POLITICAL HISTORY 



having joined Lord Loughborough at Bingham, marched to Newark early in 

 the morning, attacked Meldrum's forces, and relieved the town. 1 On 

 22 March the Committee of Both Kingdoms wrote to the earl of Man- 

 chester bidding him send what force he could to the help of the forces 

 before Newark. ' We conceive if your forces come timely Prince Rupert's 

 army may be in the straits yours is now conceived to be.' 8 A further 

 account of the ' unhappy condition of affairs at Newark ' was sent to Sir 

 William Waller, 8 and Lord Denbigh and Commissary General Belire with 

 the Nottingham and Derby forces, as well as those of the earl of Manchester, 

 were reported to be marching towards those parts to hinder the royalist forces 

 there from ' that fruit of their victory they might hope to reap by arming 

 the country with those arms they had taken from our men.' * Lord Denbigh, 

 in a letter written 27 March, feared that the enemy would ' follow their 

 fortune' in the vicinity of Newark, but had the earl of Manchester's march 

 been swifter, and had the Nottingham forces joined with his own, this might 

 have been prevented.' However, letters from Prince Rupert having been 

 intercepted, the Committee learnt that he was ' not of such strength as he 

 thinks it safe to continue where he is.' ' 



During the summer of 1644 all the efforts of Parliament were directed 

 to affairs in Yorkshire, and all the strength of the associated forces was sum- 

 moned to the north. Newark and Nottingham were left once more to their 

 old antagonism, and the Nottingham garrison fared badly. Thus in June, 

 1644, ' divers gentlemen in Nottingham well affected to the Parliament ' sent 

 intelligence to the Committee of Both Kingdoms of the strength of the 

 enemy's garrison, while they themselves had but few horses left, and 

 could ' neither defend their county nor gain contributions for the necessary 

 maintenance of their garrison ' without the aid of the horse then with Lord 

 Denbigh, which for the most part had been ' raised at the charge of par- 

 ticular men.' The Committee therefore, ' being sensible of the great loss like 

 to come speedily on Nottingham for want of horses,' wrote to Lord Denbigh 

 ordering him to dismiss 100 of the Nottingham horse then with him and the 

 others as soon as he could spare them. 7 The governor of Nottingham had 

 other difficulties to meet besides the attacks of the Newark garrison. 

 Although old rivalry between the town and castle was somewhat abated 8 it 

 had given way to a rivalry between the governor and the Committee, and 

 this of necessity gave an added weakness to his plans for defence. 9 In July, 

 1644, Mr. Millington was sent by the Committee of Both Kingdoms to give 

 the committees both of town and castle and the honest inhabitants of the 

 garrison thanks for ' their undaunted courage and unwearied diligence in 

 the maintenance of the same,' and to ' endeavour to compose all differences 

 between the garrisons of the castle and town, and between the members of 

 the committees.' 10 By November the quarrel between the governor and 

 the committee of Nottingham had come before the Committee of Both 



1 Mercurius Aulicus, B.M. Pamphlets, .55. * Cal. S. P. Dam. 1644, p. 66. 



* Ibid. pp. 70, 75. 4 Ibid. p. 75. 5 Ibid. 



6 Ibid. pp. 77, 78. ' Ibid. p. 277. 



8 The townsmen had at last determined to join in their own defence, and 400 were enlisted under 

 ' one Mr. Coates, a minister, an honest and Godly man, and Mr. Mason, an attorney, a great cavalier, but a 

 reverend and silent man who, for an austere knit in his brow and a grave, severe countenance, had the 

 reputation of a wise man.' Mrs. Hutchinson, op. cit. p. 208. 



9 Ibid. pp. 208-14. 10 Cal. S. P.Dom. 1644, p. 368. 



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