Derby in England's Civil War
Charles I in the English Civil War
Derby aligned itself with Parliament in the dispute against the Stuart monarchs regarding the raising of funds.
Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet (22 June 1593 – 26 October 1671) Sir John Gell, purportedly the wealthiest individual in Derbyshire, was an English landowner hailing from the county. He assumed the role of the local commander aligned with Parliament for the majority of the initial phase of the First English Civil War, stepping down from his position in May 1646. He was notorious for parading the body of his Royalist opponent through Derby after the Battle of Hopton Heath in March 1643.
Prior to the events that made him so well remembered, Sir John Gell was appointed the roll as sheriff, where he had to collect "ship money" in Derbyshire. Derby, Chesterfield and Wirksworth were to provide between them a ship of 350 tons, pay the wages of a crew of 140 and find munitions and food for it. Chesterfield agreed to pay, but Derby would not. Charles then issued writs, but again Derby refused.
In 1640, Charles convened his final Parliament, famously referred to as the "Long Parliament." The burgesses of Derby elected William Allestree and Nathaniel Hallowes to serve as their members. It was within this Parliament that the foundations of modern political dynamics began to emerge, as members aligned themselves into two distinct factions: one in support of the king and absolute monarchy, and the other advocating for a Parliament free from royal influence. The delegates from Derby aligned themselves with the latter group.
In the autumn of 1642, King Charles I ignited the flames of the Civil War by raising his standard at Nottingham, a symbolic act that marked the official commencement of hostilities. However, the road to conflict was paved with more than just declarations and banners. As Charles made his journey towards Nottingham, he passed through Derby, leaving a notable mark on the town's history.
During his stop in Derby, Charles undertook what could be considered a dubious act of requisition. In a move that reflected the desperate financial and logistical challenges faced by the royalist cause, Charles "borrowed" £300 from the town coffers. Not content with mere funds, he also seized all the small arms, powder, and shot he could find, ostensibly to support his military campaign. Promises were made to return these resources after the war, but history would show that such assurances were often hollow.
Despite his expropriation of Derby's resources, King Charles's recruitment efforts in the town were met with minimal success. While he may have expected to bolster his ranks with eager volunteers, only a meager twenty Derby men answered his call to arms. Even the customary hospitality extended to visiting dignitaries was notably absent, as the Mayor of Derby, Henry Wandall, declined the invitation to dine with the king.
The financial impact of Charles's requisition cannot be overlooked. In today's terms, the £300 borrowed from Derby would amount to approximately £35,263.80 in 2021, a significant sum by any measure. Yet, beyond the monetary cost, the episode serves as a poignant reminder of the human toll of war and the sacrifices borne by ordinary citizens caught in the crossfire of history.
Sir John Gell
Parliament made Sir John Gell, the collector of the ship money, leader of their Derbyshire forces and Governor of Derby. Gell, dressed in his leather doublet, weighing "11 lbs.," acted energetically and capably. He garrisoned the town and made the Guildhall his headquarters. The origins of the moot hall in the Market Place area trace back to 1204, marking its initial establishment. Over time, it underwent several transformations, reflecting the evolving architectural tastes and needs of the community.
In 1500, a timber and plaster guildhall replaced the original structure, offering a new focal point for civic activities.
The Moot Hall of 1610 on the east side of Iron Gate.
However, by 1730, this gave way to a grander edifice—a stone guildhall designed by Richard Jackson in the Classical style. Notably, a turret clock crafted by John Whitehurst adorned the building's facade during the mid-18th century, enhancing its grandeur and functionality.
The guildhall experienced yet another metamorphosis in 1828 when Matthew Habershon designed a new Classical-style structure, positioned slightly south of its predecessors. This iteration boasted a large portico with an imposing archway granting access to the market hall below, crowned by four Ionic columns and a pediment above.
Tragically, a fire ravaged the building, leading to its partial reconstruction under the guidance of Henry Duesbury in 1842. This renovation saw the removal of the portico, replaced by a tower housing a new clock, cupola, and weather vane. Additionally, two large stone panels depicting a court room and council chamber, masterfully crafted by sculptor John Bell, adorned the building's facade.
Derby Market Place in 1911 with the old police station and the offices of the Derbyshire Advertiser near to the Guildhall.
Despite its storied history as a seat of local government, the guildhall relinquished its administrative role when the town council relocated to the Council House in 1949. Subsequently, the vacant premises underwent conversion into a theatre in 1975, serving as a cultural hub for the community.
However, in January 2019, the theatre closed its doors to facilitate much-needed maintenance works, signalling a temporary hiatus in its cultural offerings. Presently, as of 2024, the guildhall remains largely shuttered as renovation efforts focus on the adjacent market hall, reflecting an ongoing commitment to preserving and revitalizing this historic landmark for future generations.
The Guildhall Today
The majority of country squires, such as the Curzons and the Cokes of Melbourne, rallied in support of Parliament, while a minority, exemplified by the likes of Sir John Harpur of Swarkestone, aligned themselves with the king. This division among neighbours fuelled a deeply personal conflict, resulting in neighbours fighting neighbours and lots of rumours, name calling and Parliamentary soldiers earning the moniker "Roundheads" and those loyal to the king dubbed "Cavaliers."
According to militia records, Derbyshire boasted a formidable force of 15,000 soldiers, with Derby contributing 860 troops. The evolution of weaponry was evident, as muskets joined pikes in the arsenal of Derby foot soldiers, a far cry from the firearm-less era of Queen Elizabeth's reign. The intricate network of roads in Derby facilitated strategic mobility, rendering it a pivotal battleground in the war.
Under the leadership of Sir John Gell, Derbyshire men played a crucial role in defending Nottingham against the royal army led by the Duke of Newcastle. Gell's military campaigns saw him launch assaults on key strongholds like Bretby and Wingfield Manor, while achieving victories against superior forces, as evidenced by the triumph of Derbyshire Roundheads over Cavaliers at Egginton Hall. In 1643, Gell's forces secured Swarkeston Bridge after a fierce confrontation.
With all his ability, Gell was certainly not a pleasant character. After the Earl of Northampton was slain as he charged the Roundheads in 1643, his body was placed in the Cavendish vault in All Saints,' but Gell would not let the Earl's son have it except on the harshest terms.
Gell was known for conducting a series of feuds with his neighbours and business partners. Although he proved an effective and energetic general, his bullying of the local county committee and the plundering conducted by his unpaid troops provoked numerous complaints to Parliament. According to Puritan diarist Lucy Hutchinson, he "had not understanding to judge the equity of the cause, nor piety, nor holiness", while his men were "the most licentious, ungovernable wretches that belonged to the Parliament"
Gell resigned his commission just before the war ended in 1646 and was removed from all his positions in February 1649.
Steel engraving entitled Battle of Hopton Heath
On March 6, 1643, Sir John Gell achieved a significant victory by capturing the town of Lichfield in Staffordshire. With this triumph under his belt, Gell set his sights on the Royalist stronghold at Stafford, a critical link in their supply chain connecting the ports of Yorkshire to their capital in Oxford.
Recognising the need for reinforcements to undertake such a formidable siege, Gell coordinated with Sir William Brereton, commander of the Cheshire cavalry, to merge their forces. The strategic rendezvous was arranged to take place at Hopton Heath on the 19th of the month.
Unbeknownst to Gell and Brereton, King Charles had dispatched an expeditionary force led by the Earl of Northampton to assert control over the West Midlands and Staffordshire. Joined by Royalist allies under Henry Hastings at Tamworth, Northampton's troops converged on Stafford, arriving on March 18.
On the morning of March 19, Gell reached Hopton Heath, where the Parliamentarians intended to make their stand. As mid-morning approached, the Royalist forces became aware of their presence and commenced their preparations to engage.
By 14:00 hours, Brereton's cavalry arrived at the heath, bolstering the Parliamentarian ranks. They took up position along a ridge on the northeast side of the field, preparing for the impending clash.
In total, the Parliamentarian forces numbered 1400 men, comprising 700 infantry, 300 dragoons, and 400 cavalry.
Around 3pm on Sunday, March 19th, 1643, the Royalists arrived and deployed in battle formation to the south of the Parliamentarians. Their combined forces consisted of 1200 men including 300 dragoons and 800 cavalry.
Hastings led the initial charge with his dragoons, effectively driving the Parliamentarians back from the outskirts. The tranquil countryside was abruptly disrupted by the thunderous blast of "Roaring Meg."
Roaring Meg on display at Goodrich Castle
A fierce exchange of artillery fire ensued, with the Royalists dealing significant damage using their formidable 29-pounder cannon, fittingly named "Roaring Meg."
Initially, the Royalist Cavalry's strength proved too much for the Roundheads, causing their infantry formation to quickly unravel and descend into chaos.
However, the course of the battle underwent a dramatic shift when the Earl of Northampton was dismounted amidst the melee of Roundhead infantry. Despite his brave attempts to fend off the attack, he ultimately fell victim to their onslaught, meeting his end on the battlefield.
The Royalist forces reorganised, with Sir Thomas Byron leading a third assault against the Parliamentarians, yet their efforts proved futile. Despite Hastings' attempts to inspire the Royalists for a fourth charge, they were depleted of energy.
At this critical juncture, Brereton seized the initiative, spearheading a Parliamentarian infantry assault that pushed the Royalists back. In the process, they managed to reclaim portions of the battlefield and artillery that had previously fallen into enemy hands.
As dusk descended, the fighting ceased, and the Parliamentarians withdrew from the field, marking the end of the battle, with no intention of resuming hostilities. Brereton retreated to his headquarters in Cheshire, while Gell departed for Derby, relinquishing the pursuit of capturing Stafford.
The nature of the cavalry charges against a predominantly infantry-based Parliamentary force resulted in heavily one-sided casualties. The Parliamentarians suffered 500 casualties, whereas the Royalists incurred only 50 killed or wounded.
Weston Hall remains, just as it did in 1643, situated alongside the main road, likely witnessing Gell's forces as they ascended the hill towards the heath.
Between the early sixteenth century and the mid seventeenth, the Privy Council instructed local officials in each county to hold regular musters of able-bodied men who could be called upon to defend the kingdom in time of war. Men from every town and village had to assemble, usually in the early autumn, at a specified meeting place and show that they possessed suitable arms and armour. Gentry families had to provide horsemen. The musters were ordered by the lord lieutenant, summoned by the deputy lieutenants, and organised locally by the high constable of each hundred.
In 1638 the young 3rd earl of Devonshire had just become lord lieutenant of Derbyshire. He was evidently keen to impress the Council, as the earl ordered the constables to compile lists of all men aged between 16 and 60 in each town and village. He had the results copied into a volume to be sent up to London. The book, containing some 17,300 names, survives among the records of the State Paper Office in The National Archives. It provides a uniquely full record of the inhabitants of every community in Derbyshire on the eve of the Civil War. What we don’t know, of course, is what these men thought of being brought together, their names and place of residence being identified and listed.
Villages in the Barton Blount area of Derbyshire suffered months of pillaging from both sides, as the battle swayed now this way and now that. The Repton villagers in despair sent a strong protest to the Mayor of Derby because of the plundering forays of Sir John Gell's Roundheads. The Civil War over, Parliament ordered the garrison to be withdrawn and sent to Ireland, so that they might "serve Parliament against those bloudy Rebels" and our country "be eased" of unnecessary expense. In this way was Derby demobilised.
The war ended with Parliamentarian victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651. Unlike other civil wars in England, which were mainly fought over who should rule, these conflicts were also concerned with how the three Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland should be governed. The English Civil War had been raging for nearly an entire decade. After the First English Civil War, the parliamentarians accepted the premise that the King, although wrong, had been able to justify his fight, and that he would still be entitled to limited powers as King under a new constitutional settlement. By provoking the Second English Civil War even while defeated and in captivity, King Charles was held responsible for unjustifiable bloodshed. The secret "Engagement" treaty with the Scots was considered particularly unpardonable; "a more prodigious treason", said Oliver Cromwell, "than any that had been perfected before; because the former quarrel was that Englishmen might rule over one another; this to vassalize us to a foreign nation." Cromwell up to this point had supported negotiations with the king but now rejected further negotiations.
Oliver Cromwell was an English general and statesman who, first as a subordinate and later as Commander-in-Chief, led armies of the Parliament of England against King Charles I during the English Civil War, subsequently ruling the British Isles as Lord Protector from 1653 until his death in 1658. He acted simultaneously as head of state and head of government of the new republican commonwealth.
Cromwell was born into the landed gentry to a family descended from the sister of Henry VIII's minister Thomas Cromwell. Little is known of the first 40 years of his life, as only four of his personal letters survive, along with a summary of a speech that he delivered in 1628.
Cromwell is best known for Banning Christmas!
To Cromwell and his fellow Puritans, though, singing and related Christmas festivities were not only abhorrent but sinful. According to historical sources, they viewed the celebration of Christ’s birth on 25 December as a “popish” and wasteful tradition that derived – with no biblical justification – from the Roman Catholic Church (‘Christ’s Mass’), thus threatening their core Christian beliefs. Nowhere, they argued, had God called upon mankind to celebrate Christ’s nativity in such fashion. In 1644, an Act of Parliament effectively banned the festival and in June 1647, the Long Parliament passed an ordinance confirming the abolition of the feast of Christmas.
Oliver Cromwell
After the King had been moved to London, the Rump Parliament passed a Bill setting up what was described as a High Court of Justice in order to try Charles I for high treason in the name of the people of England. The bill initially nominated 3 judges and 150 commissioners, but following opposition in the House of Lords, the judges and members of the Lords were removed. When the trial began, there were 135 commissioners who were empowered to try the King, but only 68 would ever sit in judgement. The Solicitor General John Cook was appointed prosecutor.
The trial began on 20 January 1649 in Westminster Hall, with a moment of high drama. After the proceedings were declared open, Solicitor General John Cook rose to announce the indictment; standing immediately to the right of the King, he began to speak, but he had uttered only a few words when Charles attempted to stop him by tapping him sharply on the shoulder with his cane and ordering him to "Hold". Cook ignored this and continued, so Charles poked him a second time and rose to speak; despite this, Cook continued. At this point Charles, incensed at being ignored, struck Cook across the shoulder so forcefully that the ornate silver tip of the cane broke off, rolled down Cook's gown and clattered onto the floor between them. With nobody willing to pick it up for him, Charles had to stoop down to retrieve it himself.
When given the opportunity to speak, Charles refused to enter a plea, claiming that no court had jurisdiction over a monarch. He believed that his own authority to rule had been due to the divine right of kings given to him by God, and by the traditions and laws of England when he was crowned and anointed, and that the power wielded by those trying him was simply that of force of arms. Charles insisted that the trial was illegal, explaining, "No learned lawyer will affirm that an impeachment can lie against the King, one of their maxims is, that the King can do no wrong." Charles asked "I would know by what power I am called hither. I would know by what authority, I mean lawful [authority]". Charles maintained that the House of Commons on its own could not try anybody, and so he refused to plead. The court challenged the doctrine of sovereign immunity and proposed that "the King of England was not a person, but an office whose every occupant was entrusted with a limited power to govern 'by and according to the laws of the land and not otherwise'."
Charles I, on trial.
The court proceeded as if the king had pleaded guilty (pro confesso), rather than subjecting Charles to the peine forte et dure, that is, pressing with stones, as was standard practice in case of a refusal to plead. However, witnesses were heard by the judges for "the further and clearer satisfaction of their own judgement and consciences". Thirty witnesses were summoned, but some were later excused. The evidence was heard in the Painted Chamber rather than Westminster Hall. King Charles was not present to hear the evidence against him and he had no opportunity to question witnesses.
The King was declared guilty at a public session on Saturday 27 January 1649 and sentenced to death. His sentence read: "That the court being satisfied that he, Charles Stuart, was guilty of the crimes of which he had been accused, did judge him tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy to the good people of the nation, to be put to death by the severing of his head from his body." To show their agreement with the sentence, all of the 67 Commissioners who were present rose to their feet. During the rest of that day and on the following day, signatures were collected for his death warrant. This was eventually signed by 59 of the Commissioners, including two who had not been present when the sentence was passed.
On his execution day, the reports of Charles' last actions were fitting for his later portrayal as a martyr, as biographer Geoffrey Robertson put it, he "played the martyr's part almost to perfection". This was certainly no accident, a flurry of royalist reports overstated the horror of the crowd and the biblical innocence of Charles in his execution. Even Charles showed planning for his future martyrdom: apparently delighted that the biblical passage to be read upon the day of his execution was Matthew's account of the Crucifixion. He had hinted to his cousin, the Duke of Hamilton, in 1642:
“yet I cannot but tell you, I have set up my rest upon the Justice of my Cause, being resolved, that no extremity or misfortune shall make me yield; for I will be either a Glorious King, or a Patient Martyr, and as yet not being the first, nor at this present apprehending the other, I think it now no unfit time, to express this my Resolution unto you”
In the opinion of Daniel P. Klein: "Charles was a defeated and humiliated king in 1649. Yet by tying his trial to Christ's, the King was able to lay claim to martyrdom, connecting his defeated political cause with religious truth"
As a King, Charles I was disastrous; as a man, he faced his death with courage and dignity. His trial and execution were the first of their kind. Charles I was given just three days to put his affairs in order and say goodbye to his family. After the trial he was taken by sedan chair a short distance to his old room at Whitehall Palace. Charles refused to see anyone but his children and his chaplain, Bishop Juxon. The next day the King was moved to St James’s Palace.
Charles spent the day burning papers, praying and saying sad farewells to his two youngest children, Henry Duke of Gloucester, aged 9 and Princess Elizabeth, who was 11. The King told his two youngest not to grieve, that they should obey their elder brother Charles, the lawful sovereign. Elizabeth cried hysterically when she realised, she should not see her father again, and he hid his own tears to calm her.
On the ensuing morning, Tuesday, January 30th, the King awoke at dawn and prepared himself for the frigid weather. There are conflicting accounts regarding this: one suggests that Charles requested a thicker-than-usual shirt to prevent shivering, thus avoiding any appearance of fear; while another version indicates that he asked for two shirts for the same purpose.
He then retired with Bishop Juxon to pray until a knock came on the door at 10am. Charles, the Bishop and his attendant Thomas Herbert walked across St James’s Park, the King wrapped in a black cloak, surrounded on all sides by guards. The King was taken to his bedchamber in Whitehall Palace, to await summons to the scaffold. This came three hours later.
Charles walked across the floor of Banqueting House, passing beneath the magnificent Rubens ceiling painting—a masterpiece commissioned by him two decades prior.
Two images of inside Banqueting House where King Charles I walked to his execution.
Charles I at his execution
A huge crowd had gathered in the bitter weather. But they were held so far away that the King's final short speech was lost in the freezing air. Erected against the Banqueting House in Whitehall, the scaffold was hung round with black cloth. In the centre of the blackened and sanded floor stood the axe and a lower quartering block of a kind used to dismember traitors. Two men, heavily disguised with masks, stood ready to perform the act.
The crowd could not hear the speech, owing to the many parliamentarian guards blocking the scaffold, but Charles' companion, William Juxon, recorded it in shorthand. Charles gave a few last words to Juxon, claiming his "incorruptible crown" in Heaven, and put his head on the block. He waited a few moments and gave a signal; the anonymous executioner beheaded Charles in one clean blow and held Charles' head up to the crowd silently, dropping it into the swarm of soldiers soon after.
Charles I, executed
Many watching were aghast, with one witness commenting 'There was such a groan by the thousands then present as I never heard before and desire I may never hear again’.
Oliver Cromwell, calling himself Protector, became Dictator. During 1643 Cromwell acquired a reputation both as a military organiser and a fighting man. From the very beginning he had insisted that the men who served on the parliamentarian side should be carefully chosen and properly trained, and he made it a point to find loyal and well-behaved men regardless of their religious beliefs or social status. Appointed a colonel in February, he began to recruit a first-class cavalry regiment. While he demanded good treatment and regular payment for his troopers, he exercised strict discipline. If they swore, they were fined; if drunk, put in the stocks; if they called each other Roundheads—thus endorsing the contemptuous epithet the Royalists applied to them because of their close cropped hair—they were cashiered; and if they deserted, they were whipped. So successfully did he train his own cavalrymen that he was able to check and re-form them after they charged in battle. That was one of Cromwell’s outstanding gifts as a fighting commander.
Cromwell led the invasion of Ireland, landing in Dublin on August 15, 1649, and his forces soon took the ports of Drogheda and Wexford. At Drogheda, Cromwell’s men killed some 3,500 people, including 2,700 Royalist soldiers as well as hundreds of civilians and Catholic priests.
His troops killed an estimated 1,500 civilians at Wexford, which they allegedly attacked while he was trying to negotiate a truce.
By the time the Irish surrendered in 1652, the practice of Catholicism was banned in Ireland and all Catholic-owned land was confiscated and given to Protestant Scottish and English settlers, beginning a long period of suffering and poverty for the Irish people.
Cromwell returned to England in 1650 after the Scots proclaimed as king Charles II, son of Charles I. Cromwell would lead a subsequent military campaign against the Scots, including a decisive victory at the Scottish city of Dundee.
With the Scots defeated, Parliament re-formed in 1651. Cromwell sought to push the legislative body to call for new elections and establish a united government over England, Scotland and Ireland.
When some opposed, Cromwell forcibly disbanded Parliament. Several months later, following various attempts to establish a government, John Lambert, himself a key Parliamentary general during the English Civil Wars, drafted a new constitution, effectively making Cromwell Lord Protector for life. Derby people, for all their efforts on behalf of Parliament, did not relish his rule. They were glad when the end came. The parish clerk of All Saints' put a Latin note in the church register for 1658 recording "Oliver Cromwell, the terror of England, died."
As a ruler, he executed an aggressive and effective foreign policy. Nevertheless, Cromwell's policy of religious toleration for Protestant denominations during the Protectorate extended only to "God's peculiar", and not to those considered by him to be heretics, such as the Quakers, Socinians, and Ranters.
Cromwell was only 59 when he died. His death was due to complications relating to a form of malaria, and kidney stone disease. It is thought that his death was quickened by the death of his daughter a month earlier. Cromwell appointed his son, Richard as his successor. His son Richard Cromwell assumed the post, but was forced to resign due to a lack of support within Parliament or the military.
In the leadership vacuum that ensued, George Monck assumed control of the New Model Army and spearheaded the formation of a new Parliament, which proceeded to pass constitutional reforms that re-established the monarchy. In 1660, Charles II, who had been living in exile, returned to England to assume the throne, thereby beginning the English Restoration. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland and Henrietta Maria of France.
King Charles II
Colonel Charlie White, once a Parliament man, collected some royalists and seized Derby, but Colonel Saunders with Government troops drove them out without a fight. Booth’s Rising in August 1659 was a coalition of royalists and Presbyterians: led in the north by the earl of Derby and Sir George Booth, and in the Midlands by Lord Richard Byron and Charles White (by now dubbed Colonel White), supported by former parliamentarians such as Colonel Edward Rossiter from Lincolnshire and Robert Pierrepoint, the son of a Nottinghamshire committee member. Just as Booth’s rising in the north was swiftly extinguished, so the attempted coup in the Midlands was soon put down. Byron had intended to seize the old royalist citadel of Newark, but he and White could only gather around 100 men, which was clearly insufficient to overpower the Commonwealth forces in the town. They headed instead for Nottingham, now closely pursued by militia cavalry. In a running series of skirmishes several hapless insurgents such as Peter Hodgson of Worksop, were wounded or captured. Charles White led a few of the survivors on to Derby, and actually succeeded in occupying the town for a few hours. However, he was soon forced to flee when regular troops from the New Model Army arrived in force. White remained on the run for several days, but was eventually captured. He was thrown into prison, and was lucky not to be executed. Charles White did not live long enough after the Restoration to be rewarded for his actions.
The townsfolk, on the other hand, would have nothing to do with the late Protector's son, Richard, and held a mass meeting in favour of Prince Charles. Even Gell joined General Monk in a move to bring him back. All Saints' bells rang out when King Charles II was proclaimed in the Market Place. Town and country went mad. The village constable of Repton rushed into Derby to buy flags, drums and trumpets for the celebrations.
Under Charles II, the surviving 41 republicans who had signed the death warrant against his father were called to account. Most fled abroad, or surrendered voluntarily to avoid execution. The ten who refused to beg forgiveness were tried and sentenced to death.
After Restoration, royalists dug up Oliver Cromwell’s rotting corpse and hanged it at Tyburn.
Oliver Cromwell's head
When Parliament forbade the council to meet without Richard Cromwell's permission, the council seized power and forced Richard to dissolve Parliament (April 21, 1659). The officers now recalled the Rump Parliament, which had been dissolved by Oliver in 1653. The Rump dismissed Richard, and on May 25 he officially abdicated.
One of the issue’s with Parliaments victory was, it brought the Puritans, or Nonconformists, as we should say, who hated all ceremonies, bishops and archbishops, into power. They were fanatical and "strait laced," opposed to dancing, play-acting and all amusements, observing the Sabbath strictly. As soon as war broke out, Derby Puritans set about the churches. Since the chancel was the sacred part, it was usually one step higher than the nave, so to abolish this "superstition" they paid one Grise to level the chancel floor in All Saints'. All stained-glass windows, all pictures and carving in Derby churches, were destroyed. They even threw the ancient stone font out of All Saints' and set up a painted alabaster basin in its place.
The font, today
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that traces its origin to Church of Scotland. Presbyterian churches derive their name from the presbyterian form of church government by representative assemblies of elders.
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant.
New religious sects sprang up. One day in 1651, Colonel Barton, a Commonwealth man, was to preach and the church bells were rung. A quaint figure, George Fox, who had founded the Society of Friends, walked into the church, or "steeple house" as he called it, with his hat on and broke in upon the sermon with "wild denunciations." He was arrested and brought before Gervase Bennett, the magistrate, who George Fox told, "quake at the word of the Lord." The magistrate called him Quaker, so from that day members of the Society of Friends have been called Quakers.
George Fox
George Fox was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment, he was allowed out on parole, the authorities hoping he would steal quietly away. But George Fox kept his word, going about the streets and into the Market Place preaching until his year was up. There have been Quakers in Derby ever since.
Society of friends meeting house in Derby.
When King Charles "came into his own again," the English Church was re-established and the Prayer Book reintroduced. The Presbyterians were now persecuted and their ministers turned adrift. Bishop Racket, indeed, did allow Derby Presbyterians to use the old chapel on St. Mary's Bridge, but they did not have peace for long. Beresford had to leave St. Werburgh's and a vicar was appointed in the old way. Parliament passed stiff laws-"The Clarendon Code," which forbade Nonconformists to build chapels or hold religious meetings in their houses.
After 1673 those who wished to become members of Parliament, or hold any public post, or go as students to the universities, had to produce a certificate stating they had taken the sacrament in an Established Church. This excluded both Catholics and Nonconformists. The first Derby certificate, stating that John Taylor and Charles Gresley had taken the sacrament at St. Peter's Church, was signed by the vicar, William Osborne, whilst James Oakes, a churchwarden, set his "mark thereto." Strange as it may seem, such an important officer could neither read nor write.
The fact that James, brother of Charles II and heir to the throne, was a Catholic made people suspicious. A rogue, called Titus Oates, spread abroad the bogus story that the Catholics were plotting to murder Charles and James. In Derby great alarm was caused (1678) by a letter supposedly found at Thulston, stating that 500 papists were to meet on Nuns Green. Nothing came of it, but the hunt for Roman Catholics was renewed. Now Mr. Henry Gilbert, J.P., of Locko, knew that George Busby, a Catholic priest, was hiding in West Hallam. He went at night with a warrant to Mrs. Smalley's house there. As she would not open the door, he broke in. After hours of search, he discovered a "priest's hole," or secret room, where Busby was hiding. Derby was once more the scene of a famous religious trial, since Busby was tried for high treason by Baron Street, the Assize Judge for that year. The trial was fair enough, but Busby, found guilty under an old law of Queen Elizabeth, was sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered. Instead of carrying out the sentence, Busby was allowed to leave the country after a short time in the gaol.
James, the Catholic (Brother of Charles II), unwisely in this atmosphere of suspicion, tried to remove some of the restrictions. When James made an attempt to admit Roman Catholics to State offices, John Coke, Derby’s M.P., protested strongly in Parliament. This caused an uproar. John Coke was arrested and sent to the Tower of London for "insulting" the House of Commons.
The Corporation paid a goodly sum to Charles II for a new Charter which did not change its character, but allowed it to make by-laws, that is, local laws, and use a seal of two pieces on its documents. The Mayor and Aldermen, but not the Councillors, could wear robes, "at their pleasure." The Mayor might carry a "white wand" as a sign of authority and have a gold and silver mace with the town arms engraved on it borne before him. The Mayoral election was henceforth held in the Guildhall, because the Puritans thought it unseemly for civil business to be done in All Saints'. The Recorder had to be a lawyer.
The county gaol was awful as a building and badly looked after. Magistrates never visited it. The gaolers were tyrants. If prisoners are today "guests of the royal majesty," in those days they
were paying guests, charged for board and lodging! Only bread was given them. Bread which Thomas Mee, a local baker, supplied and it was so unwholesome that the prisoners complained
to the Court. The dreadful state of prisons was exposed in a book called the “Cry of the Oppressed,” (now freely available online) from which we learn that Derby debtors were put in the most noisome and dangerous quarters. For food or a fire in cold weather they had to pay heavily. William Wragg, the keeper, used to let the debtors' rooms to those criminals who were able to pay more. Way, worse, he was accused of stealing what the charitable people sent, of putting "swine among them" and illtreating the helpless. Remember, all prisoners were not necessarily condemned, but might be awaiting trial at the next Assizes. John Taylor and Francis Gibson were pardoned at one Assize, yet the Clerk of the Court would not let them go because Court and prison fees were unpaid. He was, however, ordered to release them.
ordered to release them.
In 1690 the Town Council supported a scheme which George Sorocold, a clever millwright and engineer, had designed to improve the town's water supply. Near St. Alkmund's mills on the Derwent he built a floating waterwheel which, rising and falling with the river level, pumped river water into a large tank in St. Michael's churchyard. The water flowed thento King Street, Irongate, the Market Place and Gaol Bridge (Tenant Street). The pipes were bored out of elm trunks by a tool turned by the same water-wheel, which also operated a malt-mill. The whole was "managed by one man." Nothing so ingenious had been seen in Derby before, and Sorocold was soon building such things elsewhere.
The town fathers recognised the need for this service but were unable to finance it, so they took out a number of loans, including one for £41-16s from the Derby Mercers Company, a loan which has yet to be repaid!
Friar Gate Unitarian Chapel, closed in 1974
Meanwhile, King Charles II faced a political storm over his brother James, a Catholic, being next in line to the throne. The prospect of a Catholic monarch was vehemently opposed by Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury (previously Baron Ashley and a member of the Cabal, which had fallen apart in 1673). Shaftesbury's power base was strengthened when the House of Commons of 1679 introduced the Exclusion Bill, which sought to exclude the Duke of York from the line of succession. Some even sought to confer the Crown on the Protestant Duke of Monmouth, the eldest of Charles's illegitimate children. The Abhorrers (those who thought the Exclusion Bill was abhorrent) were named Tories (after a term for dispossessed Irish Catholic bandits), while the Petitioners (those who supported a petitioning campaign in favour of the Exclusion Bill) were called Whigs (after a term for rebellious Scottish Presbyterians).
Fearing that the Exclusion Bill would be passed, and bolstered by some acquittals in the continuing Plot trials, which seemed to Charles II to indicate a more favourable public mood towards Catholicism, Charles II dissolved the English Parliament, for a second time that year, in mid-1679. Charles's hopes for a more moderate Parliament were not fulfilled; within a few months he had dissolved Parliament yet again, after it sought to pass the Exclusion Bill. When a new Parliament assembled at Oxford in March 1681, Charles II dissolved it for a fourth time after just a few days. During the 1680s, however, popular support for the Exclusion Bill ebbed, and Charles II experienced a nationwide surge of loyalty. Lord Shaftesbury was prosecuted (albeit unsuccessfully) for treason in 1681 and later fled to Holland, where he died. For the remainder of his reign, Charles ruled without Parliament.
Charles's opposition to the Exclusion Bill angered some Protestants. Protestant conspirators formulated the Rye House Plot, a plan to murder him and the Duke of York as they returned to London after horse races in Newmarket. A great fire, however, destroyed Charles's lodgings at Newmarket, which forced him to leave the races early, so Charles inadvertently avoided the planned attack. News of the failed plot was leaked. Protestant politicians such as the Earl of Essex, Algernon Sydney, Lord Russell and the Duke of Monmouth were implicated in the plot. Essex slit his own throat while imprisoned in the Tower of London; Sydney and Russell were executed for high treason on very flimsy evidence; and the Duke of Monmouth went into exile at the court of William of Orange. Lord Danby and the surviving Catholic lords held in the Tower were released and the king's Catholic brother, James, acquired greater influence at court. Titus Oates was convicted and imprisoned for defamation.
King Charles II suffered a sudden apoplectic fit on the morning of 2 February 1685, and died aged 54 at 11:45 am four days later at Whitehall Palace.
Charles II’s brother James had his coronation on the 23rd April 1685 becoming king of James II of England and King James VII of Scotland.
King James II of England and King James VII of Scotland
Revolution House, Derbyshire.
It was the dark year of 1688 when rumour and unrest muttered up and down the country and James II sat uneasily on the throne of England. On the bleak and windswept “Whittington Moor” stood an alehouse called the Cock and Pynot (a dialect word for magpie). Through the rain, three horsemen rode to this remote place, stepped inside and started plotting to overthrow the King. These men were the Earl of Devonshire from nearby Chatsworth, the Earl of Danby, and John D’Arcy (son of the Earl of Holderness). Between them, they raised support in the North and Midlands, and planned to offer the Crown to James’s daughter Mary and her Dutch husband William.
William and Mary landed at Torbay in November 1688. The country rose in support and James fled to France. The Revolution was over, but the alehouse in the suburb of Whittington still stands, with its thatched roof and flower border, and its intriguing name – Revolution House.
Queen Mary II and William of Orange, King William III of England
In France, James was allowed to live in the royal château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. James's wife and some of his supporters fled with him, including the Earl of Melfort; most, but not all, were Roman Catholic. In 1692, James's last child, Louisa Maria Teresa, was born. Some supporters in England attempted to assassinate William III to restore James to the throne in 1696, but the plot failed and the backlash made James's cause less popular. Louis XIV's offer to have James elected King of Poland in the same year was rejected, for James feared that acceptance of the Polish crown might (in the minds of the English people) render him incapable of being King of England. After Louis concluded peace with William in 1697, he ceased to offer much in the way of assistance to James.
During his last years, James lived as an austere penitent. He wrote a memorandum for his son advising him on how to govern England, specifying that Catholics should possess one Secretary of State, one Commissioner of the Treasury, the Secretary at War, with the majority of the officers in the army.
He died aged 67 of a brain haemorrhage on 16 September 1701 at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. James's heart was placed in a silver-gilt locket and given to the convent at Chaillot, and his brain was placed in a lead casket and given to the Scots College in Paris. His entrails were placed in two gilt urns and sent to the parish church of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the English Jesuit college at Saint-Omer, while the flesh from his right arm was given to the English Augustinian nuns of Paris.
The rest of James's body was laid to rest in a triple sarcophagus (consisting of two wooden coffins and one of lead) at the St Edmund's Chapel in the Church of the English Benedictines in the Rue St. Jacques in Paris, with a funeral oration by Henri-Emmanuel de Roquette. James was not buried, but put in one of the side chapels. Lights were kept burning round his coffin until the French Revolution. In 1734, the Archbishop of Paris heard evidence to support James's canonisation, but nothing came of it. During the French Revolution, James's tomb was raided.