Weymouth and Melcombe Regis in the

Time of the Great Civil War.

By W. BOWLES BARRETT.

(Read March 5th, 1910.)

MY Paper deals with the part which Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, the twin-towns by the Wey, played in the Great Civil War, and with some local incidents of the interregnum. No connected and detailed account of these stirring events has ever appeared. I shall, therefore, endeavour to

fill up this gap in the town records. It

is true that we have been promised for some time past a work on the Civil War in Dorset, but it has not yet been published.*

The feelings of bitter antagonism which sprang up between Charles I., on the one hand, and the House of Commons

46

Since this Paper was read, The Great Civil War in Dorset, 1642-1660 " by A. R. Bayley, B.A., Oxon., F.R.H.S., has appeared-a truly admirable work (Barnicott and Pearce, The Wessex Press, Taunton).

and a large part of the nation behind it, on the other hand, and which, ultimately, led to the Great Civil War and the Puritan Revolution, are so well known, that I need not touch upon that part of the subject.

The war broke out in August, 1642, and continued until the battle of Worcester, in 1651, that is to say, for a period of nine years. The towns of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, and the Island and Castle of Portland, were of great importance, owing to their geographical position, especially their nearness to the French coast.*

THE FORTS.

A fine Fourteenth century church, was, at the commencement of the war, standing on the Chapelhaye, Weymouth, and was reached by 70 steps from the street below. By its commanding position, on the top of a precipitous cliff, it was admirably adapted for a stronghold, and was speedily converted by the Parliamentary troops into a fort called "the Chapel Fort." As this fort commanded Melcombe (which lay on low ground to the front), as also a part of the harbour, it was, throughout the war, the key to the local situation. Another fort was erected at the Nothe to command the harbour and the bay. Platforms for artillery were set up at both these forts. Earthworks were thrown up, some at the then northern entrance to Melcombe Regis, and others just a little north of the junction of St. Thomas Street with Lower Bond Street, extending thence westwards probably to the Backwater. Several drawbridges were built and town gates erected, the positions of which are long since forgotten.

*Weymouth proper lies on the south side, and Melcombe Regis (the more modern part of the Borough) on the North side of the harbour.

WEYMOUTH AND MELCOMBE FOR THE PARLIAMENT.

We naturally enquire whether the Weymouth and Melcombe people were mainly on the side of the Royalists or on that of the Parliament. Like the neighbouring towns of Poole, Dorchester, and Lyme Regis, they were for the most part decidedly in favour of the Parliament. In fact, the townsfolk throughout the South and East of England were to a great extent disaffected. As regards Weymouth and Melcombe, it is suggestive that, almost immediately on the outbreak of the war, and apparently without fighting, the towns fell into the hands of the Parliamentary forces, commanded by Sir Walter Erle and Sir Thomas Trenchard, who garrisoned and fortified them.* The Parliament also took possession, about the ame time, of the coast towns of Lyme Regis and Poole, also of Portland and Dorchester. This was in August and September, 1642. Colonel William Sydenham, son-in-law of John Trenchard, of Warmwell, was appointed Governor of the towns of Weymouth and Melcombe. He was a leading figure in the subsequent contests.†

Both Weymouth and Melcombe were (as I am about to relate), subsequently taken and retaken several times by the opposing forces, the fate of the towns generally depending on that of Portland, the "Gibraltar of Wessex."

BOTH TOWNS SEIZED BY THE ROYALISTS, AUGUST, 1643.

Weymouth and Melcombe having remained in the hands of the Parliament for about a year, the Earl of Carnarvon (who had taken Bristol on behalf of the King, and was making

* 2 Hut. Hist. Dors., Ed. 3, 423.

†The Governor's residence was on or near the site of Steward's Court, in Melcombe Regis. The lane in which the Court is situate is still known as Governor's Lane."

a successful progress through Dorset with nearly 2,000 Horse and Dragoons), obtained the surrender of Dorchester, Weymouth, Melcombe, and Portland, and handed them over to Prince Maurice, the King's Nephew, who had arrived with the Foot and cannon. This occurred early in August, 1643. The sight of these Ironsides in their heavy breastplates and steel morions, armed with musketoons, pistols and swords, must have been a striking one for the townsfolk, who, as yet, had seen but little of war. We may suppose that Carnarvon's cavalry paraded in front of the bay, and that part of his horses were stabled in the late Priory in Maiden Street, then in ruins.

The conditions on which the towns had capitulated, with their arms, ordnance and ammunition, were that the inhabitants should not be plundered, nor suffer for any ill they had done; but, unfortunately for the townsmen, Prince Maurice's troops got quite out of hand and committed great ravages. They plundered the houses of the townsmen and, laden with booty, shouted and howled with joy. In fact, the articles agreed on at the surrender of the towns were so ill observed, that Carnarvon, who was a man of high honour, resented this conduct so much that he indignantly threw up his command and returned to the King at the siege of Gloucester. Matters were not improved for the townsmen by the landing at Weymouth in the following November of a body of 300 Irish soldiers under Lord Inchiquin, in support of the Royal forces.*

As to Portland, it was a Royal manor, and one of the King's strongholds. It was of great importance as a base, not only on account of its inherent strength, but also of its proximity to Weymouth bay and harbour. The treasure and rich furniture which the rebels had but lately taken from Wardour Castle and elsewhere, had been lodged by them in Portland Castle, a prize which now fell to the Royalists.

*Whitelock, p. 76.