Historic axe to go under the hammer

A civil war axe discovered by a young boy on Padworth Common will be auctioned in Bristol later this month

A CIVIL War axe, discovered by a young boy on Padworth Common around half a century ago, is to go under the hammer in Bristol later this month.

According to Newbury fine art auctioneers' Dreweatts, in the 1950's, a 12-year-old boy discovered the 17th century halberd on the common, the site of a bloody Civil War skirmish, in which 300 men were said to have lost their lives and lay buried in large pits.

This conflict followed the defeat of the Royalists by the Roundheads at the First Battle of Newbury in 1643, when Prince Rupert and his cavalry surprised the Roundhead Earl of Essex and his Regiment of Foot at Padworth Gulley.

“It is not beyond the realms of possibility that this handsome 17th century axe head should be a relic of this historic skirmish,” said Dreweatts' spokeswoman, Vanessa Clewes Salmon, of the halberd with central spike, forward leaning blade and pierced with slipped circles.

This extraordinary piece of local history, with a pre sale estimate of £200-300 and is on sale at Dreweatts' Bristol branch on Tuesday, March 29.