All the King's Men

Norman Bainbridge looks at the events to mark Nottinghamshire's role in the English Civil War.

The vital role played by Nottinghamshire people and places in the English Civil War is being marked in this 350th anniversary year by no less than fifty-six events across the county.

A packed programme of re-enactments, drama, music, exhibitions, readings and lectures began in April and runs to November. Many are centred around the castles of Nottingham and Newark, rallying points for the Royalist cause.

The raising of King Charles I's standard near Nottingham Castle at 6pm on August 22nd, 1642, will be re-enacted at exactly the same time and in the very same place by members of the Sealed Knot, including contingents from Australia, France, Germany and the USA.

Totally destroyed after the Civil War, the castle was replaced by a ducal mansion in 1674 which, in 1875, was converted into the first municipal museum and art gallery outside London.

This summer its fine collection of ceramics, silver and glass, pictures and sculptures, is joined by the Royal Armouries' travelling exhibition on the Civil War which gives a fitting glimpse of the first castle's royal connections.

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