Secondary Sources
Atkin, Malcolm, ' The Civil War Defences of Gloucester', Fortress, No. 10, pp. 32-38 London, 1991 Atkin, Malcolm, and Howes, Russell, 'The use of archaeology and documentary sources in Identifying the Civil War defences of Gloucester', Post Medieval Archaeology, Vol. 27, pp. 15-41 London, 1993 Burke, James, 'The New Model and the problems of siege warfare, 1648-51', Irish Historical Studies, Vol. XXVII, No. 105, pp. 1-29 Antrim, 1990 Burke, James, 'Siege warfare in Seventeenth Century Ireland',...
The sites in war
By speedy marches were advanc'd Up to the fort where he ensconc'd And all the avenues had possess'd About the place, from east to west. That done, a while they made a halt, To view the ground, and where t'assault Then call'd a council, which was best, By siege or onslaught, to invest The enemy and 'twas agreed, By storm and onslaught to proceed. This b'ing resolv'd, in comely sort They now drew up 'attack the fort Hudibras There was very little use for field fortifications in the pitched...
Expenditure
Numerous records survive detailing the amounts spent on constructing fortifications during the Civil War. In the majority of cases, the costs were borne by the citizens of the various towns, although money was forthcoming from Parliament in cases where places were considered of national importance such as Reading and Weymouth. In Canterbury, money was raised by subscription and 200 was issued by the city treasurer on account for fortifying the place in November 1642. At York, 12 was received...
Construction
Building fortifications could take anywhere from a few days to several weeks. Most offensive operations involved rapid construction of batteries and trenches while the position was under fire. Numerous accounts speak of enemy siegeworks being built in a matter of hours although some of the large forts built could take much longer. Town defences in many cases were an ongoing concern and great care was taken to keep them in good order as they were all that stood between the enemy and safety....
The living site
March'd rank and file with drum and ensign, T'entrench the city for defence in Kais'd ram piers with their own soft hands, To put the enemy to stands From ladies down to oyster-wenches Labour'd like pioneers in trenches, Fell to their pick-axes, and tools. And help'd the men to dig like moles A plan of the fortifications of London, the most extensive in the country. However, the banks, ditches and forts destroyed much private property and after the earthworks were slighted in 1647. there were a...
Defensive fortifications 1
Seventeenth-century fortifications could be quite complex and extensive in scale and a few places, such as Oxford, London and Newark-on-'Trent, saw the construction of defences mirroring the latest developments. For an enemy approaching these formidable 'workes', he would see long earthen breastworks several feet high surmounted by wooden palisades of sharpened poles. Sometimes stone structures were built like the Roushill Wall at Shrewsbury or the stone redoubt constructed near the old...
thcentury fortification theory
It was in 16th-century Europe that the science of artillery fortification matured fully to counter the dramatic increase in firepower afforded by the development of gunpowder. The devastating effect of artillery against tall medieval walls and towers had convinced military practitioners that new forms of defence were needed to offset this offensive power. The resulting forms developed in Italy in the 1490s consisted of much lower walls with gun-ports and platforms, and with four-sided angular...
Offensive fortifications
The would-be attacker, seeing the difficulty of approaching these fortifications across an open field, could bombard the defences with various artillery pieces hoping to create a breach. But even if this succeeded, approaching the breach in safety would be virtually impossible because of the enfilading fire from the bastions and various detached outworks and forts. The besiegers would therefore 'lay down' a regular siege in the hope of starving the garrison into surrender. This was the tactic...
Introduction
During the 1640s, a growing internal constitutional and religious crisis erupted into three episodes of open warfare known collectively as the English, or British, Civil Wars, as well as the Great Rebellion. I'his was the first prolonged period of conflict in the British Isles involving the use of artillery and gunpowder, anil both the cannon ball and bullet came to dominate the battlefield and siege. While there were several significant pitched battles between the Royalist supporters of King...
thcentury theories of defence and attack
While military theorists had expounded on the concepts of attack and defence in numerous treatises, their theories presented the ideal forms and did not consider the practicality of many of the methods presented. Furthermore, their ideas for building elaborate stone defences failed to take into account the time involved in construction and the costs. As the Civil War was to prove, fortifications built hastily did not always reflect the standard principles of defence. Nonetheless, it is useful...
The sites today
above Surviving Civil War fortifications, showing the Queen's Sconce and Stoke Lodge at Newark, Gallant's Bower, Dartmouth, and Horsey Hill, Cambridgeshire, the defences around Basing House. Hampshire, and the remains of the Royalist defences at Carmarthen. From Harrington, 1987 above Surviving Civil War fortifications, showing the Queen's Sconce and Stoke Lodge at Newark, Gallant's Bower, Dartmouth, and Horsey Hill, Cambridgeshire, the defences around Basing House. Hampshire, and the remains...
Glossary of fortification terms
Parts of a fortification.This plan reflects the classic Dutch form of artillery fortification with the bastion perpendicular to the curtain walls. Included are some of the main features of a bastioned fortification. From Harrington, 1978 abbatis Defence formed of felled trees the sharpened ends face the enemy. approaches Trenches built by besieging forces in the direction of the place under attack, bastion Formed projection, usually symmetrical, from the curtain on the side or at an angle of a...