Keep Your Powder Dry

The opening entries in the ECWtravelogue entry for Hertfordshire are very Army Newly Modelled* heavy, and also cover the rise of the Levellers. But first a little background October 1647: Charles is imprisoned at Hampton Court; the Army Council has abandoned any attempt at negotiating with Charles as he has refused to engage with them for a number of weeks; and, Cromwell dissociates the Army leadership from the demands of the Levellers.  With this back drop, the Putney Debates begin: the Putney Debates were a series of debates that attempted to resolve the burning question of what to do with the King, a King who refused to negotiate, in order to draw a line under the First Civil War. On one side were the Army Grandees who wanted a solution that included Charles remaining as head of state. On the other, the radicals, most notably the Levellers, who wanted a constitution based upon one man, one vote, biennial Parliaments and a re-organisation of parliamentary constituencies. Throw in...

Considering Buckinghamshire lay between the King at Oxford, and Parliament in London, the county was surprisingly quiet during the Civil Wars with no major conflicts taking place. Boarstall Tower was garrisoned for the King as part of Oxford's outer defences. When nearby Brill fell to Parliament the garrison fled, and the house was occupied by John Hampden. Hampden's men left in 1644 and the house was retaken for the King by Colonel Henry Gage. Gage's assault launched  a heavy bombardmnent of the house, and the resident Lady Dynham, was forced to flee the house in disguise. Fairfax led an unsuccessful assault on the house in May 1645; he would return on the 10th June 1646, taking the house after a siege lasting 18 hours. Boarstall Tower Boarstall Tower is cared for by the National Trust, and has limited opening hours.  All Saints, Brill All Saints Church in Brill is believed to have the remains of Royalist earthwork defences to the north of the churchyard.  Brill is al...

A trip down south to that there London gave the ECWtravelogue an excuse to have a teeny detour on the way home to visit Chalgrove Field. April 1643, Reading falls to Parliament's field army led by the Earl of Essex: Oxford is now open to assault by Essex to the East; and Waller, and the Southern Association, who are in the Gloucester area. There is no love lost between Essex and Waller, which is fortunate for the King and Oxford, as if they had coordinated their armies on attacking Oxford the King would have been in very hot water. As it was, Waller became preoccupied by Hopton, and Essex was faced with the problems of  his men being sick, and disaffected due to not being paid. Then a stroke of luck for Charles: Sir John Hurry (often Urry) defects to the King (Sir John is oft described as a Scottish mercenary) providing details of Essex's garrisons and also a convoy carrying pay for Essex's men. Needless to say Prince Rupert is dispatched with a force of 1800 'hand pick...

After the trauma (!) of researching Turlough MacHenry Ó Néill, I'm giving the  Ó Néill s a wide berth for a wee while, and researching a not-Ó Néill regiment. The monumental job of cutting and drilling away cast on pikes that are much too short The Farrells were rulers of Annaly, roughly the modern County Longford. They lost about a quarter of their lands in the plantation of Longford in 1618 but were still in control of the county at the outbreak of the 1641 rebellion. So it comes as no surprise that they joined the rebellion in 1641, setting out their grievances in a letter to Lord Dillon, who presented it to the Dublin government on their behalf: The Papists in the neighbouring counties are severely punished and their miseries might serve as beacons unto us to look unto our own, when our neighbours houses are on fire.  They expressed their support for the king and enclosed an oath of loyalty to him. However, they also voiced their disappointment that as Catholics ...

A trip to that there London saw the ECWtravelogue revisit a few entries that have already appeared in the numerous London entries. Hampton Court Palace appears very briefly in the ECWtravelogue, with just a mention of the Toy Inn plaque at the entrance to the Palace.  A word of warning, Hampton Court is ridiculously expensive. Prices in the ticket office have an added voluntary donation (the small print says that you don't have to pay this if you don't want to, I'm sure that the vast majority of foreign tourists fall for this ruse). I would also recommend taking your own food and drink with you, to eat in the grounds. The cafes are best avoided unless you have just had a big lottery win (£12 for a pie! Just a pie, no sides, just the pie. Yes. really.) Think of Hampton Court and you immediately think of the great Tudor Palace that it once was. Whilst a good percentage of the Tudor buildings exist, most of the visitor accessible parts are from much later rebuilds. The Tudor...