horse. The Parliamentarian units will be documented more thoroughly in a new post, similar to the Royalist cavalry post. I must confess to having employed a bit of artistic licence with my cavalry units; not as bad as the flouncy cavaliers, and rugby shirt wearing puritans of the 1970 Cromwell film, but enough to have a button counter seeking therapy, or a quiet room in which to rock. For some reason, known only to my inner self my Parliamentarian cavalry all wear helmets, and my Royalists wear hats. Tosh I know, but that is how I have organised them. I've gone for a random mix of sword and pistol wielding figures. I've chosen units of sixteen riders, thirteen troopers, a cornet, a trumpeter and an officer. Based in groups of four on Warbases 30mm x 60...

Regular readers may have noticed a little bit of partisan bias creeping into posts. There is some historical basis for this bias. Meet my great (× lots) uncle. Humphrey Chetham, High Sheriff of Lancashire and Parliament's General Treasurer of Lancashire. As he approached his death he feared the state would take his wealth, so set up a bluecoats school (now a posh music school), a library and a hospital. I have since discovered that I am also related to Captain Thomas Chetham of Colonel Richard Holland's Regiment of Foot , and later lieutenant captain (a rank that was effectively the captain commanding the colonel's company) of    General Venables' Regiment of the New Model Army. Probably explains why I develop a twitch when tour guides at stately homes start spouting about beastly Parliamentarians. If you enjoyed reading this, or any of the other posts, please consider  supporting  the blog.  Thanks .

Here's Parliament's command. Painting by Alan Tuckey, basing by me. Cromwell, and cornet (with his cavalry regiment standard rather than his Lord Protector's standard). Parliament's second in command, identified by having a dog. A proper dog, not a poodle. Haven't decided who it represents yet. Another as yet unidentified general This is a Matchlock general, paint job is one of mine. Has a look of Black Tom about him. Might rebase him with the dog. His sash looks a bit untidy ''blown up' so he might get a minor repaint too. Finally a brimfire and treacle preacher. If you enjoyed reading this, or any of the other posts, please consider  supporting  the blog.  Thanks .

Painting by Alan Tuckey (with one exception), basing by me. His Majesty, Charles I. Prince Rupert of the Rhine and Boye. Poodles - not really a 'manly dog' are they? And who were they trying to kid calling it a war poodle? As yet unnamed generals This one is from Matchlock, and is one of my paint jobs. And finally a priest, looking suspiciously sympathetic to the Pope and the Church of Rome. If you enjoyed reading this, or any of the other posts, please consider  supporting  the blog.  Thanks .