Newbury, as Essex was now fairly on his way to that place, the possession of the town being the object chiefly aimed at by the enemy. The Prince meanwhile marched with his horse from Aldbourne to Lamborne, where he refreshed his wearied troopers, and then eagerly pressed onwards to anticipate the Earl of Essex and check his progress. He was just in time, not a minute too soon; for arriving at Newbury early on Tuesday morning, the 19th September, he found the Lord General's advanced guard already in the town, engaged in preparing quarters for the on-coming troops of the Parliament. With scarcely a moment's halt, the leading squadron of the King's troops, headed by the untiring Rupert, confronted the startled Parliament men who were ignorant of the nearness of the royal cavalry, but who, perceiving that resistance with so small a force was useless, made a precipitate flight, leaving several of their quarter-masters in the hands of the enemy. Troop after troop now poured into the town, which the Prince secured, and left Essex to the scanty resources of its immediate vicinity.

The march of the Royal Army from Gloucester had been thus conducted:

NOTE. The actual distance from Wantage to Newbury and from the latter town to Oxford somewhat exceeds that above stated.

A few hours later, the brilliant troop of Life Guards, composed of the noblest and wealthiest cavaliers, who had no separate command, with casque and plume and glittering cuirass came moving on in stately and martial style. They heralded the approach of the ill-starred but gallant King, who, conspicuous in his steel armour, and on whose breast glittered the Star and George, rode at the head of his infantry. The young Prince of Wales (who held the rank of Captain of horse) was by his side; and for the first time during the war entered the good old town of Newbury, so soon to be associated with events of the deepest significance in connection with the great national revolution.

Lord Clarendon computes the amount of income possessed by this single troop as at least equal to that of all the Lords and Commons [in London] who made and maintained that war. Sir Philip Warwick, who tells us he himself "rode therein," computes this income at £100,000 per annum, equal, perhaps, to three times that sum according to our present standard.

*

Newbury was the pivot, so to speak, around which much of the fighting, during the Civil War, in the southern part of England for a long period centred.

Its history goes far back into medieval time. The Manor and Lordship, which had previously passed through a variety of hands, were by letters patent, 1 Edward IV., 1460-1, granted by that monarch to his mother Cecilia, Duchess of York, for life, in recompense for her jointure, and from its description in this Instrument as "the manor and lordship of Newbury, with the borough of Newbury," the town had been probably incorporated, or was a borough by prescription, at a much earlier period than is generally supposed. Whilst held by the Crown the Manor was frequently assigned as a jointure to the Queens of England. Henry VIII. granted it to his Queen, Lady Jane Seymour; and James I. assigned it as a dower to Queen Anne, of Denmark, mother of Charles I. The latter

made over the Manor to the Corporation of Newbury,§ in consideration of £50 and an annual payment of £20 4s. 24d., in answer to the following petition for its purchase, presented to Parliament:||

"Rt. Honble. That the Mair, Aldermen, and Burgesses might take the Manor and liberties thereof in fee farme. Your honble. House hath bin informed that the said suite is only the desire of some few within the town, and not general, and yet that your honble. House hath bin obliged to admit the said Corporation to compound for the same, make bold to testifie your honble. House that we specially desire the said Corporation to be possessed thereof before any other. Wee having good experience of their great love and regard for the welfare of the Town and of helping to safe [save] the poor inhabitants thereof in all taxes and payments within the town that they possibly can, and in keeping the town in good order, for which your honble favour shewed to

* E. Warburton's 'Prince Rupert,' vol. i, p. 422.

† See "Hist. Newbury," and Godwin's "Worthies of Newbury."

Rot. Pat. Edw. IV., pt. 4, m. 1. Pub. Rec. Off.

The lands which comprise a portion of the Manor of Newberry, Co. Cork, Ireland, are said to have been granted by the Crown to Capt, Newman, an ancestor of its present possessor, for his eminent services in the battle of the 20th September, the name of Newberry' being bestowed on the property in commemoration of the circumstance.

Copied from a contemporary duplicate of the original in the Corporation archives.

them in their behalf, wee and all our posteritie with many more shall be each bound to pray to God for your honbles. long life and

prosperous estate.

William Howes, Mair.

Gabriell Coxe, the elder.
William Twisse (Rector).
Thomas Dolman,

&c.

Like many other places engaged in the staple manufacture of England-woollen cloth, the town of Newbury was well affected to the Parliament. The reasons are not far to seek. Besides being influenced by religion and a sense of independence, the inhabitants of manufacturing towns had especially suffered from the monopolies and extortions which had raised the price of necessaries and shackled the enterprise of trade. Again, the Protestant Nonconformists were a numerous and influential body, and in the same ranks, says Macaulay, were to be found most of those members of the Established Church, who still adhered to the Calvinistic opinions, which, forty years before, had been generally held by the prelates and clergy. Such a man was Dr. Twisse, the Puritan Rector of Newbury, whose teaching must have exercised a decided influence in forming the opinions of the town and neighbourhood. Newbury had also, from its position on the great western road, its proximity to Oxford, the King's head-quarters, and the royal garrisons at Donnington, Basing, Faringdon, and Wallingford, suffered perhaps to a greater extent than any other town in the kingdom from the disastrous effects of this unhappy war. Its inhabitants were therefore induced by the strongest motives to espouse the cause of Parliament.

The following letters, written by members of each party, will enable the reader to form an impartial view of the proclivities of the people of Newbury at this juncture:

Lord Grandison to Prince Rupert.

Marlboro' 8 Dec. [1642]. May itt please your Highes. I know not how well to give credite to it, but there is two gentlemen nowe come from Newberie frighted from thence the lastt nightt by intelligence they had of some of the enemies forces were to come into Newberie invited thether by the townsmen, who have only reported the plague to bee there to keepe the King's troopes oute, how slight soever this may be, sure I AM THAT DISAFFECTED TOWNE CAN NOTT BEE TO MUCH PUNISHED BY YOUR HIGHS for att my coming from Basingstoke they stopped all our baggage and had detained itt butt thatt they hered wee were strong enough to reveng itt. The Sherife of this Countie intends to be heer this day to order some things for his Majties. service, these same are the reasons thatt keept mee a day in this burnt and plundered quarter. * From your High's most humble faithful servant, GRANDISON.

*

*

Hist. of Eng. vol. i, p. 106.

D

This letter, from the Pyt House Collection, appears to have been written immediately after the capture and plunder of Marlborough by the Royalists ("the most notoriously disaffected town of all the country," says Clarendon). This was the first garrison taken on either side; when a great part of the town was burnt. Lord Grandison died from the effects of wounds received at the siege of Bristol the following year.

Two days previously the Earl of Essex wrote to the Parliamentary Colonels Goodwin and Hurry:

Srs,-Since I receiv'd your letter I have had information that Marlborough has been 2 days assaulted by the King's forces [Essex here gives instructions to the two Colonels to march with all speed to its relief]. * * You have Newberry, a very honest towne, to march to in ye way, where you may encourage forces to follow you, and it is a very good place to assist you upon all occasions. Your assured friend, Windsor, Dec. 6, 1642, 8 o'clock at night. Endorsed for Col. Goodwin, Col. Hurry, or either of them. *

ESSEX.

Col. Goodwin, on his return to Newbury from Marlborough, gave the following account of his proceedings in a letter without superscription, but probably addressed to Philip, Lord Wharton, his son-in-law, with whom he was in frequent correspondence at this time:

My Lord,-We have had many painful journies since I saw you, but none like that of Thursday, when we missed meeting the King's forces, and only because we could not get out our dragoons till noon. We went then on to Wantage, where were 3 regiments, 1 of horse, 1 of foot, 1 of dragoons, and my Lord Digby with certain ladies, they had intelligence before we came up, which was in dark night, and hasted away, we caught about 50 prisoners, my Lord Jermyn's lady and 3 or 4 other women, Sir Robt. Lee and his broth" and there were some thirty slaine, some ammunition was left, which because we could not bring away was spoyled. I can write no more to night, the rather because I must be up by 5 in the morning to visit Andover, where my Lord Grandison is, they say, with 3,000 horse and dragoons, but I hope not so many. I think I shall run away and be with you shortly for we are all most abominable plunderers, as bad as Prince Robert [Rupert], and shall be as much hated, as when complaints come, I am ashamed to look an honest man in the face, truly, it is as bad to me as a bullet. It is now nearing morning, excuse me to all my friends: the Lord be with you all. Yours ever to command. A. G., Newbury. Sunday morninge, Dec. [12th]. P.S.-Our letters to my Lord Genl. surely are intercepted.†

In a letter written by Col. Dalbiert from Newbury and presented to the House of Lords by the Committee of Oxon, Bucks, and Berks, requesting the payment of the forces under his

• Tanner MSS., Bibl. Bodl. v. 62/2.

+ Carte's MSS., Letters, Bibl. Bodl. v. 103. For particulars of this service at Marlborough and Wantage, see Waylen's Hist. Marlb., pp. 166-9.

Sometimes written D'Albier, Dalbiere, or Dulbier.