Clubmen
Encyclopedia
Clubmen were bands of vigilantes during the English Civil War
(1642–1651) who tried to protect their localities against the worst excesses of the respective armies of both sides in the war. They sought to club together to prevent their wives and daughters being raped by soldiers of both sides, themselves being forcibly conscripted to fight by one side or the other, their crops and property being damaged or seized by the armies and their lives threatened or intimidated by soldiers, battle followers, looters, deserters or refugees. As their name suggests, they were mostly armed with cudgels, flail
s, scythe
s and sickle
s fastened to long poles. They were otherwise unarmed.
Initially Clubmen gatherings came together spontaneously in response to the actions of soldiers in their localities. But as the war went on Clubmen in some areas were organised by the local gentry and local churchmen and were a force which both sides in the war had to take into account when planning a campaign and garrisoning some areas, particularly in the south and west. The Clubmen, distinguishing themselves by white ribbands, were of a third party, neither Royalist nor Parliamentarian, and they were repressed severely by the authorities on both sides. Though Lord Fairfax
met with clubmen and negotiated with them, eventually he moved against them.
High Sheriff of Worcestershire
.
surrounded and dispersed 1000 Clubmen at Shaftesbury
. Stiffer resistance was met by Cromwell in attacking a larger group in the ancient hillfort on Hambledon Hill. An hour's fighting killed 60 Clubmen and captured 400, half of whom were wounded. They were held in the church at Shrewton. Parliamentarian sources claimed that they had been stirred up by "malignant priests", for vicars and curates were among the captives. Those who swore to the Covenant
were subsequently released, the others sent to London.
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
(1642–1651) who tried to protect their localities against the worst excesses of the respective armies of both sides in the war. They sought to club together to prevent their wives and daughters being raped by soldiers of both sides, themselves being forcibly conscripted to fight by one side or the other, their crops and property being damaged or seized by the armies and their lives threatened or intimidated by soldiers, battle followers, looters, deserters or refugees. As their name suggests, they were mostly armed with cudgels, flail
Flail
A flail is an agricultural implement for threshing.Several tools operate similarly to the agricultural implement and are also called flails:...
s, scythe
Scythe
A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...
s and sickle
Sickle
A sickle is a hand-held agricultural tool with a variously curved blade typically used for harvesting grain crops or cutting succulent forage chiefly for feeding livestock . Sickles have also been used as weapons, either in their original form or in various derivations.The diversity of sickles that...
s fastened to long poles. They were otherwise unarmed.
Initially Clubmen gatherings came together spontaneously in response to the actions of soldiers in their localities. But as the war went on Clubmen in some areas were organised by the local gentry and local churchmen and were a force which both sides in the war had to take into account when planning a campaign and garrisoning some areas, particularly in the south and west. The Clubmen, distinguishing themselves by white ribbands, were of a third party, neither Royalist nor Parliamentarian, and they were repressed severely by the authorities on both sides. Though Lord Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron was a general and parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War...
met with clubmen and negotiated with them, eventually he moved against them.
Woodbury Declaration
Organised Clubmen in Worcestershire met on Woodbury Hill on 5 March 1645 and under the leadership of Charles Nott, the Parson of Shelsley drew up the Woodbury Declaration which protests the "utter ruin by the outrages and violence of the soldier; threatening to fire our houses; endeavouring to ravish our wives and daughters, and menacing our persons", and presented it to Henry Bromley (of Holt), the RoyalistCavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
High Sheriff of Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
.
Dispersing the Clubmen
In Dorset, on 2 August 1645, Colonel Charles FleetwoodCharles Fleetwood
Charles Fleetwood was an English Parliamentary soldier and politician, Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1652–55, where he enforced the Cromwellian Settlement. At the Restoration he was included in the Act of Indemnity as among the twenty liable to penalties other than capital, and was finally...
surrounded and dispersed 1000 Clubmen at Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is a town in Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 718 feet above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset...
. Stiffer resistance was met by Cromwell in attacking a larger group in the ancient hillfort on Hambledon Hill. An hour's fighting killed 60 Clubmen and captured 400, half of whom were wounded. They were held in the church at Shrewton. Parliamentarian sources claimed that they had been stirred up by "malignant priests", for vicars and curates were among the captives. Those who swore to the Covenant
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...
were subsequently released, the others sent to London.
Further reading
- The Civil War in Worcestershire, Historic Environment and Archaeology Service, Worcestershire County Council
- Gladwish, P. "The Herefordshire Clubmen: A Reassessment" Midland History, 1985
- Hutton, R.E. "The Worcestershire Clubmen in the English Civil War" Midland History, 1979
- Osborne, S. "The War, the People, and the Absence of Clubmen in the Midlands, 1642-6" Midland History, 1994
- Underdown, David. "The chalk and the cheese: contrasts among the English clubmen", Past & Present 1979 85(1):25-48.