By habit Herefordshire was a county of Royalists, this is in spite of a lack of resident royalist nobility. The only truly local nobleman was Viscount Scudamore of Holme Lacy.

There were many powerful gentry class families in Herefordshire, such as the Kyrles, Hoptons and Vaughans. These families owned land in the county and were well educated and prosperous. The Parliamentarian cause was supported by an educated minority which was led by Robert Harley of Brampton Bryan, in the north of the county.

In 1630-40 King Charles I upset his most loyal supporters as well as his opponents by undertaking a period of absolute rule without any consultation of Parliament. Charles I further antagonised the country by funding this rule with the re-introduction of taxes that had long been forgotten. One of these taxes, called Ship Money (a tax levied on inland counties) hit Herefordshire hard.

Herefordshire was assessed as owing £4,500 with the districts of Hereford paying £250 of that sum and Leominster £100. The county had been hit by pestilence and poor harvests and the price of cattle was low due to competition from foreign breeders. An episode of the plague in 1637 had caused Ross to a state of severe poverty whilst the parishes of Yatton, Walford and Bridstow had been decimated. The first assessment was reduced to £3,500 and then to £1,200 in 1638.

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In 1640 the Mayor of Hereford refused to pay the tax and in the same year one of the orders of the Long Parliament was to abolish this tax.

In the same year the landed gentry of Herefordshire lodged a petition. They challenged the jurisdiction of the Court of Wales and the Marches, based at Ludlow in Shropshire, that governed them at local level. They said that Herefordshire was an ancient English county and formed no part of Wales or the Marches. The petition was signed by a variety of men from both the Royalist and Parliamentary factions.

In 1640 war in Scotland forced Charles I to summon a Parliament. In Herefordshire the elections were divided between Royalist and Roundhead members. Fitzwilliam Coningsby of Hampton Court (Cavalier) and Robert Harley of Brampton Bryan (Roundhead) were chosen to represent the county. Hereford elected Richard Seaborne (Royalist) and Richard Weaver (Magistrate and Parliamentarian). Leominster chose 2 lawyers Samson Eure of Gatley Park (Parliamentarian) and Walter Kyrle of Walford (Royalist). Only Weobley remained staunchly Royalist.

In Herefordshire the most loyal supporter of the Parliamentary regime was Sir Robert Harley and his wife Brilliana of Brampton Bryan. Sir Robert Harley was called away to represent Herefordshire as a MP in London at the beginning of the Civil War, leaving Lady Brilliana to guard Brampton Bryan castle.

Brampton Bryan Castle became isolated from the rest of the royalist county, many of Lady Brilliana’s friends and neighbours supported the loyalist cause and had abandoned her because of her loyalties. With Sir Robert Harley still in London it was up to Lady Brilliana to ensure the safety of her family and tenants who had been mocked and threatened in the street.

In 1642 there were rumours of a military force gathering against the castle. In 1643 a War Council had decided to destroy Brampton Bryan Castle. Sir William Vavasour, Governor of Hereford, wrote a letter to Prince Rupert saying that he would not be able to collect half the contributions he had been promised for the Royalist cause unless he made an attack on Sir Robert Harley’s castle.

Sir William tried to persuade Lady Harley to surrender but she refused and the cavaliers gathered together 600 men to attack the castle. The garrison inside the castle consisted of a mere 100 men, 2 small wall-mounted cannons and 2 months supply of gunpowder. The garrison was led by the veteran sergeant Hackluyt. On the 27th of July Lord Molyneaux led mounted troops and foot soldiers with cannons into position. Lady Harley believing she was fighting for the more righteous cause refused to be swayed.

Brampton Bryan Gatehouse ©C. Musson

Colonel Henry Lingen commanded the Royalist forces in the 7 week siege of the castle, during which time the Royalists even poisoned the castle water supply in the hope of forcing surrender.

On the 30^th of July the church in front of the castle was taken by the Royalists who installed a gun in its steeple. This gun was used to fire at the castle but fortunately for Lady Brilliana the damage was less than it may have been. The attackers then turned to the village burning much of it down but still the defenders of the castle refused to give in.

In October of 1643 Lady Brilliana died of a cold that had been exacerbated by the stress of the ongoing siege. She entrusted the castle to her great friend Dr. Nathaniel Wright. A year later Sir Michael Woodhouse attacked the castle and using mines and better artillery he succeeded in taking the castle.

Despite of this long siege for the main Hereford remained a peaceful county throughout the Civil War, with no pitched battles taking place in the county. Hereford’s main value throughout his time was a a supplier of provisions, horses and men for active service elsewhere.

Hereford had been under a peaceful Royalist rule until 1645 when a surprise attack by Colonels Morgan and Birch brought the city under Parliamentarian rule. Leominster gave in more willingly and was well advised to do so as Colonel Birches men had fired their muskets in the storming of Hereford which meant that they could capture the city by assault rather than surrender, which would have then made plundering legal.

Sir Henry Lingen of Sutton St Michael, who had been Sheriff of the county in 1638, kept the Royalist cause alive in Herefordshire. In 1646 he had been in Hereford during its capture by Parliamentarians but he and Sir Barnaby Scudamore had escaped across the frozen river Wye. They rode to the vacant Goodrich Castle in the south of the county, which they fortified with 200 men. Lingen and his men were experienced soldiers with vast experience and knowledge of the surrounding countryside, they were able to defend the castle and bother the enemy at the same time.

Goodrich Castle

Colonel Birch was the Parliamentarian who led the siege against Lingen, at one stage he broke into the outer area of the castle and set fire to the stables and outbuildings. Henry Lingen took this chance to recapture Hereford where he killed the watchmen and led his troops into the city. Henry Lingen was lacking in support for his attack and a garrison of Parliamentarians was gathered against him forcing him to retreat to Goodrich Castle.

The defenders of the castle remained strong despite colonel Birch bringing in the huge cannon called ‘Roaring Meg’ to destroy the castle around them. The defenders eventually surrendered and their lives were spared, they walked out proudly to a traditional tune from that point on known as ‘Henry Lingen’s Fancy.’

Henry Lingen was forced to take a covenant which forbade him from taking up arms again, but in 1648, when it seemed that the Royalist fortunes might turn he began to organise an uprising in the Prince of Wales’ favour. Lingen planned to ally the counties of Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire and restore the power of the Crown. The uprising was a failure and Lingen was taken prisoner, he died in 1662.

The monarchy and the House of Lords were abolished and Parliament established a Commonwealth run by a Council of State. During the Commonwealth Herefordshire was governed by a committee system. Regionally the county belonged to an Association, which included Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire and South Wales. At county level it was governed by a committee, who organised the confiscation and redistribution of royalist estates and imposed regular taxes.

There were only a few attempts to reinstate the Royalist cause in Herefordshire but the parliamentarians were well aware of the threat that the Royalist supporters posed to Parliament and were on their guard. Silas Taylor was once accused of holding a royalist supporters meeting under the guise of a musical concert.

It wasn’t until the Restoration that the nobility of Herefordshire had a chance to regain their influence over Herefordshire.

MG