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.
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