1993/01/01 by MALCOLM ATKIN, Malcolm Atkin, Russell Howes +1
Arts and Humanities · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Historical Economic and Social Studies #Historical Studies of British Isles #Scottish History and National Identity
paper · doi:10.1179/pma.1993.003
openalex publication_date 1993/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Gloucester played a notable role in shaping the events of the English Civil War. Its siege of 1643 was regarded by contemporaries as being a crucial factor in the downfall of the king. Yet the events at Gloucester often only receive cursory attention in the modern histories of the period. Apart from its intrinsic interest, a study of the Civil War in Gloucester also offers an opportunity to assess the range of contributions that different types of evidence can make to the period. Interest has been spurred both by recent archaeological evidence and also with the study of previously unpublished documentary evidence. The difficulty in reconciling the sources also offers a case study for scholar in earlier periods in demonstrating the bias and limitations of the archaeological evidence. For historians, the documents also offer a number of examples of their distortion as propaganda, while the recent discovery of documents relating to a projected, but never completed, scheme of defence mooted in 1646 helps explain cartographic evidence which had previously been thought to represent either the siege defences or simply an 18th-century invention.