Architecture played a big part in the English Civil Wars and the legacy of those conflicts can be strongly felt at many mediaeval buildings. Significant numbers of castles were fortified, besieged and slighted. Many Oxford colleges were requisitioned as a temporary court for Charles I. A surprising number of churches were garrisoned and assaulted. The wars left physical scars on the mediaeval built environment.
Equally, there are the more intangible stories associated with buildings – the Royal Standard was first raised at Nottingham Castle, numerous timber-framed inns claim to have hosted the major players in the war and the king surrendered at Kelham Bridge.
Using a combination of archival sources, contemporary illustrations, conflict studies and buildings archaeology, the results of several recent research projects will be analysed for evidence of how mediaeval structures played a significant role in the English Civil Wars. The talk will also address the impact of the conflict on the mediaeval built environment – often crucially shaping our modern impressions of those buildings.
The speaker, James Wright (Triskele Heritage), is an award winning buildings archaeologist. He has two decades professional experience of ferreting around in people’s cellars, hunting through their attics and digging up their gardens. He hopes to find meaningful truths about how ordinary and extraordinary folk lived their lives in the mediaeval period. He is the author of the popular Mediaeval Mythbusting Blog.
All you need to do is register via Eventbrite and – when the time for the talk rolls around – grab your favourite beverage of choice, get comfy and enjoy.
The event will take place at 19:00 GMT on Wednesday 22 March 2023 .
Booking is now available via Eventbrite:
This lecture is crowdfunded through donation. It will be the debut of a new bespoke talk. There is no minimum donation so its possible to contribute as little or as much as you want. Your donation is your ticket and you will be sent a link to access the event by Eventbrite.
Please note that this live event will not be recorded and made available online afterwards.
If you have a question about the event – in the first instance please see our FAQs section. The answer will almost certainly be in there.
*** If you have any problems accessing the events please email with your booking reference to james@triskeleheritage.com ***