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First Battle of Newbury anniversary remembered




Hundreds gather at Falkland Memorial for interpretation panel unveiling

NEWBURY’S Civil War history was brought to life with pike and shot at an unveiling ceremony to mark the First Battle of Newbury.

A crowd of 300 people gathered at the Falkland Memorial in Wash Common on Sunday to witness the unveiling of a new interpretation panel explaining the battle.

The battle was a major engagement of the English Civil War, and saw the Royalist forces clash with the Parliamentarians roughly along the line of the Andover Road and Enborne on September 20, 1643.

The battle saw the death of Charles I’s secretary of state, Lucius Cary 2nd Viscount Falkland.

Spurring his horse “more gallantly than advisedly” the viscount charged to attack the Parliamentarians at Round Hill – to the north west of Battle Road – and was cut down by a volley of musket fire.

Viscount Falkland, who was unhappy about the war, was aged 33 when he died. The Falkland Memorial is named after him.

Neither side could claim victory from the battle but the royalists withdrew from the field owing to low supplies.

Newbury showed the parliamentarians for the first time that the king could be beaten.

The interpretation panel was unveiled on the 372nd anniversary of the First Battle of Newbury.

The ceremony was performed by the director general of the National Trust, Dame Helen Ghosh, and the present (15th) Lord Falkland.

Lord Falkland talked movingly of his ancestor, whom he described as a great moderating voice of the time, depressed and frustrated by his inability to bring about any peace or reconciliation between the two warring sides.

Dame Helen spoke of the National Trust, which owns the monument, and that the trust lives with the past but thinks of the future.

She said that the Falkland Memorial and others like it help people to understand the relevance of the event they commemorate so that children can learn from them.

The visitor’s panel was the idea of Wash Common’s former local bobby, Dave Stubbs.

A large number of local volunteers and organisations were involved in bringing about the scheme, including The National Trust, Newbury Town Council, the Battlefield Trust and Newbury and District Field Club.

After the unveiling, the Sealed Knot Society demonstrated pike and musket drill.

Visitors then took in a guided tour of the battlefield led by Mr Stubbs.



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