Website changes: englishcivilwar.org

 

A quick update on some changes I've had to make to englishcivilwar.org:

Due to the weight of other commitments, I've been unable to update the Events section as regularly as I'd like, so I've now closed this page - I will however continue to post events on the englishcivilwar.org Facebook page, so if you do have events you want to promote, please send them on and I'll try to post/repost as time allows. For the same reason I've also closed the Forum (again, the quickest way to get answers via a knowledgable community of 17th century buffs is via the Facebook page).

Thanks to everyone who has contributed ECW/17th century-related events and queries via these two sections over the past decade.

New research on London's English Civil War fortifications: a Q&A with David Flintham (FRGS)

George Vertue’s 1738 plan of London's English Civil War fortifications.

David Flintham (FRGS) is an expert on London's English Civil War fortifications (readers may remember the guest blog article David wrote for me on siege types). David got in touch recently with news of a major archaeological project that he's been involved in, investigating the fortifications (also known as the 'lines of communication'), the findings of which were published in the Winter 2021 issue of London Archaeologist.

A paper introducing the project and summarising its initial findings will shortly be available at https://www.vauban.co.uk/the-ecw-defences-of-london. After reviewing the key research findings, I asked David about the significance of the project's discoveries, which challenge assumed knowledge about the location and purpose of London's fortifications ...

Ely Cathedral bullet scars - can you help?

The west wall of Ely Cathedral. Image: Ely Cathedral Guides' Research Group.

Can anyone please help?

Ely Cathedral Guides' Research Group has got in touch about some pockmarks on the external west wall of the cathedral's Lady Chapel, possibly caused by ECW musket fire ...

Where was Prince Rupert's House?

A watercolour of Prince Rupert's Palace in Beech Street, Barbican, from the garden (1796). © The Trustees of the British Museum (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

I knew that after fleeing into exile in 1644 Prince Rupert had a naval career before returning to England after the Restoration, but was surprised to find that one of his private houses survived into the 19th century.

Or did it? This was meant to be a post about the building's location and architecture, until I started digging a little deeper ...