Archives give insight into Civil War years

Forgotten documents depicting the harsh life endured by the people of Newark during the English Civil War have been used to help write a book about life during the conflict.

These Uncertaine Tymes, Newark and the Civilian Experience of the Civil Wars 1640-1660, by the Rev Dr Stuart Jennings, was launched at The Gilstrap Centre, on Wednesday.

Dr Jennings, who has a PhD for research in early modern British history, and lectures at Warwick University, spent more than five years writing the book using information from unpublished documents at Nottinghamshire County Council Archives.

He said the material was stored in many places in Newark and had not been readily accessible until it was moved to the archives.

Dr Jennings said: “Previously historians just weren’t interested in information about the general population of Newark during the Civil War and books have been about battles and generals and royalty, so no one has really been through the archives.

“People knew the material was there and some of it had been catalogued but it was mainly out of curiosity rather than any research so no one had been through them.

“Newark is unique because few places have this quality of information about a town that has been besieged.”

Dr Jennings said much of the information was written on the back of other documents that indicated there was a shortage of paper.

He said: “There is a petition from a man who has put in a request for help because his house has been destroyed and he and his wife and six children have nowhere to live.

“I think one of the reasons this document survived is because it was written on the back of a will.”

Dr Jennings said more than a quarter of the town’s population died during the war, due mainly to diseases including the plague and typhus.

He said: “The biggest hardship was that the population of the town doubled in size and the number of houses diminished, so people were forced to share and there was a lot of over-crowding and this led to the spread of disease.

“Plague was always a problem for Newark because it is on the River Trent but typhus wasn’t common in the town and after the Civil War it wasn’t recorded again until the 19th Century.”

Dr Jennings said despite the cramped conditions and disease the people of Newark were prepared to continue fighting and surrendered only on the orders of the king.

He said: “Records show what was left at the end of the siege and although the meat was rancid there was plenty of grain.

“The records show they were collecting the grain right up to the siege because they knew they were going to be besieged. Obviously poor people never really had enough food but there certainly wasn’t a famine.

“It wasn’t hunger that made them surrender it was the order of the king.”

Dr Jennings said his research revealed conclusively that the plague was rife in Newark during the war.

“We are not sure where soldiers who died from the plague are buried,” he said.

“We don’t think they are in the churchyard because there are only 12 to 15 recorded burials of soldiers. It may be that the garrison at Newark had its own burial pit somewhere, which is waiting to be discovered.”

Newark county councillor Mr Keith Girling attended the book launch.

He said: “The publication will appeal to anyone with an interest in the history of both Newark and the Civil War. Readers will find it of local and national interest as it complements the study of other towns during this momentous period.”

The book is stocked by most county council libraries and can be bought from Nottinghamshire Archives and libraries for £9.95. It can also be bought by post by sending a cheque for £12.95 payable to Nottinghamshire County Council to the Libraries, Archives and Information, Communities Department, 4th Floor, County Hall, West Bridgford, Nottingham.