The English Civil War

York in the Civil War by Lionel Hurst

For more information and details about the English Civil War and historic sites in York, click here to email Lionel Hurst

Lionel Hurst is a specialist on the English Civil War and has researched the subject for over 30 years. If you have an interest and would like to know more about the English Civil War, please write.

Highlights

The beautiful gabled Elizabethan house in the Pavement - Sir Thomas Herbert

On the pavement in York, you can find the gabled Elizabethan House that was the birthplace of Sir Thomas Herbert. In this old house too, the Cavalier King Charles 1 was entertained in 1633 and again in 1639, when his host was Mr. Roger Jaques, the Lord Mayor of the City of York.

Originally on the side of Parliament, Sir Thomas changed his allegiance. Sir Thomas was with the King in the months leading up to the Royal execution on Tuesday January 30th 1649 on the scaffold outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall, London. The King slept for four hours during his last night and he requested that Sir Thomas lay nearby on a pallet.

The King gave Sir Thomas his silver watch on the way to the scaffold, which he kept to his own dying day
Sir Thomas was also part of the sad cavalcade, clad in sombre black - including the six horses that wound its way to Windsor Castle where Charles was laid to rest in St. George's Chapel. As the procession came to the West end of the Chapel Royal, the black velvet pall covering the King's coffin was all white - thickly covered with snow - the colour of innocence – as said by the king's faithful friend Sir Thomas Herbert. The cloak worn by his Royal Master on that cold January morning was also gifted to Sir Thomas.

It suited Charles II on the Restoration of the Monarchy to accept that Herbert had been the devoted attendant of Charles Ist during the whole of the latter's captivity. Although it was well known to him that Herbert had continued to co-operate with the Army and to receive benefits from Cromwell in Ireland throughout the Interregnum.Herbert was elevated to the rank of Baronet.
It is interesting to note that Herbert's son-in-law Colonel Phayre was one of the 59 signatories of the king's death warrant in 1649!


Bloodbath on the Bowling Green

Trinity Sunday - June 16th 1644 - witnessed a dramatic episode during the Roundhead siege of the city.
At noon,whilst many of the Royalist garrison were attending the service in the Minster, the vain and foolish rashness of Lieutanant General Crawford - a Scottish officer in the Earl of Manchester's regiment - led to the death,capture or wounding of about 300 of his fellow soldiers.

Acting without authority, Crawford exploded a mine under St.Mary's tower in Marygate which blew out the external wall. Some 500 Roundheads stormed into the bowling green, orchard and garden intent on taking the adjacent King's Manor.

The Royalist forces responded swiftly and with courage. Spearheaded by the Whitecoats of the Marquess of Newcastle's own regiment, about 40 of the besiegers were slain in the bowling green and garden. Amongst the defenders' dead were Colonels Byron and Huddlestone. Samuel Brearey,a citizen of York,was hit in the arm with a poisoned bullet and died 4 days later. He is buried in the cemetery adjoining St.John's church, Ousebridge. The Colonels were buried in York Minster the day following their deaths.

On Monday June 17th soldiers were heard in the rubble of the tower screaming for help and water.Many were left to die in the dust as withering fire from the garrison prevented the friends' of the dying from helping their comrades. Even so, it is known that one was dug out dead in the rubbish and two alive.

There is still a bowling green at the spot where the Roundheads broke through and the drama unfolded. An inspection of St. Mary's tower clearly shows the repaired outer wall rebuilt slightly smaller.


Micklegate Bar

A dramatic and magnificent structure that played a significant role pre and post Marston Moor and at the surrender of the City on July 16 1644.
It was through this gate in the dawn of Tuesday July 2 1644 that the Marquess of Newcastle, the Royalist leader in the City of York, emerged in his coach to join his troops on the battlefield of Marston Moor. The bar was unblocked of masonry and other obstacles to facilitate the movement of the garrison regiments. Departure through Micklegate bar was the most direct route to the battlefield for the York foot regiments.

The night that followed the Royalist defeat at Marston Moor, that of July 2nd and 3rd, was one of horror and anxiety for the citizens of York. All night long the wounded and dispirited soldiers, who had managed to escape slaughter or capture on the battlefield and during the retreat, wended their way back to seek refuge and succour behind the city walls.

Up to midnight and under the light of the moon, the Roundhead troops chased the Royalists within a mile of York cutting them down so that their dead bodied lay three miles in length. Micklegate Bar and the street leading up to it was thronged with injured and lame people who made such a pitiful noise, all clamouring for admission - it being on the west side of the city and so nearest to the approach roads from Marston Moor.

On Tuesday July 16 1644.Two weeks after the Royalist defeat at Marston Moor the great city of York could no longer hold out for the King and accordingly surrendered to the Parliament armies who were besieging it. The garrison marched out of the city through Micklegate bar. There were no more than a thousand soldiers many of whom were ‘in drink’ as they marched out. It was noted by observers that the women were in the main poorly clothed although some were dressed in better fashion!

There is now a plaque on the city wall by the gate commemorating the surrender of the city to the Roundheads


Maid murdered by mortar but old Mrs Clarke survived

In St. Sampson's Square - only some 50 yards from the church of the same name - there used to be a Thursday Market at the time of the Civil War.
There was a building in the square that was used as a school,theatre and assembly rooms.The lower part with its pillars is where market women stood on Thursdays.
On such an occasion a Roundhead mortar fired into the city fell on the market and killed a maid.A splinter from it caused a roof beam to fall and to knock old Mrs Clarke - aged about 80 - under the table in the chamber of the writing master Mr Clarke but she survived.
This was despite also being hit by a couple of Ling! The Ling were large dried fish which were common when fresh fish was more difficult to obtain.


The Old Starre Inne, Stonegate

One of York's oldest drinking establishments is also one of its most popular and figured prominently during the time of the siege of the city.
The name of the first host of the Star Inn, Stonegate was William Foster who was in possession during the siege of York. He favoured the royal cause and in a despondent mood saw his house invaded by Roundhead troopers flushed with victory at the capitulation of the city. The scene has been thus described in verse:
A bande of soldiers with boisterous dinne
Filled ye large kitchen of ye olde Starre Inne
Some rounde ye spacious chimney,smoking,satt
And whiled ye time in battle talk and chatt
Some at ye brown oake table gamed and swore
While pikes and matchlocks strewed ye sanded floore
Will Foster ye hoste ' mid ye group was seene
With full redd face,bright eye and honest miene
He smoked in silence in his olde arm chaire
No joke nor jeste disturbed his sadden'd air


The Warrior Archbishop now reclining in the Minster.

Of the wounded who came back into the city after the battle of Marston Moor, one was John Dolben who,forty years later was to return to the city as Archbishop (1683-6).

In 1643, as a student at Christ Church,Oxford, he joined the Royal army. He rapidly rose to the rank of Ensign and accompanied the army in its march to join the forces of Prince Rupert and the Marquis of Newcastle in the North. In the rout of the Royalists at Marston Moor, whilst carrying the colours he was dangerously wounded in the shoulder by a musket ball. However his youth and constitution served him well and he was soon able to take part with the Royalists in the defence of York. During the siege he received a severe wound in the thigh which broke the bone and confined him to his bed for a year. For his bravery on these two occasions he was promoted to be Captain and Major in succession. He did not wear his military honours long, for in 1646 the King's cause was lost, his army disbanded and Major Dolben, exchanging his helmet and cuirass for cap and gown, returned to his studies at Christ Church.

On his death in 1686 he was buried in York Minster in the south choir aisle against one of the arches of the crypt and a marble monument was erected to his memory by his widow.It is still there and shows his reclining figure,robed and mitred.It has a long Latin inscription of which the following three lines refer to his activities at Marston Moor and in the siege:
............exardente...................................destinatum.

Which translated mean:

When the Civil War broke out he followed the Royalists, carrying the colours at Marston Moor.

Severely wounded in the defence of York, he consecrated the place with his blood, long before marked out for his death.


Marvellous music despite the gun fire

Thomas Mace, a clerk of Trinity College Cambridge, who was in York during the siege, has left a vivid account of the fervent singing in the Minster at the time.

".......the very best Harmonical-Music that ever I heard....was in the year 1644.....in the stately cathedral of the loyal city of York....the occasion of it was the great and close siege....strictly maintained for eleven weeks space by three very notable and considerable great armies.

....there was then a most excellent large plump lusty full speaking organ....but when that vast conchording unity of the whole congregational chorus came...thundering in... it made the very ground shake under us....the enemy was so very near and...had planted their great guns so mischievously against the church ...and would not fail to make their hellish disturbance by shooting against and battering the church in so much that sometimes a cannon bullet has come in at the windows and bounced about from pillar to pillar ....backwards and forwards and all manner of sideways as it has happened to meet with square or round opposition amongst the pillars in its return or rebounds until its force has been quite spent.

And here there is one thing most eminently remarkable and well worth noting ....that in all the whole time of the siege there was not any one person.....did in the church receive the least harm by any of their devilish canon shot: and I verily believe there were constantly many more than a thousand persons at that service every Sunday during the whole time of that siege."


In the Guildhall the king was sold for £200.000

The £200,000 payment to the Scots to acquire the King and for their services to the Parliamentary forces was counted in the inner or justice room in 1647.The sum was divided and paid over at Northallerton and Newcastle.Charles 1st was then handed over.


Micklegate House,the Bourchiers and THE death warrant

Micklegate House is one of the finest town houses built in York.It was completed in 1752 by John Bourchier (1710-59) who was a prominent member of York society.However of particular interest is one of his earlier family members,Sir John Bourchier.

Sir John was one of Charles 1st's judges - although he rarely attended the trial.He was also one of the 59 signatories to the King's death warrant and attached the Bourchier silver seal accordingly.Sir John was the 8th to sign the warrant - Oliver Cromwell was the 3rd.

Sir John Bourchier,who built Beningbrough Hall near York, died just before his own trial would have taken place on the Restoration in 1660 for the role he played in the execution of the new king's father. He was old and infirm and had surrendered himself within the time limit set by the authorities.He died at the house of one of his daughters where he obtained permission to remain instead of going to the Tower. His relations pressed him to express his sorrow for his part in the execution,at which juncture, he rose from his chair, which he had not done for some days before without assistance and said: "It was a just act - God and all good men will own it."

He calmly sat down and soon after expired.


Heworth Moor: insult,the French Queen and celebrations.

Heworth is 2 miles out of the city of York via the Monk Bar. Portions of the Moor still exist on the Stray and on the playing fields of the renowned Rugby League club, Heworth.

On June 3rd 1642 the king rode out to He(y)worth Moor with his two sons to receive a demonstration of loyalty from the gentry of Yorkshire organised by Lord Savile. But the Fairfaxes had also been busy and contrary to expectation several hundred of the opposite party appeared with a petition asking Charles to return to Westminster. Savile tried to prevent their approach but Sir Thomas Fairfax out-manoeuvred him and pushed the petition on to the king's saddle. Charles,pretending not to see him, almost rode over him, an act of discourtesy which was long and angrily remembered in Yorkshire.

On March 8th 1643 Charles' French queen Henrietta Maria entered the city via Heworth Moor with 500 wagons filled with munitions of war including 30 brass cannons, 2 iron cannons and small arms for 10,000 men.

In 2002 - the year of the current queen's Golden Jubilee - Lionel Hurst proposed to the City of York Council that a special event should take place to celebrate the role York played in the Civil War. As a result, the York International Rugby League Festival took place on Saturday June 3rd 2002 at the home of Heworth RLFC. 16 European sides played for the Fairfax Cup - permission having been obtained from the incumbent Lord Fairfax. A London representative side defeated a French side in the final. The city of York was represented by the York Ironsides who reached the latter stages. 'Ironsides' was the name penned at Marston Moor by Prince Rupert, the dashing Royalist military leader, and applied to the implacable qualities of Oliver Cromwell and his cavalry. The Ironsides team wore the red and blue colours of Cromwell's troop of horse.
The curtain raiser event was the Marston Moor Cup played for by York primary schools.


Sir Arthur Ingram's house - a "second paradise"

Sir Arthur built a new mansion on the site of the Archbishop's palace on the north side of York Minster. This beautiful town house in York stood in the middle of the lawn which now covers the north portion of the Minster Yard. His garden extended to the city walls.

He laid out the grounds with such a taste that they were one of the sights of York. A visitor described them as a "second paradise" with their flower beds, shady walks, statues, fishponds, bowling green and tennis courts.
It was in this house that, on the 19th March 1642, he received Charles 1st just before the commencement of the war. For a few months this was the home of the king. It was from here that he set out, not only on his abortive attempt to seize the arms at Hull but also finally in August to set up the Royal Standard at Nottingham.

When Queen Henrietta Maria returned from Holland with military supplies she lodged in splendour at the palatial house of Sir Arthur Ingram hard by the Minster. She arrived on March 8th 1643 and left on June 4th of the same year to go to the Royalist headquarters at Oxford and to join her husband.

Sir Arthur did not long survive the execution of his Royal Master but the favour of Charles 2nd was bestowed on his son when in 1661 he was raised to the peerage as Lord Ingram, Viscount Irwin.


Monk Bar - the sad departure of Prince Rupert

This magnificent structure witnessed the sad departure of one of the civil war's romantic and dashing heroes.
In the early morning of Wednesday July 3rd 1644 - the day after the Royalist reversal at Marston Moor - Prince Rupert left the city of York with about 2,000 of his much vaunted cavalry.

He also took with him some of his foot soldiers although others were left in the city. The Prince's immediate destination was Richmond to meet with the Marquis of Montrose who performed such remarkable deeds for his sovereign in Scotland.

The viewer is advised to pick a quiet moment to view the Bar from several angles and imagine the remarkable sight of the Prince and his colourful Cavaliers leaving the city for the last time before its surrender on the 16th of July.The sounds of horses hooves, fond farewells and good wishes are easily conjured up.

One noticeable absentee was Rupert's much loved pet dog Boye that perished on the battlefield of Marston Moor less than 24 hours before.


St. Anthony's Hall - military hospital for wounded Royalist soldiers in Peasholme Green.

After the defeat of the Cavaliers at Marston Moor the city of York was full of maimed and injured survivors. The authorities sought to make provision accordingly and therefore spent just over £27 to repair and make fit the Hall for maimed soldiers and further sums to provide thirty beds for the wounded and sick. To create as much comfort as possible the city also made payments to provide fires and candles.

© Lionel Hurst
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