Sherborne in the English Civil War
Write down the title and date.
Then attempt the starter.
Starter:
You have 3 minutes to
complete the word search you
have been given.
Try and find all the words
linked to the Civil War.
Learning Outcomes:
• To describe Sherborne’s
role in the English Civil War.
• To explain the impact of
the war on different groups
of people.
• To assess the local impact
of a national conflict.
Did you find them all?
C R L D U I N D S V N
I O G H J K Y L I S E
L U F G H H J L K H W
O N F L L W E E M I M
H D B N P P Y W C P O
T H A C I U Q M X T D
A E I H O R P O N A E
C A V A L I E R S X L
S D R R N T M C P D A
L S O L W A L W A S R
E C R E T N O A D Y M
W E M S N S O T A R Y
What on Earth Happened Here?
The destruction of Sherborne
Castle started during the Civil
War. A heavily fortified castle,
surrounded by a cute little
village.

But why on earth was this

adorable Dorset town
attacked?
Sherborne was a bit of a hub of It’s location made it an important
power, controlled by the Digby centre. Not only was it close to
family- many of the residents of the coast, but also on the route to
the town were his tenants. Bristol and London.

So whose side was Digby on? Why would this be so important?

ROYALIST HUB

Sherborne was also home to a lot

of Clubmen- local lords who
presided over large areas of land. Because of these factors
Sherborne saw a lot of fighting as
So whose side did they fight on? part of the Civil war.
 Our task: Looking at Sherborne’s experience of
the English Civil War
1642:
On 5 August 1642, the King’s commander in the south-west, William Seymour, arrived
in Sherborne with Royalist troops, to help strengthen Sherborne’s Old Castle.

In retaliation, the Parliamentarian Earl of Bedford placed an army camp along

Coldharbour, but his cannons were ineffective against the castle.

By September, the Earl of Bedford had withdrawn to Yeovil, where he fought and won
the Battle of Babylon Hill.

Feeling more confident after his victory at Babylon Hill, the Earl of Bedford returned to
Sherborne, and attacked and destroyed part of the Old Castle.

Fearing defeat, Seymour agreed to surrender the Old Castle, on the condition that he
and his troops were spared their lives. The Earl of Bedford agreed, and Seymour and
Lord Digby fled to Wales with their Royalist troops.

The Parliamentarians now occupied Sherborne’s Old Castle.

1643:
In February, a small Royalist force took the Old Castle back.

In April, Seymour and Lord Digby marched back towards Sherborne.

A Parliamentary force under Colonel Popham was ordered to stop Seymour and Digby from
entering Sherborne.

However, Popham’s force disobeyed their orders and began fighting the townspeople of
Sherborne in an area called the Shambles. Ten townspeople were killed, and the town was
pillaged.

1644:
Things were good for the Royalists in 1644. They controlled the West, and King Charles even had
a picnic in Sherborne Park in October!

At this point- who would you money be on?

Why is that?

What is going to have to change to change the outcome for

the Parliamentarians?
1645:
In August, the top Parliamentary Generals Thomas Fairfax and
Oliver Cromwell began to worry that a large amount of
Clubmen would gather at the Old Castle.

To stop this from happening, Fairfax and Cromwell sought to

‘get the castle’, which was by this point occupied by Sir Lewis
Dyves and his Royalist regiment.

Whilst Cromwell fought the Clubmen in Shaftesbury, Fairfax

began to batter Sherborne’s Old Castle from the east. Miners
were used to dig under the castle walls, and on 14 August the
walls were breached.

Dyves tried to surrender, but Fairfax stormed the castle,

capturing: 9 nobles; 3 Royalist MPs; 20 officers; 70 local men;
600 soldiers; and a considerable amount of horses and
weapons.

On 21 August an order was given to blow the castle up using

gunpowder. These orders were carried out in October 1645,
and Sherborne’s Old Castle was almost destroyed.

Lord Digby was banished from the country, and his estates
were confiscated by Parliament.
 So how much were you actually paying
attention to? True or false?
1. Most of the people who lived in Sherborne
during the English Civil War were tenants of Lord TRUE
Digby.

2. Clubmen were on the side of Parliament. FALSE

3. The Earl of Bedford won a battle at Babylon Hill

(Yeovil) in September 1643. TRUE

4. Oliver Cromwell had a picnic in Sherborne Park in

FALSE
October 1644.

5. Sir Lewis Dyves was the leader of the Royalists

within the Old Castle during the siege of 1645. TRUE

6. The Parliamentarian General Thomas Fairfax

managed to enter the Old Castle by going over FALSE
the walls.
 Your task: Clubman or Parliamentarian?
You are going to write a letter
about the fall of Sherborne’s
Old Castle.
Either –
Pretend to be a Royalist
Clubman from Sherborne, inside
the Old Castle during the climax
to the siege of 1645.
Or
Pretend to be a Parliamentary
Roundhead from London who
has marched down to Sherborne
to ‘get the castle’.
Success Criteria: Things to
include:
• Key events of/leading up to the
siege of 1645
• Your feelings and attitudes, and
those of the people around you
• Accurate historical details (e.g.
guns, uniforms, features in
Sherborne)
• Pictures that you have found
online/drawn
• A summary of why you have
chosen to fight for your
particular cause