The World Turned Upside Down - The British Civil Wars 1638-1651

As civil war raged in Britain, the heart of Europe was being torn apart by a bitter conflict which lasted from 1618 to 1648. These three decades became a byword for the horrors of war unsurpassed until the world wars of the 20th century. Every European power apart from Russia, was sucked into the fighting as ... Read more

The Sealed Knot was the most important, and certainly the most famous, royalist organization to emerge in England during the Protectorate. At its heart was a group of second sons of Royalist families in East Anglia, each of whom had fought for the King in the Civil War. Their experiences left them suspicious of reckless ... Read more

For the first time the role played by women in the espionage networks of both sides in the Civil Wars is being recovered through the pioneering research conducted by Nadine Akkerman, Professor of Early Modern Literature and Culture at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Professor Akkerman tells publisher, Mike Gibbs, how she uncovered the extent ... Read more

The British civil wars were largely played out around numerous fortified strongpoints at locally important strategic sites throughout the three Kingdoms. Such “fortresses” ranged from purpose-built artillery platforms known as sconces which can still be seen in places such as Newark in Nottinghamshire, through to medieval castles such as Corfe in Dorset or local homes ... Read more

It is surprising to learn that the carnage of the civil wars took place against an often unrecognised background of near-constant peace negotiations and that popular agitation for an end to the conflict was frequently expressed in petitions with thousands of signatures and public demonstrations calling for an end to the conflict. Apart from small ... Read more

On 19th March 1649 the House of Lords was abolished by an Act of Parliament, which declared that “…the House of Lords is useless and dangerous to the people of England.” But in 1657, the Cromwellian regime established a second Parliamentary chamber – the “Other House” – under the terms of The Humble Petition and Advice. ... Read more

In our regular series of programmes Key Questions: Expert Answers, we invited leading academics to address some of the most important questions – often controversial – asked about the causes, conflicts and consequences of the British Civil Wars. These are the thorny questions which are regularly asked about this unique period of British history which ... Read more

General George Monck is best known for the key role that he played in the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 when his actions undoubtedly changed the course of British history. Without his military intervention it is likely that Charles Stuart would not have regained the throne, that Britain would have remained a Republic or ... Read more

In just 40 weeks Oliver Cromwell ruthlessly subdued Ireland in a bloody and ruthless campaign which still casts a shadow over the remembrance of one of the most famous – or infamous – figures in British history. This campaign continues to be bitterly argued over by historians and politicians today. When he arrived on 15th ... Read more

In the seventeenth century the market town of Newark sat at the lowest bridging point across the River Trent astride the Great North Road which linked London with the north and Scotland. Unsurprisingly, control of this town became a strategic objective for both sides during First Civil War. Besieged not once but three times, by ... Read more

While witch-hunting and witch trials here in England never reached the levels reported in Europe, they were at their highest against the background of the turmoil of the 1640s. This was the time of the notorious Witch-finder General, Matthew Hopkins (1620-1647) and his associates, including John Stearne (1610-1670). These men operated in East Anglia, an ... Read more

Memorials of conflicts that have occurred since the nineteenth century are commonplace around the country. Most cities, towns and villages contain some form of physical structure dedicated to the memory of former inhabitants who gave their lives in service, especially those who fought during the First and Second World Wars. But did those who lived ... Read more

This is the second programme in our two-part series asking why England’s only experiment with Republicanism spectacularly disintegrated within a few months of the death of Oliver Cromwell, the first Lord Protector? You will hear from author and historian, Dr Henry Reece, Emeritus Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, that the return of Charles II was ... Read more

This programme is the first of a two-part series telling the story of the turbulence and upheaval that followed the death of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell on 3rd September 1658 and which ended in the return of the monarch, Charles II, to London on 8th May 1660. In this episode we learn about the fall ... Read more

Over the last decade, extensive research conducted by academic historians in universities in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland has significantly expanded our knowledge of the origins, conducts and consequences of the British and Irish Civil Wars. As a result, attitudes and perceptions of this critically important period of history are continuously evolving. This presents a ... Read more

Over the last decade, extensive research conducted by academic historians in universities in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland has significantly expanded our knowledge of the origins, conducts and consequences of the British and Irish Civil Wars. As a result, attitudes and perceptions of this critically important period of history are continuously evolving. This presents a ... Read more

Much has been written about the New Model Army, which, when combined with images of Oliver Cromwell, has come to represent civil wars in popular books, films and TV programmes. In academic studies, the main focus has been on the founding and organisation of the army, its battlefield victories, the men who fought in its ... Read more

The British and Irish Civil War offer multiple opportunities across the curriculum and each of the key stages (KS). In this short talk Dr Jim Carroll, Departmental Lecturer in History Education at the University of Oxford, discusses: Current status of civil war history in schools Where the Civil War might be used to enhance learning ... Read more

On the 10th March 1629, Charles I dissolved his third parliament beginning years of Personal Rule which were described by his opponents as “11 years of tyranny”.  Indeed it is these years which many historians regard as a critically important causal factor in the outbreak of civil war in England in 1642. Knowing the upheaval and ... Read more

In seventeenth-century England, petitioning was one of the few opportunities for people at every level of society to make their voices heard by those in power. As a result, petitions became the ubiquitous means by which groups such as the Levellers sought to radically change the government and the organisation of religion in England, through ... Read more

On Easter Monday 1643 Prince Rupert led a force which assaulted the town of Birmingham as he moved along the road to meet up with Queen Henrietta Maria who was on her way to meet Charles I in Oxford. This was a short and seemingly insignificant skirmish. Birmingham had no significant defences and the parliamentary ... Read more

The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, said: “Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man”. How far is this true of the life of Oliver Cromwell who rose from being an obscure yeoman farmer in East Anglia to become one of the most revered, and by some reviled, figures in ... Read more

This is one of the great ‘what if’ questions of British history. Could the Commonwealth and the subsequent Protectorate have survived after the death of Oliver Cromwell on 3rd September 1658, or was it doomed to failure from the beginning? In our series ‘The Big Questions’, we invite distinguished historians to answer such critical important ... Read more

By 1644, the Civil War was entering its third year. Until then, the conflict in the North of England had been dominated by a victorious Royalist Army led by the Marquis of Newcastle, but the intervention of a Scots Army of 20,000 men dramatically now changed the balance of power in Parliament’s favour. By April, ... Read more

Many histories of the civil war fought in England focus on the south and the midlands. In contrast, this programme shines a light on the significant role played by the county of Yorkshire in the north of England in Parliament’s victory during the Civil Wars. In this programme, Professor Andrew Hopper of the University of ... Read more