The
Unofficial WebsiteThe English Civil War
War had been rumbling since 1639 when the Scots refused to accept the new prayer book. Parliament was recalled for the first time in eleven years but refused to vote the King money for a war against Scotland. This is necessarily a simplistic view, but the King, who considered he had a Divine Right to be obeyed, tried to control Parliament whilst Parliament, who very wisely thought he hadn't, tried to control the King. The King sacrificed some pieces including the Earl of Strafford, some Members of Parliament escaped arrest by fleeing the Commons in an apocryphal basket and the Irish revolted. After a few years pussy-footing around and making promises to all and sundry that he never intended to keep, King Charles I raised his standard at Nottingham on 22 August 1642 and the Civil War was on. His nephew, Prince Rupert of the Rhine passed through Rotherham with his entourage on 20 August on his way to join his uncle. I can imagine his reception was not a warm one. I have called this page 'The English Civil War' insofar as it covers the bits of the war that affected the Rotherham area. It was in fact a war that covered the whole of the British Isles.
Through the reigns of James I and Charles I the town of Rotherham became increasingly Protestant in outlook, so when it came to war most of the townsfolk, the vicar John Shaw, and a number of the local gentry supported the Parliamentary side. Like every other part of Britain families and communities in the Rotherham area were divided. The Mayor, Richard Mounteney, was a fervent Royalist. I presume he joined the King's army for he was later commander at Tickhill Castle when it surrendered to Cromwell in July 1644.
Rotherham was a town without castle, walls, fortifications or a garrison though it must have had a Trained Band or local militia. Under the leadership of Colonel Gill of Car House measures were taken to defend the town, by the digging of trenches and raising of embankments. At best these would have only caused an invading force to stumble before carrying on. The town had one cannon.
The first attack on Rotherham by a motley crew of Cavaliers from the Royalist side came on Sunday 22 January 1643 when Divine Service was taking place. Some 20 or so men seized their muskets and went to defend the town. Battle raged at the Hood Cross at the bottom of High Street and the invaders were eventually driven out of the town, presumably as more and more of the townsfolk joined in. I doubt many of these would have had guns but I'm sure a collection of swords, pikes, bows and arrows, not to mention the odd spade, hayfork, skillet or warming pan, did the job very well. Whilst this was going off the Vicar, John Shaw, hid in the steeple of the church and afterwards fled across South Yorkshire before returning in February 1643.
Shortly after this Ferdinando, Lord Fairfax, the Parlimentary commander in Yorkshire established a small garrison in Rotherham under Captains William Fairfax and Francis Stanley. All the parishes in the area, including Rotherham, Rawmarsh, Mexborough and Sprotbrough were required to contribute to the maintenance of scout horses in Rotherham. Munitions were bought but the gunpowder destined for the town was captured by the Royalists at Gainsborough.
In May 1643 the Royalist commander, William Cavendish, Earl of Newcastle, moved into South Yorkshire. Preparatory to an assault on Sheffield Castle which was held for Parliament he marched on Rotherham. Coming through Masbrough he reached Rotherham Bridge which was barricaded and defended by the townspeople including 30 boys from the Grammar School and the town's one cannon. After two days the ammunition had run out and several houses had been set alight by Royalist grenades. The town surrendered on agreement that it would not be plundered. However this was ignored, the town sacked and its defenders imprisoned and harangued to change side. A fine of 1000 marks (£666 an enormous sum) was imposed upon the town and the same amount on each of its four leading citizens. William Spencer, Henry Westby, and George Westby were arrested but the Vicar John Shaw once again escaped. He wrote an account some years later which exaggerates the truth more than a little. On hearing the news of Rotherham's surrender the garrison of Sheffield Castle fled.
The Earl of Newcastle's forces remained in charge in South Yorkshire until 2 July 1644 when Prince Rupert's army was defeated at Marston Moor. Tickhill Castle surrendered to Cromwell that month. A Scots army drove the Royalist garrison out of Rotherham and captured Sheffield Castle in August 1644. The Scots were in poor condition, so to rest and recuperate they were quartered in Rotherham up to 1645. War continued just south of Rotherham. The Royalists won at Barnby Moor in 1645, then lost to Parliament's New Model Army under Sir Thomas Fairfax at Naseby in 1646. Oxford, King Charles' official headquarters, surrendered in June 1646. King Charles I fled to take refuge with a Scots army besieging Newark. Peace terms were made between Parliament and the Scots and the Scottish army withdrew to Newcastle taking the King with them. Charles in his usual fashion refused to agree terms with the Scots; so they made an agreement with Parliament in which money loomed large, withdrew from England and handed the King over to the Parliamentary Commissioners. In February 1647 Charles I was lodged in Rotherham on his way south to London as a prisoner of Parliament.
The war was just about done and Parliament had won. To defray the costs and expenses the winning side employed several means including fining Royalist supporters and sequestering their property. Amongst those who suffered in Rotherham were:-
- Thomas Nelson, vintner, fined £6 13s 4d for being in arms against Parliament.</ li>
- Francis Stringer of Whiston, titheholder, fined £133.</ li>
- Alethea Countess of Arundel and Surrey. She had fled to the Netherlands and later died there in 1654. The case dragged on for many years but her estate had to pay the mind-boggling sum of £19000 in fines to prevent Parliament selling part of her property. At a rough guestimate this could be the modern equivalent of a couple of millions.
The war and its aftermath had a depressing effect on Rotherham and the surrounding area. Local trade suffered and there was a great increase in people entitled to the Poor Rate. My reading has not revealed if the citizens fined by the victorious Royalists in 1643 got their money back when Parliament won.