Royalist But.... Herefordshire in the English Civil War 1640-51, by David Ross
Book published by Logaston in 2012, 194 pages. Paperback (N6639X1)
From the rear side cover: Herefordshire was the first county to declare for the King when the English Civil War broke out in 1642, and has always been seen as a bastion of the Royalist cause. Yet the city of Hereford yielded twice, with minimal resistance, to Parliamentary forces in the first year of the war. Reoccupied by the Royalists each time, it later withstood a six-week siege by a large army, before finally succumbing to a carefully-planned attack in December 1645. From then on, city and county remained under Parliamentary rule, though not without protest and resistance. And briefly, in the final throes of the Royalist campaign during 1648, Herefordshire seemed to offer the possibility ofreviving the King's fortunes.
Beginning with a comprehensive description of life and activity in Herefordshire prior to the Civil War, this book gives a full account of the county's involvement in the armed struggle and its aftermath. It also sheds light on a wider aspect of the War in its exploration of what being a 'Royalist' actually meant. Some of the county's leading Cavaliers lost everything for King Charles, but many others who vocally supported the King held back from the dangers and expense of real commitment. And Royalist Herefordshire turned out to harbour a surprising number of Parliamentary sympathisers. This helps to explain the extraordinary events in the course of December 1648 and January 1649, when a country where almost everyone firmly believed in monarchy put its King to death and transformed itself into a 'Commonwealth'.
The condition of the book is generally very good. The covers are clean and bright, the spine is tight and intact, and all pages are clean, intact, unblemished and tightly bound.
| Condition | New |