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Faringdon and the Civil War by John Gillman |
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| More history and re-enactment of the Battle for Faringdon, and photographs |
Faringdon has a violent history. The two worst damaged towns in England after the civil war were judged in Parliament to have been Faringdon and Torrington in Devon. The town was also heavily fought over in 1144 when King Stephen attacked Queen Matilda's fort on Folly Hill, capturing it after a 3 day battle. There were cavalry skirmishes later during the Wars of the Roses down at Radcot Bridge, with Faringdon opting for the Red Rose side - look in the Crown Hotel's downstairs bar for the red rosed crown in the window, glass which by definition predates the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, when the Crown merged red with white. And yes, there was a John Gillman at Bosworth in 1485 - he was in charge of the bullion wagons in Henry Tudor's baggage train and after the battle became number 2 in HM's Treasury. Faringdon is also unique in having fought off attacks by both Generals Fairfax and Cromwell. It was most unusual for either General to have to march away from a siege, but they were forced to by the stubborn defence put against them in Faringdon. The muster roles for Rawdon's Regiment defending Faringdon in 1646 still exist, held in a library in St Albans. The roles show that 48% of Rawdon's combat strength in Faringdon were men, 10% women in support and 42% "Posemen". A Poseman was a woman dressed as a soldier and normally used in the musket block as a sniper. The Posemen in Rawdon's were armed with long 28 bore muskets which were accurate to about 120 yards, compared with the men's 10 bore muskets which fired a heavier ball, but only accurately to about 40 yards. Rawdon appreciated in 1644 that for siege defence he needed long range snipers to defend the ramparts, recruiting a large number of female Posemen. So Faringdon was defended actually by a force made up of 52% women - the deadly majority who saw off Cromwell with heavy casualties. Incidentally, the musket ball on display in All Saints Church is of 28 bore calibre, so would have been fired by a female Poseman. Faringdon is lucky to have retained its civil war battlefield almost unchanged since 1646. The only change has been the demolition of the old Faringdon House. But the battle and siege site remains intact, with the bases of the earth rampart walls still easily seen in All Saint's churchyard, together with Cromwell's Battery site still being visible on Folly Hill. John Gillman March 2008 |
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