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

The military history of the British and Irish Civil Wars has been dominated by the stories of the battles between the two field armies in England such as Marston Moor, Newbury and Naseby. But in reality, this was largely a conflict of relatively small-scale local conflicts, often around strongpoints such as fortified houses. These engagements ... Read more

While accounts of the British and Irish civil wars frequently focus on the large set-piece battles between the two field armies, much, if not most of the conflict was fought by regional or local forces in raids, skirmishes and sieges of strongpoints. These clashes disrupted local lives time and again as the conflict ebbed and ... Read more

Sergeant-Major General Phillip Skippon was described by an earlier biographer, Lucas Phillips, as “… the type of man found in the best British armies throughout the centuries – not over-endowed with brains, but stout of heart, loyal of spirit, direct of speech, generous to a fault, God-fearing, the first into action and the last out ... Read more

Ask who was the Parliamentary general who created and commanded the all-conquering New Model Army during the civil wars and the most likely answer will be “Oliver Cromwell”. But in fact, it was Sir Thomas Fairfax – known to his enemies as “Black Tom” – who emerged as the most successful military commander of the ... Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte famously said “Soldiers generally win battles, generals get credit for them”.  This is certainly true of many of the histories of the British Civil Wars. Whilst much is written about famous military figures such as Oliver Cromwell and Prince Rupert of the Rhine, the hundreds of thousands of ordinary men they led – ... Read more

1647 was the first year of peace after Parliament’s victory in the First Civil War. Rather than a return to pre-war normality, the year brought more instability as the lives of the British and Irish peoples were turned upside down. The year began when the defeated King was ‘sold’ to the Westminster Parliament by his ... Read more

Between 1660 and 1689, Quakerism in England underwent substantial trials and transformations. This was a time of great political and religious  instability which posed formidable challenges for early Quakers who had survived the civil wars. Following the Restoration of the monarchy, Quakers faced intensified persecution under the so-called Clarendon Code, which sought to suppress dissenting religi...

Quakerism emerged in England in the social and religious tumult of the Civil Wars. It was in these years that Quakers tapped into the widespread feeling of uncertainty in a world turned upside down, zealously spreading their messages in print and through a travelling ministry.  This brought them into direct confrontation with the authorities who ... Read more

The landmark 1641 Depositions Project at Trinity College Dublin, has digitised and analysed more than 8,000 witness statements made during the Rebellion which swept through Ireland in 1641 and 1642. These testimonies mainly by Protestants, but also by some Catholics, from all social backgrounds, concern their experiences. They document the loss of goods, military activity, ... Read more

Events in Scotland and Ireland in the late 1630s and early 1640s directly contributed to and amplified, the worsening political crisis which in 1642 would explode into Civil War in England and Wales. By 1641 there was instability across the Three Kingdoms.  In Ireland, the deteriorating condition of the so-called “deserving Catholics” who held property ... Read more

This is the incredible but true story of John Poyer of Pembroke. Poyer’s early years are obscure but he rose from poverty to become mayor of the isolated and poor town of Pembroke in the farthest reaches south west Wales. When civil war broke out in 1642 Poyer seized the town and castle for Parliament ... Read more

Between 1643 and 1645, Basing House in Hampshire – which once rivalled Hampton Court in size and opulence – was besieged by Parliament’s forces. The house was a Royalist bastion and its owner, the Marquess of Winchester, who repeatedly refused to surrender, had the motto “Love Loyalty” etched into the window. The house finally fell ... Read more

Some historians refer to the British Civil Wars as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland.  As a result it is easy to forget the Welsh experience and imply that it was unexceptional. But Dr Lloyd Bowen, Reader in Early Modern and Welsh History at Cardiff University says this ignores the important ... Read more

On the 23rd of October 1641 – about a year before the outbreak of civil wars in England and Wales – a bloody Rebellion swept across Ireland. Lead by a small group of Catholic gentry and military officers, many of whom were Gaelic Irish, the rebels’ goal was to oust the hated English administration and ... Read more

In January 1644, the Scottish army was sent into England to directly intervene in the Civil War in Parliament’s favour. The Scots became aligned with the Presbyterians at Westminster, where they generated the political ideas which shaped much of Parliament’s war effort.

From 1637 popular opposition to Charles I in Scotland ignited a crisis which first spread to Ireland in 1641 and then to England and Wales in 1642. It was here in Scotland that the king initially made the concessions which publicly exposed his weakness and his inability to sustain his Divine right to rule. Once ... Read more

Historians now recognise that the civil wars of the mid-seventeenth century must be viewed in a British and Irish context and not exclusively from an English perspective. Events in both Scotland and Ireland are fundamentally important if we are to gain an understanding of the causes of the conflict and the events which occurred throughout ... Read more

John Pym was one of the most influential Parliamentary leaders of the Opposition to the arbitrary rule of Charles the First in the years preceding the outbreak of civil war in 1642. And after the conflict began, he was an influential and widely respected figure in the development of the strategy developed by the Parliamentarians, ... Read more

John Pym, who was born in 1584 and died in December 1643, was one of the most important Parliamentary figures in the years leading up to the outbreak of the Civil Wars. He earned a reputation as a parliamentary revolutionary, leading opposition to the arbitrary rule of Charles I. Throughout this time, Pym’s leadership in ... Read more

In this occasional series, distinguished academic historians of the 17th century are invited to discuss some of the controversial questions which regularly arise in lectures, publications and exams. Oliver Cromwell’s actions, decisions and response to the world in which he had to operate had consequences which shaped the history of Britain and the world beyond. ... Read more

In this occasional series, distinguished academic historians of the 17th century are invited to discuss some of the controversial questions which regularly arise in lectures, publications and exams. Oliver Cromwell’s actions, decisions and response to the world in which he had to operate had consequences which shaped the history of Britain and the world beyond. ... Read more

There is no more iconic or controversial figure in Britain during the first half of the 17th Century than Oliver Cromwell. So, with the help of distinguished academic historians, we are seeking answers to some critically important questions surrounding Oliver Cromwell – the man, his motivations and the consequences of his actions and decisions. To begin ... Read more

By New Year’s Day 1660, the Republican experiment in Britain was almost at an end and the country appeared to be drifting towards anarchy. But on that day, General George Monck led a Parliamentary army across the border from Scotland into England at the village of Coldstream en route to London where he arrived on ... Read more

1642 was a tempestuous year beginning on 4th January with the unsuccessful attempt by the King to arrest Five Members of Parliament (John Pym, John Hampden, Denzil Holles, Arthur Haselrig and William Strode), in the Commons Chamber, followed by the exclusion of the Bishops from the House of Lords and on 25th February, with the departure ... Read more

Many controversies swirl around the legacy of Oliver Cromwell and over the centuries it has become increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction. Consequently at this time of the year, one of the most popular searches on Google is “Did Oliver Cromwell really ban Christmas?”. To help us get to an authoritative response, publisher, Mike ... Read more