Siege of Newark
Who Fought
The Newark garrison fielded at times as many as 600 soldiers during the Civil War. No specific figure for the besieging Parliamentarian force is given in the sources.
History & Significance
Siege money or money of necessity was minted in Newark-on-Trent in 1646 during the third and final siege (1645–1646) — the last year of the First English Civil War. To meet need for money, the besieged Royalists set up a mint that manufactured lozenge-shaped coins — half-crowns, shillings, ninepences, and sixpences.
Royalist noblemen and gentlemen freely gave their flagons and drinking cups, and these were fashioned into the lozenge-shaped coins. On some of them it is possible to see the pattern of the cup and salver from which they were hastily cut.
The coins bore on the obverse a Royal crown between C R, and the value in Roman numerals; and on the reverse OBS Newark (OBS is an abbreviation of obsidium, Latin for siege), and the year 1645 or 1646, in which they were coined.
The year 1645 is confusing because all the coins were probably struck in 1646. Those struck with the year 1645 would have been struck before 25 March (the official start of the year Old Style) and those from 25 March with 1646.
The First English Civil War (1642–1646), commenced when the King Charles I raised his standard at Nottingham on 22 August 1642, 20 miles (32 km) south west of Newark. The town was a mainstay of the Royalist (Cavalier) cause: "Newark was besieged on three occasions and finally surrendered only when ordered to do so by the King after his own surrender". The town fielded at times as many as 600 soldiers, and raided many nearby towns of the opposing Parliamentarians (Roundheads). At the end of 1644 it was besieged, but relieved in March by Prince Rupert. Parliament commenced a new siege towards the end of January 1645 following more raiding, but this was relieved after a month. The final siege began in November 1645, by which time the town's defences had been greatly strengthened. King Charles surrendered at Southwell, 8 miles (13 km) west of Newark, on 5 May 1646. He ordered Newark to surrender, which accepted under protest by the town's garrison.
Coins were issued dated 1645 and 1646. Those struck in 1645 have face values of thirty, twelve, and nine pence; while those struck in 1646 have in addition sixpences. The general design of these coins is the same, the obverse having within a pearled border the letters C R on each side of a crown, and the value expressed beneath in Roman numerals; whilst upon the reverse was the legend OBS NEWARK, with the date beneath, in Arabic figures. All the coins issued from Newark are struck upon lozenge-shaped flans, which flans were apparently cut directly from the dishes, trenchers, and other varieties of silver plate, in the town, or obtained from Royalist adherents in the neighbouring country districts. Also silver from plundered from Leicester including the corporation's plate.
The ground they fought on
The site of Siege of Newark lies on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.
So acute was the financial strain of the final siege that the besieged garrison established its own mint, with Royalist noblemen and gentlemen freely contributing their flagons and drinking cups to be fashioned into lozenge-shaped coins; on some of the resulting pieces it is still possible to make out the pattern of the cup or salver from which they were hastily cut, a striking testament to the extremity to which the defenders were reduced before King Charles ordered their surrender in May 1646.
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