A HISTORY OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 



the Parliament, submissive to the army, ' was by the General restored to their 

 seats', the garrison was reduced only to the castle guard. The works at the 

 town and the bridges were also slighted, and since all but two of the companies 

 of the governor's regiment were disbanded, he gave the command, ' not worthy 

 of himself or his brother,' to his kinsman Captain Poulton. 1 But with the 

 new danger rising from the king's intrigues with the Scots early in 1 648 

 Colonel Hutchinson was again commissioned to garrison the castle. 3 An 

 attempt by Colonel Gilbert Byron to win over the governor to betray the 

 castle failed, but Byron managed to gather about 500 horse from Notting- 

 hamshire and Lincolnshire, and with these marched to join the royalist party 

 in the north. They were met and defeated by Colonel Rossiter, and Colonel 

 Byron himself was carried prisoner to Belvoir Castle. 3 In April Cromwell was 

 at Nottingham on his way into Lancashire, and when he left, Colonel Thorn- 

 haugh and the Nottinghamshire horse marched with him and fought bravely at 

 Preston, where the colonel was killed.* With the renewal of royalist activity 

 on the alliance of Charles II with the Scots, a regiment of horse was com- 

 missioned from the county to go to Cromwell into Scotland. 6 With the 

 entry of Charles into England early in 1651 it seemed probable that he would 

 gather his forces in the north. Thus in March the Council of State sent 

 notice to the Militia Commissioners for Nottinghamshire that Major-General 

 Harrison was sent into those parts with some forces and with directions ' to 

 give order to such horse, foot, and dragoons of the Militia of the county as he 

 should find necessary.' 8 In April a further command came that 'considering 

 the state of affairs in the country, and the designs of the enemy in those parts,' 

 the troop of horse in arms in the county should be kept on foot fourteen days 

 longer, ' so as to be ready to prevent any insurrections or other distempers.' 7 

 But Charles 'chose another way and went to Worcester,' and in May, 1651, 

 the castle of Nottingham was ordered to be demolished, 8 and the two com- 

 panies of foot then in the castle were to march to Major-General Harrison.' 

 The Council of State wrote in June to Major Poulton, governor of the 

 castle, that they left it to him to see the demolition effectually done within 

 14 days, so that the castle and all outworks and fortifications should be 

 altogether demolished before 10 November. 10 A few days later they wrote 

 ordering that to prevent the great quantity of brass and iron, ordnance and 

 arms in the castle from being embezzled, it should be sent by water to Hull 

 and thence to the Tower of London. 11 They were not sent by October of that 

 year ' for want of money, as is alleged,' and the council ordered that the needful 

 sums of money should ' be imprested to Mr. Collin, late master gunner, on 

 account,' and a bill of exchange for the amount should be drawn upon the 

 council at six days' sight. 13 During the next few years the royalist faction in 

 the county seems to have been entirely subdued even when royalist hopes 

 were rising in 1655, and in 1656 Whalley, who was major-general of the 



1 Mrs. Hutchinson, op. cit. p. 306. 



1 Ibid. p. 308. 3 Ibid. p. 312-3. ' Ibid. p. 317-24. 



1 Mrs. Hutchinson, op. cit. 355. 6 Cat. S. P. Dam, 1651, p. 97. ' Ibid. p. 132. 



Mrs. Hutchinson, op. cit. p. 357 ; this was by her husband's influence, since he was convinced that 

 Cromwell and the army were ' carrying on designs of private ambition,' and ' he would not that what he had 

 preserved for the liberty of his country should be a curb upon them.' 



' Cal. S. P. Dom. 165 I, pp. 187-8. 10 Ibid. p. 242. 



11 Ibid. p. 245. "Ibid. p. 48 1. 



354 



