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The Vale in the seventeenth century During the first three decades of the seventeenth century the power-sharing relationship between King Charles I and Parliament progressively broke down. Conflicts over religion, power and money overlapped to create widespread dissatisfaction. Among Charles I's more unpopular acts were ruling without Parliament for eleven years (1629–40), imposing Ship Money Tax, and controversial religious policies – especially in Scotland – which led to rebellions. When Charles I failed to arrest five Members of Parliament in January 1642 he left London. By way of response in March 1642 Parliament passed the Militia Ordinance, giving itself control over the military – a move the king had not approved. Charles raised the royal standard at Nottingham on August 22, 1642, thereby making a formal declaration of war, although the first battle was not until October 1642 which took place at Edgehill, Warwickshire, and had an inconclusive outcome. Professor Ronald Hutton's underestimation, written back in 1991, was 'it was not altogether a nice war'. A number of battles and a great many skirmishes and seiges took place between 1642 and 1648. The three sieges of Newark between 1643 and 1646 would have had an impact on the northern part of the Vale. The ruins of Woolsthorpe Old Church in 1790 with the seventeenth-eighteenth century castle in the distance. From John Nichols' The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester. The site of Woolsthorpe Old Church in 2025. Another of the sieges led to the partial demolition of Belvoir Castle and a fire destroyed the original church at Woolsthorpe. A decisive Parliamentary victory at Preston in 1648 led to the execution of Charles I in January 1649. Two of the regicides resided in the Vale. Colonel Francis Hacker Francis Hacker was born about 1618 and executed in 1660. I have already described his life at Stathern in this entry: the Vale's very own regicide Colonel John Hutchinson Colonel John Hutchinson (1615–64) was an English politician and army officer who lived at Owthorpe and played a significant role during the English Civil War. He was a Member of the House of Commons of England from 1648 to 1653 and briefly in 1660. Hutchinson was a prominent Puritan leader and served in the parliamentary army. As a member of the high court of justice in 1649, he was one of the fifty-nine Commissioners who signed Charles I's death warrant. He died in prison before being tried. Wikipedia has more details about Colonel John Hutchinson. Other remarkable seventeenth century folk in the Vale Clearly the mid-seventeenth century was not all about warfare. Three people living in the Vale are remembered for their entirely civilian lives. Lucy Hutchinson John Hutchinson married his wife, Lucy, in 1638. They had nine children, brought up at Owthorpe. But she still found time to be the first named person to translate the complete text of Lucretius's De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things) into English verse (an anonymous prose version was written about the same time). Hutchinson's other works included Order and Disorder, arguably the first epic poem written by a woman in the English language. The work is a verse paraphrase of the Book of Genesis, akin to John Milton's Paradise Lost which was written about the same time Hutchinson was writing Order and Disorder. After her husband died Lucy wrote a biography of him which reveals many details of living as a Puritan in the seventeenth century. Wikipedia has more details about Lucy Hutchinson and the village of Owthorpe and it's intriguing church with one-handed clock. Thomas Daffy Thomas Daffy (circa 1620 to 1680) was appointed Rector at Harby but allegedly offended the Countess of Rutland so was demoted to vicar at Redmile where he invented the once very famous Daffy's Elixir. Robert Thoroton Robert Thoroton (1623–78) reveals that the so-called 'great and the good' were sometimes 'great and evil'. See Car Colston's bigoted GP cum JP. The Restoration of the monarchy The Interregnum led by Oliver Cromwell from 1649 to 1660 did not quell dissatisfaction. After Cromwell's death in 1658 overlapping events led to Charles II being restored to the throne in 1660. This also meant the Church of England regained its pre-Interregnum status. One of the more remarkable ways of celebrating the Restoration of the monarchy was that four churches in the Vale commissioned new fonts, two of them visibly dated 1662. While the Church of England thrived, 'reformers' ('dissenters' to their detractors) did not fare well. The Conventicle Act of 1670 led to increased pressure on religious minorities. The Quakers, who had a strong presence throughout Nottinghamshire including the Vale, suffered persecution. As a result many Quakers emigrated to America – especially Pennsylvania. The century ended with another major conflict, this time the the Nine Years' War with France from 1688 to 1697. Privateering and piracy in the English Channel devastated trade. This, combined with poor coinage and repeated poor harvests, created a severe economic crisis that disproportionately affected the poor, who faced soaring prices for essential goods. The problems in the Vale were probably less serious than elsewhere because changes in landownership in the middle of the sixteenth century resulted in pastoral farming largely replacing arable, although the corn and beans still grown in the Vale were highly regarded. In some parts of the British Isles these economic problems in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries resulted in susbtantial emigration to America and other colonies. So far as I am aware no one has researched the numbers of people who might have emigrated from the Vale. I suspect there would have been some – especially those with more Puritan religious outlooks – but not a great number. From the perspective of the Vale of Belvoir the consequence of the Jacobite Rising of 1689–92 seems to be limited to the exile of King James II and the subsequent, more stable, reign of William and Mary from 1689 to 1702. Back to top of this page     Back to home page   This website does not gather or store any visitor information. Copyright Bob Trubshaw 2025 No unauthorised copying or reproduction except if all following conditions apply: a: Copy is complete (including this copyright statement). b: No changes are made. c: No charge is made. www.hoap.co.uk/chronicle

Chronicle entries home page what's new? the geology of the Vale the boundaries and rivers of the Vale long, long ago prehistory in the Vale prehistoric boundaries in the Vale north-south prehistoric routeways Romans roads in the Vale Roman settlements in and near the Vale long ago introduction to Anglo-Saxons place-names of the Vale waterborne transport around the sixth century Orston's early church Anglo-Saxon sculpture in the Vale why Orston lost out to Bingham and Bottesford what the Normans did for the Vale Granby's importance in 1086 Granby's lost castle the Vale's watermills in 1086 Romanesque sculpture in the Vale St Remigius why Bottesford is in Leicestershire the Vale in medieval times medieval gargoyles of the Vale Eastwell's chancel screen St Ethelburga's church other early saints Elston's old chapel Muston and Long Clawson saltways of the Vale the Vale's medieval tile collection the Vale in Tudor times Dissolution in the Vale not that long ago the Vale in the C17th the 'great and the good' of the Vale Bottesford's effigies 'wicked practice and sorcerye' the whales on the Whalley memorial Car Colston's bigoted GP cum JP the Vale's very own regicide Wiverton Hall five rare C17th fonts in the Vale pinfolds and pounds in the Vale dovecotes in the Vale the Vale in the C18th turnpiking the Vale gravestones and C18th trade routes goodbye 'Belvoir Angels' C18th gravestone carvers in the Vale Daffy's Elixir the Marquess of Granby Stilton from the Vale springs and spas of the Vale outstanding organs in the Vale Grantham canal changes in the Vale's agriculture since 1800 Eastwell's recusant priest house and chapel Colston Bassett's ruined church seems like yesterday windmills in the Vale stained glass in the Vale village life in the southern Vale 1850 to 1880 folklore of the Vale Flintham museum lacemaking in the Vale gypsum pits in the Vale brick and tile works in the Vale ironstone quarrying in the Vale ironstone railways ironstone quarries of Leicestershire (YouTube video) The Vale's railway stations Orston's famous architect Mothers Union banners of the Vale redundant telephone exchanges in the Vale WWII airfields and pillboxes in the Vale the Vale in 1944 location shooting at Belvoir Castle Screveton's giants researching and writing local history the Vale as a verb getting started free advice from 2005 asking curious questions (YouTube video) local history groups in and around the Vale Aslockton (Cranmer LHG) Bingham Heritage Trails Association Bottesford Eastwell Harby Harlaxton Hickling Redmile archive Belvoir Villages History and Memories Group Belvoir Angel Society Grantham Canal Society you may also be interested in free PDFs written by Bob Trubshaw Earliest Churches in Nottinghamshire How Anglo-Saxons Found Their Way Anglo-Saxon Leicestershire Conversations in Churchyards Little-known Leicestershire and Rutland Bob Trubshaw's YouTube channel Introduction to medieval carvings Anglo-Saxon and Romanesque carvings How Anglo-Saxons found their way Anglo-Saxon shrines at fords Meetings at triangles Rota's Land and Franni's Land Reading Romanesque fonts Church and manor The significances of square headdresses Early churches and waterborne trade Charnwood slate gravestones and C18th trade routes Ironstone quarries of Leicestershire Roman roads in north-east Leicestershire Salt ways in Leicestershire Why Melton Mowbray needed to called 'middle town' Evolving Anglo-Saxon agriculture Nottinghamshire's earliest churches Ploughs not piety? Economic regeneration in the C7th Were Anglo-Saxon weaving huts women-only places? Barrowby Until Now website Rutland Village by Village website Sepulchral Effigies of Leicestershire and Rutland