Royalist Newark, 1642-1646

During the English Civil War, Newark held immense strategic value as a crossing over the River Trent before the Humber estuary. Dubbed the ‘Key to the North’, it stands at the intersection of two major highways. This new military history, incorporating fresh research, marks the town’s first comprehensive account in a century.

The Duke of Newcastle sent Sir John Henderson, an experienced soldier, with 4,000 horse to secure the town for the King in December 1642 and turn the town into a secure Royalist garrison. It was to remain under Royalist control, in spite of three sieges, until May 1646, when it was ordered by Charles I to surrender on terms.

Over the period of the First Civil War, it was visited separately by Charles and his Queen, Henrietta Maria, with their substantial accompanying armies, tripling the population of the town. During the second siege (1644), Prince Rupert achieved one of his greatest victories of the war by not only breaking the siege but also inflicting a crushing defeat upon the Parliamentarian forces besieging the town.

"....The author's use of contemporary and eyewitness accounts is excellent, resulting in detailed accounts of the sieges themselves. He also presents Newark in its wider context demonstrating how events elsewhere affected the town, and emphasising just how crucial Newark became......This is a well-researched and thorough history, and nicely complements the RCHM book. It is an important addition to the library of the Civil Wars, and is bound to be popular." Battlefields Trust Magazine, Vol 29, Issue 1, 2024

"...This book is an informative read for anyone interested in the operations of a Royalist civil war garrison town or, more specifically, the history of civil-war Newark." Cromwelliana (Journal of the Cromwell Association)

"This is another well researched and presented title to add to the growing number of British Civil Wars titles in the Century of the Soldier series." carryingsonupthedale blog

"....This is a well-researched and thorough history, and is long overdue. An important addition to the library of the Civil Wars, it complements rather than replaces the RCHM book. It is bound to be popular, particularly at the National Civil War Centre (who contributed the book's preface), where the absence of such a history has been noticeable." Arquebusier Vol XXXIX/IV

"Newark is one of the best studied of civil-war garrisons and towns; indeed, much of that work has been by Jennings. Here he takes the opportunity to update some of the earlier studies, particularly the detailed inventory of the siegeworks – the best preserved of any civil-war fortification – published by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments in 1964 by adding details of a 2018 archaeological investigation that revealed a large ditch as part of the town’s defences, probably dug in late 1644. Mostly, however, this book summarises other, more detailed studies. In other books and articles Jennings has concentrated on the civilian experience of the war in and around Newark; this is explicitly a military history. While specialists may prefer the academic studies on which this is based, this well illustrated volume, its many pictures often taken from the collections of the National Civil War Centre at Newark, serves the general reader well as an introduction to the military history of Newark in the first civil war and the exploits of its forces across the East Midlands. " Midlands History Journal