Clay of England Society members visit display honouring civil war time mayor Hercules Clay in Newark

Members of a society which explores the ancestry of the surname Clay have visited Newark to see items dedicated to the memory of Hercules Clay.

The Clay of England Society members came to the town on Saturday, October 12, to see the items in the Town Hall Museum.

Hercules Clay was mayor of Newark during the civil war siege in 1644, and among those who visited the display dedicated to him where Colin Clay, David Clay, Paul Clay and Alex Clay.

Like many members of the society, they have traced their Clay ancestry back a number of centuries.

After leaving Newark the group went to Southwell Minster to see the tomb of Rear Admiral Edward Sneyd Clay (1768 - 1846) who served in the Royal Navy and took part in many sea battles and captured a Danish ship in the year 1810, as well as a brass plaque to Major General William Waldegrave Pelham Clay (1760 - 1822) a distinguished English red coat officer in the British Army.

The Society members then travelled to Blidworth to see the monument of Mathew Clay who fought at the Battle of Waterloo.

David Clay, secretary of the Clay of England Society is keen to hear of anyone with the surname of Clay. He can be contacted by email on dmclay@btinternet.com.