Ernest Broxap - The Great Civil War in Lancashire (1642-1651)

Published by Good Press, 2021

EAN 4064066219017

Table of Contents

There has not hitherto been a separate History of the Civil War in Lancashire, and I venture to think that the present study, by a native of the County, may suitably find a place in the publications of the University of Manchester. It is merely intended to be an account of the Civil War within the borders of the County, religious and social questions and the general course of the war being touched on only so much as is necessary to make the narrative intelligible. The principal sources of information are detailed below, and need not be further referred to here. It only remains to be said that some care has been taken with topography, and above all I have tried to give an impartial narrative of the events. Contemporary writers on both sides naturally display much prejudice, and it is often difficult to arrive at an exact knowledge of the facts.

The plan of Manchester is taken from the Owens College Historical Essays (1902) and my acknowledgments are due to Messrs. Longman & Co. for permission to reproduce it here. The plan of Liverpool is reprinted from Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, Session 6, 1853-4, vol. 6, p. 4. The map of Lancashire, and the other plans, have been specially prepared for the present volume, but the plan of the Preston Campaign in 1648 is based on that given in Gardiner's "Great Civil War," vol. 3, p. 431.

I take this opportunity of thanking the authorities at Lathom House, Hornby Castle, Thurland Castle, and elsewhere, for their courtesy in allowing a personal inspection of those places to be made. My sincere thanks are due to Professor T. F. Tout and Professor James Tait of Manchester, for constant assistance. I share the gratitude felt by so many of their old pupils for their keen and practical interest in the work to which their teaching was the first incentive. Professor Tout's advice has been of great service in preparing this book for the press.

But especially I am indebted to Professor C. H. Firth of Oxford. It was really at his suggestion that the present work was begun nearly four years ago, and he has at all times since been ready to give invaluable help with the utmost kindness. Without his suggestion and help the task would probably not have been accomplished.

ERNEST BROXAP.

Westcliff, Hr. Broughton ,
Manchester,
March 25th, 1910.

Table of Contents

There has hitherto been no separate account of the Civil War in Lancashire. The two best accounts in more general works are in Edward Baines' "History of Lancashire" and in Halley's "Lancashire Puritanism and Nonconformity." Baines is a capable historian of sound judgment, but there are now available sources of information which he could not use, and which subsequent editors could not very well include; and the latter book is written from a particular standpoint. The last edition of Baines' work was edited by J. Croston in 5 vols. 1889-93. The Civil War is dealt with in vol. i, chap. 15, pp. 283-321. The other histories of Lancashire by Butterworth, Corry, Britton and others are of no value for the present subject. The few pages devoted to the Civil War in the "Victoria County History of Lancashire" (vol. ii, pp. 232-240) are hurried and inaccurate.

The first main source upon which this work is based is the publications of the local antiquarian societies, the Chetham Society, the Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, and the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire. The first of the three is the most important; and two books in this series, the "Civil War Tracts" (No. 2), edited by Mr. Ormerod, and the "Discourse of the Warr in Lancashire" (No. 62), edited by Mr. Beamont are invaluable. The editing of the Chetham Society books varies considerably, and it is a great advantage that these two are very ably done. Mr. Ormerod's "Civil War Tracts," published more than 60 years ago, is a most exhaustive collection from contemporary pamphlets and newspapers. In the "Discourse" we have a singularly impartial account of the local war, written by one who himself fought in it; and Mr. Beamont's notes to the narrative add greatly to its value. Other volumes of the Chetham Society which contain material for the Civil War are the "Autobiography of Adam Martindale" (No. 4), the "Moore Rental" (No. 12), the "Farington Papers" (No. 39), the "Shuttleworth Accounts" (Nos. 35, 41, 43 and 46), the "Lancashire Lieutenancy," Part 2 (No. 50), and the "Stanley Papers," Part 3 (Nos. 66, 69 and 70); and some others in a less degree.

All the above numbers refer to the Old Series of the Society's Publications. Where the New Series is mentioned in the following pages the fact is indicated; the later books of the Chetham Society, however, do not contain much material for the purpose.

In the Record Society's Publications (Nos. 24, 26, 29 and 36) are four volumes of extracts from the Composition Papers of the local Royalists. These books contain some valuable details of general information.

The Historic Society Transactions for 1852 give an account of the Siege of Warrington in 1643 by Dr. Kenrick, and the New Series, Volume 5, an article on the Earl of Derby by Mr. F. J. Leslie.

Next come the Public Records, the "Journals of the House of Lords" and the "Journals of the House of Commons," and the "Calendars of Domestic State Papers," which connect the local history with the general course of events. The "Reports of the Historical MSS. Commission" also contain a great deal of very important though scattered information, chiefly in the form of letters. Most valuable are the Denbigh MSS. (Report 4), Sutherland MSS. (Report 5), the "Moore Papers" in Capt. Stewart's MSS. (Report 10, app. 4) and the Portland MSS., vols. 1, 2 and 3. The contemporary Diary of the Siege of Manchester in the Sutherland MSS. (p. 142) is perhaps the best existing account of the Siege. The Kenyon MSS. give much information as to the condition of Lancashire in the 17th century, though not bearing directly on the Civil War.

Clarendon's "History of the Great Rebellion" presents the Royalist standpoint, and amongst other contemporary or nearly contemporary authorities may be mentioned Rushworth's "Historical Collections" (1692 edition in 7 volumes), Whitelock's "Memorials" (1732 edit.), "Autobiography of Captain John Hodgson" (Brighouse, 1882), Seacome's "House of Stanley" (2nd ed. Manchester, 1767), and Hughes' "Boscobel Tracts" (ed. 1830). More modern biographical works are: E. G. B. Warburton's "Prince Rupert" (3 vols. 1849), Lon Marlet's "Charlotte de la Tremoille Comtesse de Derby" (Paris, 1895), and the "Life of the Earl of Derby" prefixed by Canon Raines to his edition of the Stanley Papers (Chetham Society, Nos. 66, 69 and 70). Seacome had the use of the papers of Bishop Rutter, the chaplain of the Stanley family, and gives valuable information not elsewhere obtainable, but he is very inaccurate and biassed. Canon Raines is a violent partisan and quite uncritical. There are notices in the "Dictionary of National Biography" of the Earl of Derby and of the Countess of Derby by Professor A. F. Pollard, and also of a few other local leaders: and of some of the more prominent Lancashire Roman Catholics in Mr. Joseph Gillow's "Dictionary of Catholic Biography."

In the British Museum are some Tracts and Newspapers which escaped Mr. Ormerod's notice. The Tracts are nearly all in the Thomason Collection, which have recently been made much more accessible by the Catalogue in two volumes, issued in 1908. References in the following pages has always been made to the Civil War Tracts where possible, and to the British Museum Catalogue only when the Tract or Newspaper has not been reprinted anywhere. The principal newspapers are the Royalist "Mercurius Aulicus": and "Perfect Diurnall" (which has several issues), "Certaine Informations, Continuation of Certaine Speciall and Remarkable Passages," and "Letters from Scotland," &c. on the other side. The last mentioned, which belongs to 1648 and gives a great deal of local information, is not quoted at all by Mr. Ormerod. None of the Newspapers are very reliable but the "Mercurius Aulicus" is hopelessly inaccurate.