Special Collections: Sources for The English Civil Wars
Introduction
Unlike many of its counterparts, this blog post does not directly link to a specific module. This is because, unlike previous years, there has been a move by History Departments to decolonise history and teach previously obscured stories. However some higher and further education establishments still teach The English Civil Wars and this blog post is to help them, as well as to aid staff and students in better utilising our collections.
The John Ryland’s Library has always been a treasure trove of items and information, but through some investigation, it appears to house a small, but significant English Civil War archive. The following document will help navigate the material.
Before continuing with this blog check out these blogs about how to access our digital and physical collections.
Library Digitised Collections (LUNA)
I originally stumbled upon items relating to the English Civil Wars through LUNA, while I was doing some social media work during lockdown. While imputing various search terms in the hopes of finding beautiful and unseen images I came across several images that all related to the First English Civil War.
At the moment the collection has not been collated into a singular archive online and thus requires some exploration. Our online collection is accessible through LUNA; https://luna.manchester.ac.uk/luna/servlet
Some material pertaining to the English Civil War can be accessed through simply searching “English Civil War”
This returns digitised images of:
· Tatton Park Manuscripts [held by the National Trust at Tatton Park, Cheshire]
· Commission of Sir William Brereton
· Henrietta Marie Portrait and study
The majority of material associated with the English Civil War is best accessed through “Browse All” on the main page of the site then go to the Refine section, click on the “More” under the What heading. Scroll down to the letter G and six subjects will allow you to access the material spanning the English Civil War, Protectorate and Restoration that has been digitised
- Great Britain — History — Civil war, 1642–1649
- Great Britain — History — Civil War, 1642–1649 — Campaigns — Ireland
- Great Britain — History — Civil War, 1642–1649 — Campaigns — Scotland
- Great Britain — History — Civil War, 1642–1649 — Sermons
- Great Britain — History — Commonwealth and Protectorate, 1649–1660
- Great Britain — History — Restoration, 1660–1688
The ‘Great Britain — History — Civil War, 1642–1649’ subject results show mixed media, including the digital images from the Tatton Park Manuscripts, as well as images of John Lilburn, Oliver Cromwell and Charles I’s execution.
The collections are incredibly varied and include items about or that reference to a majority of the key individuals of the English Civil Wars including:
- King Charles I
- King Charles II
- Henrietta Marie (Queen)
- Prince Rupert
- Oliver Cromwell
- Thomas Fairfax
- Robert Deveruex (Earl of Essex)
- Sir William Waller
- Thomas Rainsborough
- Edward Montagu (Earl of Manchester)
- George Monck
- John Lilburne
- Alexander Leslie (Lord Leven)
- David Leslie
- Sir Ralph Hopton
- Lord George Goring
- Henry Ireton
- Lord Fernando Fairfax
Additional Materials
However, as with all technology, some items have escaped the net of the their subject folders and need to be reintroduced as they are important pieces of material. Additional materials can be found by using other search terms.
- Typing in “Queen” and scrolling through to the third page should reveal ‘The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England’, which would appear to depict the union of Charles I and Henrietta Maria with divine blessing.
2. Typing “Unicorn” into the search bar should reveal ‘The Troubles of England’, which appears to depict scenes from Summoning Hull, the Battle of Edgehill and Charles I subduing the church.
3. The Troubles of England was created by George Bates. Searching creator “George Bates 1608–1669” should reveal further material by him from the period. Such as ‘The Rise and Progress of the Late Troubles in England in Two Parts’.
Collections on ELGAR
Elgar is the University’s archive hub, holding information about many of our archival collections and our English Manuscripts. These are some items I have identified that may be of use to someone researching the English Civil Wars period:
- Civil War Collections I: Transcripts of the Ensigns of London. GB 133 Eng MS 233. A transcript of a list of the ensigns of regiments in the City of London, with notes on the regiments, and an index of names, 1643–4.
- Civil War Collections II-IV: Miscellaneous Notes and Extracts. GB 133 Eng MSS 234–236. Transcripts, extracts, and notes, chiefly relating to the Civil War in the North of England. MS 235 largely concerns William Rainborow.
- Civil War Collections V: Transcript of a List of Officers claiming Royal Relief. GB 133 Eng MS 237. Entitled: A List of Officers claiming to the Sixty Thousand Pounds, etc., Granted by His Sacred Majesty for the Relief of His Truly-Loyal and Indigent Party. A transcript of the list printed for Henry Brome, [bookseller] London, 1663, with an index of certain Christian names compiled by E. and M. P[eacock].
- Civil War Collections VI-VII: Battles and Sieges. GB 133 Eng MSS 238–239. Entitled: Notes from a Quarto Volume of Tracts in the Library of Lincoln Coll., Oxford, marked Battles Sieges Surrenders Articles.
- Civil War Catalogue. GB 133 Eng MS 243. Transcript of a volume containing biographies of lords, knights and gentlemen who compounded for their estates in 1655, arranged alphabetically, from Sir Benjamin Aaloff to Katherine Lady Fletcher. The volume is entitled: A Catalogue of the Lords, Knights, and Gentlemen who have compounded for their Estates. London, 1655, reduced to alphabetical order, and illustrated with biographical and genealogical notes by H.T. [Henry Tyrwhitt], Barrister at Law of the Inner Temple. A note on the title page records that Henry Tyrwhitt died childless in Toronto on 30 May 1838, being the fourth son of Richard Tyrwhitt esq., Recorder of Chester, who died in 1836.
- Transcript of Civil War Catalogue. GB 133 Eng MS 244. Transcript of part of English MS 243 above. Pasted into the back of the volume are cuttings containing prayers and an order of masses, 1911.
- Autographs of the King’s Judges and other leading Commonwealth men. GB 133 Eng MS 16. The volume comprises twenty-eight documents relating to English history (1646–1659), containing the autographs of many of the judges of Charles I and other well-known Commonwealth figures. Includes a facsimile of the death warrant of Charles I.
- English Armorial by John Philipot, Somerset Herald. GB 133 Eng MS 5. Manuscript with 66 coats of arms, emblazoned two at a time on each page. The names and titles of the holders are written above each coat. The work was originally meant to be solely an armorial of the Anglo-Scottish nobility of the court of Charles I around the year 1635, but with later instructions from his commissioner, Elizabeth, Philipot added an explanation of the rules of precedency and the different forms of address and title of the English aristocracy and Royal officials. These were then included in the work as the first two folios after the preamble.
- Copy of the Memoirs of Sir Henry Slingsby. GB 133 Eng MS 1129. The volume contains a copy made by Dorothy Richardson from a manuscript of the Memoirs or Diary of Sir Henry Slingsby, with an appendix and index, together with an account of Slingsby chapel in Knaresborough church. Memoirs [1638–48] of Sr. Henry Slingsby, Bart., written by himself. Copied from a MS., by Doro. Richardson;
Printed Books
Within the Special Collections are also printed books about various aspects of the English Civil Wars. You can search our printed collections using this link. Here are some suggested reads to get you started:
Printed Books: (Reference Number in brackets)
- English Civil War — Philipp Elliot-Wright (R175680)
- The English Civil War Day by Day — Wilfrid Emberton (R162675)
- The Independents in the English Civil War –George Yule (R107541)
- The English Civil War: A Military History of the Three Civil Wars 1642–1651- Peter Young and Richard Holmes (R131407)
- The English Civil War 1642–51: An Illustrated Military History — Philip J Haythornthwaite (R162095)
- The Quarrel between the Earl of Manchester and Oliver Cromwell: An Episode of the English Civil War- John Bruce and Daniel Masson (Serials- R4271)
- The Leveller Movement: A Study in the History and Political Theory of the English Great Civil War- Theodore Calvin Pease (R42596)
- The English Civil Wars: Local Aspects — R. E. Richardson (R162677)
- Destruction in the English Civil Wars — Stephen Porter (R162731)
- Politicians and Pamphleteers: Propaganda during English Civil Wars and Interregnum- Jason Peacey (R202348)
- Women All on Fire: The Women of the English Civil War — Alison Plowden (Main Library Blue Floor 3–942.062 P41)
For further research and study please see the below blog post:
Images reproduced with the permission of The John Rylands University Librarian and Director of the University of Manchester Library. All images used on this page are licenced via CC-BY-NC-SA, for further information about each image, please follow the link in the caption description.
