Henry Bourne, The History of Newcastle upon Tyne, Chapter IV Westgate (1736). [RGS Archives, ref: C13/22]
English Civil War
Newcastle was a Royalist bastion in the conflict between the Crown (King Charles I) and Parliament which exploded into the English Civil War (1642-1646).
Read on to find out more about the connections between the war and RGS.
Newcastle's coal was an essential resource for London and the Crown – and therefore an attractive prospect for the Parliamentarians to take control of.
Parliament soon allied with Scotland, particularly dangerous for Newcastle due to the towns’ proximity to the border. In 1644 the Scottish Army had Newcastle under siege for weeks. By 20th October the town walls had been breached.
The school was caught up in the conflict due to the central position of the Hospital buildings on the Westgate Road next to the town walls, where RGS was based at the time. During the siege, it is thought that the school buildings would have been damaged, and the library was mostly destroyed.
Did You Know?
‘Fortiter Defendit Triumphans’ is the motto for the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, translated from the Latin as ‘Triumphing by a brave defence’.
It was adopted during the Civil War, as a direct result of the defence of Newcastle for the Royalist cause against the Scottish Army and Parliamentarians.
You can see it along with the city’s coat of arms above the old entrance to RGS on Eskdale Terrace.
Old Novocastrians on Both Sides
Whilst Newcastle itself was on the Royalist side of the Civil War, Old Novocastrians could be found supporting both the Royalists and the Parliamentarians during the conflict.
Royalists/Royalist Sympathisers
Sir Alexander Davison (1565-1644) was a member of the Merchant Adventurers Company, Sheriff of Newcastle in 1611, and Mayor in 1626 & 1638. He was knighted in 1639 by Charles I. Davison was a staunch Royalist and fought to the death to defend Newcastle during the siege in 1644 - when he would have been around 80 years old.
Joseph Davison (1614-1644) was Alexander's son. He fought in the siege alongside his father; both were fatally wounded in the conflict and died on 19th October 1644.
Captain Cuthbert Carr (1619-1697) was Sheriff of Newcastle in 1643. Carr defended the Newgate in the Siege of Newcastle but had to surrender when White Fryer Tower and Sandgate were breached. He was later thought to be part of the Muggleswick Conspiracy, the 1663 plot in North-East England to stage an armed uprising against the government, parliament and church.
Sir Robert Ellison (1614-1678) was to become Sheriff of Newcastle after the Scottish army took over Newcastle in 1644 and deposed Sir John Marley and James Cole.
Captain Sir Thomas Liddell (1578-1652) of Ravensworth Castle, a merchant adventurer, MP and Mayor of Newcastle. He was a Royalist during the Civil War and was in the garrison defending Newcastle during the Siege of Newcastle in 1644. Whilst not an Old Novo himself, he sent his son Sir Thomas Liddell (1603-1627) to RGS.
Richard Holdsworth (1590-1649) was an academic theologian who served as Master of Emmanuel College Cambridge 1637-1643 and Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University 1640-42. Due to his expression of sympathies with the Royalists, he was forced to leave his post and was imprisoned in the Tower of London by Parliament for a time. The King later appointed him to the Deanery of Worcester in 1647.
Parliamentarians/Opposition
The Lilburne brothers attended the school and became key names in the conflict. Robert Lilburne (1613-1665) was a Parliamentarian soldier, becoming Major General of North of England in 1649. Robert Lilburne was one of the regicides of King Charles I, one of the 59 commissioners who signed his execution warrant. After the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Lilburne was tried in court and sentenced to death, although this was later commuted to life imprisonment. He died in prison in August 1665.
A Revolutionary
Engraved portrait of John Lilburne, c.17th century.
John Lilburne (c.1614-1657), was Robert's brother. He became known as Freeborn John as leader of the Levellers movement. Whilst initially aligned with Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians, he later campaigned against them, advocating ideas of political freedom, human equality and freedom of speech. These radical ideas inspired the later French and American Revolutions.
Read more about John Lilburne in an ONA Magazine article by Sir Geoffrey Bindman (Issue 82, 2011, p.6):
Three Books That Survived a Scottish Siege
There are three books in our Archive that we know were part of the Library since before the Civil War in 1642.
They miraculously survived the destruction of the school Library during the Siege of Newcastle in 1644. Their existence gives us a unique insight into a conflict almost four centuries past.
Book 1: Father and Son Fight Together
These boards are all that survive of one book. The names in Latin on the cover show it was donated to RGS by Sir Alexander Davison (1565-1644) and his father-in-law William Hall (d.1631). Both served as Mayor of Newcastle, three times between them.
Sir Alexander Davison was knighted in 1639 by King Charles I. When Charles travelled to join the English Army at Bewick in May 1639 he stayed as a guest of Davison’s in Newcastle.
Davison was a staunch Royalist and fought to defend Newcastle during the siege in 1644 - when he would have been around 80 years old. He would have fought on the walls as a Lieutenant-Colonel. Joseph Davison (1614-1644) was Alexander's son. He fought in the siege alongside his father, both were fatally wounded in the conflict and died on 19th October.
Book 2: Martial's Epigrams
This is a copy of Martial’s, Epigrammatum Libri XV, published in 1617. Marcus Valerius Martialis, or Martial (c.38 AD – c104 AD) was a Roman poet born in Spain. He is best known for this work – his books of epigrams.
It was originally gifted to the school in 1633 by an Old Novo, Sir Lionel Maddison (1594-1646), who became Mayor of Newcastle. It was later repaired in 1931, funded by Lord Plender when the Plender Library opened.
During 1633, the year Maddison was Lord Mayor, Charles I visited Newcastle on his way to his Scottish coronation. He dined with Maddison and knighted him a week later. Later that same year, Maddison presented RGS with this book!
Book 3: A Greek Encyclopaedia
This is a copy of a Greek encyclopaedia called the Suidas Lexicon Græcum, Vol 1 of 2, published in 1619. Originally compiled in the 10th century, it is one of the earliest known Greek dictionaries.
Our copy was originally gifted to the school in 1620 by Captain Sir Thomas Liddell (1578-1652) of Ravensworth Castle, a merchant adventurer, MP and Mayor of Newcastle. He was a Royalist during the Civil War and was in the garrison defending Newcastle during the Siege of Newcastle in 1644.
It is likely to have been donated to RGS on the occasion of his son, Sir Thomas Liddell (1603-1627), leaving school.
