'The new normal – resentment in run-up to Battle of Worcester'

Damage, destruction and disease were slowly replaced by new buildings, fresh trade links and a country without a king.

However below this peaceful exterior, the country was still very uneasy and divided. Royalists met in secret and the gentry, many stripped of land and titles, hated this new world.

Sir William Russell was heavily fined for the part he played in the wars and the fine was set at one-third of the value of his estate, a large sum of £2,071. A levy of 25 per cent was made on every man’s estate in the city of Worcester too. This was because it did not resist the Royalists who had occupied it.

It is not known how many people died in the wars, but we do get a little insight by looking at surviving documents. The Parliament Survey for Worcestershire in 1649 mentions ‘Humfrey late husband to Mary was slain in the Parliament Service, and she left a poor widow in misery.’ It is worth highlighting that Humfrey was serving, like many, in the Parliament Army.

The damage to the city took a long time to repair. “All the houses without St Martyns Gate were burnt down and destroyed in the late unhappy warr.” It is estimated more than 400 houses were destroyed in the city – one-fifth of all the housing stock.

To ensure the war was over once and for all, the whole country became very militaristic, with Parliamentarian officers watching out for uprisings. Captain Andrew Yarranton was one Parliamentarian who was tasked to watch for local uprisings across Worcestershire.

In the summer of 1650, after living in exile in European Royal Courts, Charles, the son of King Charles I, returned to Britain. His advisers had encouraged him to land in Scotland and seek revenge on his father’s ‘Murders’.

This would involve a march on London and conclude with a restored ‘Stuart’ monarchy; a bold plan that would require a large field Army and an effective supply train. News would have reached Worcester slowly and it was thought that the Parliamentarians would destroy this uprising before Charles had time to recruit an Army to his cause.

Cromwell fought and defeated a new Scottish Army at Dunbar on September 3 1650. Accounts vary, but the Royalists seem to have lost over 4,000 men, with many prisoners being marched to Durham. Archaeologists found a mass grave near Durham Cathedral in 2015. Evidence showed these men to have been Scottish prisoners of war from 1650.

Following this Scottish battle, Cromwell occupied Scotland and began massing a force to complete what he had started at Dunbar – the complete annihilation of this new Royalist force before it could march South.

The Royalists moved to Stirling and the Parliamentarians took Edinburgh and the nearby Port of Leith. The capture of the Port of Leith would mean reinforcements and supplies could be moved to Scotland from London faster than marching the length of the country.

This angered Charles who had hoped Leslie, his Commander, would hold on to these strategically important locations.

The events in Scotland, over 300 miles away, were of no real interest to the weavers and spinners of the city of Worcester. They had seen what Cromwell and the New Model Army could do, and thought this outbreak of further Civil War would remain in Scotland.

This year Discover History will explain the events 370 years ago, as we move towards the Anniversary of the Battle of Worcester in September.

Tours of the Battlefield and Civil War themed Walking Tours of the City Centre are available all year round for groups and individuals – more details at discover-history.co.uk