Follow our blog for up-to-date information on our events, discover more about the fascinating history of the English Civil Wars, and get the chance to meet some of our members…
Fancy stepping back in time to one of the most tumultuous periods in British history? Do you want to hear drums call ranks of musketeers and pikemen to order, cannons roaring besides them as preachers and officers exhort them into battle? Do you want to see how life was lived by ordinary people during the 17th Century? We have…
DetailsOn 23 April 1642, a herald appeared at the gates in the fortifications of Hull that led to the road to nearby Beverley. He called on the governor, Sir John Hotham, to open the gates and admit the King, Charles Stuart, who was nearby with 300 troops. Hull was a strategic port and site of an…
DetailsIt’s safe to say that Prince Rupert of the Rhine is one of the unique characters of the 1640s and 1650s. With his long hair, youthful looks, and dashing deeds not only was he the archetypal “Cavalier” but more than 360 years ago he concocted one of his boldest plots in one of the strangest moments of the English…
DetailsOn 27th March 1625, Charles Stuart became King Charles I. His reign would last until 1649, when his own people would execute him for treason. With a profound belief that kings are appointed by God to rule by divine right, Charles found himself at constant loggerhead with Parliament. His eleven-year ‘Personal Rule’ stored up deep resentments…
DetailsThe Battle of Boldon Hill was a skirmish fought in March 1644, between a Royalist army trying to bring the army of the Scottish Covenanters to battle. It was one of a number of skirmishes and inconclusive battles in the North East of England between the Royalist general William Cavandish, The Marquess of Newcastle (pictured left),…
DetailsToday marks 368 years since the execution of Charles Stuart, king of England, Scotland and Ireland, on a scaffold built next to the Banqueting Hall at Whitehall in London. Surrounded by large numbers of soldiers, who faced the crowd rather than the scaffold, he addressed his last speech, uttered in a quiet voice, to Colonel Tomlinson…
DetailsOn 14th June 1645, the fields between the Northamptonshire villages of Naseby and Sibbertoft saw one of the most significant battles in British history. Royalist troops loyal to King Charles I and the Parliamentarian ‘New Model Army’ led by Sir Thomas Fairfax met in the culmination of a three-year bloody civil war that had pitted…
DetailsWe take part in events across the country, from small historical encampments to huge battles with musket, pike, cannon and cavalry – come along to meet the soldiers and civilians, and experience life during the tumultuous 17th Century! We’ve got a really exciting 2026 lined up, with events across England and Wales – and with…
DetailsThe air at Newstead Abbey will be filled with the smell of gunpowder and the sound of firing muskets over the Bank Holiday weekend! The Earl of Manchester’s Regiment of Foote will be joining The Sealed Knot for an epic English Civil War siege in the stunning grounds of Newstead Abbey and park near Nottingham…
DetailsBorn in Norfolk in 1625, Myngs joined the navy shortly before the outbreak of the English Civil War and, siding with Parliament, he rapidly rose through the ranks. He first appeared prominently during the first Anglo Dutch War (1652-1654) as captain of the Elisabeth when he captured a Dutch convoy, including two men-of-war taken as…
DetailsSo after the long winter, summer is upon us and with it the start of our reenactment season – why not come and experience the drama of the English Civil War with us? The Earl of Manchester’s Regiment of Foote, as part of The Armie of Parliament, will be at Elvaston Castle in Derbyshire this coming week, 30th…
DetailsThis is a matchlock musket. Doesn’t look like much? Well, technically it’s not – it’s essentially a tube with a small hole at one end and a big hole at the other. But this simple piece of steel and wood changed the face of warfare forever. The musket is quite a basic weapon, but the…
DetailsSo after the long winter, the summer will soon be with us and with it the start of our reenactment season! The Earl of Manchester’s Regiment of Foote, as part of The Armie of Parliament, will be at Elvaston Castle in Derbyshire this First May Bank Holiday 2016, 30th April to the 2nd of May. And the…
DetailsOn 7 March 1643, Parliament issued orders for the fortification of London. After the indecisive Battle of Edgehill in October 1642, the King had marched slowly towards London, allowing the outmanoeuvred Parliamentarian commander, the Earl of Essex, to once again get between him and the capital. At Turnham Green on 13 November 1642, the two armies faced off…
DetailsWe spotted a great article recently from BBC History Magazine about “10 great misconceptions about the English Civil War” Common mistakes it seeks to correct include the ideas that the Civil War broke out by accident (wrong), Cavaliers were aristocrats while Roundheads were yeomen (wrong), Cromwell won the war for parliament (wrong) and that it was only…
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