General History of Bath. 59 



The Civil Wars. 



The early part of the reign of Charles I. was uneventful at 

 Bath, except as regards the number of distinguished visitors. 



In July, 1642, there was an amusing reference to the 

 stoppage of the tide of wealthy invalids, occasioned by the 

 removal of the Court to York. The "guides were neces- 

 sitated to guide one another from the alehouse lest they 

 should lose their practice ; the ladies were fallen into a 

 lethargy for want of stirring cavaliers to keep them awake, 

 and the poor fiddlers were ready to hang themselves in their 

 strings for a pastime for want of other employments.'' 



The very next month the troubles began. In August, 

 1642, Sir Robert Foster was holding the Summer Assize at 

 Bath, and both parties to the great national struggle felt 

 that there was an opportunity of getting the county to 

 declare itself. 



A " commission of array " had been sent to the Lord 

 Lieutenants of Somerset and Devon, to levy troops for the 

 King, and this the Parliament had denounced as illegal. 

 On the other hand, the Commons had directed the Militia 

 to be called out. 



Petitions against the " commission of array " were signed 

 by the Constables of twenty Hundreds in Somerset, and 

 about the same number in Devon, and presented to the 

 Judge in open Court by the Constable of Keynsham. The 

 petitions were in the same form, and called upon the Judge 

 to read aloud in Court the condemnation by the Parliament, 

 so that all might know what the law was. 



The concourse of countrymen into Bath with these peti- 

 tions, and the demonstrations they made against the Royal 

 Prerogative, naturally put the Royalists on the alert. 



