Reasons for Designation
The battles and sieges of the English Civil War (1642-52) between King and
Parliament were the last major active military campaigns to be undertaken on
English soil and have left their mark on the English landscape in a variety of
ways. Fieldworks are earthworks which were raised during the military
campaigns to provide temporary protection for infantry or to act as gun
emplacements. The earthworks, which may have been reinforced with revetting
and palisades, consisted of banks and ditches and varied in complexity from
simple breastworks to complex systems of banks and interconnecting trenches.
They can be recognised today as surviving earthworks or as crop or soil marks
on aerial photographs. They are recorded widely throughout England, with
concentrations in the main areas of campaigning, and have been recognised to
be unique in representing the only evidence on the ground of military
campaigns fought in England since the introduction of guns.
Newark was a key garrison held by the Royalists from the outbreak of the Civil
War in 1642 until it surrendered on the orders of the King in 1646. The town
was surrounded by a series of offensive and defensive fieldworks, many of
which survive to the present day. They are the most impressive surviving
collection of such works in England; not only do extensive remains survive,
but the whole system is recorded on two nearly contemporary plans, one by a
Royalist engineer, the other by a Parliamentarian. They thus provide a unique
opportunity for the study of the field engineering of the Civil War. All
surviving examples of the Newark siegeworks are identified to be nationally
important.
Details
The monument includes the remains of the Civil War village defences at
Coddington constructed by the Parliamentarian forces besieging Newark in 1645-
1646.
The monument is in two parts and consists of linear earthwork banks defining
low ramparts. The first section comprises an `L'-shaped rampart measuring a
maximum of 13m in width and 0.5m in height which runs for approximately 34m
east from Balderton Lane before turning sharply and continuing for a further
40m on a north-south axis. The second section of rampart is a maximum of 12m
in width and 0.5m in height and runs for up to 60m on a north-south axis from
the northern boundary of the Homestead.
A contemporary plan drawn by the Parliamentarian Richard Clampe clearly
depicts a series of defences enclosing the southern half of Coddington and
describes them as `Colonel Gray's Quarter'. Documentary sources record that
during the third and final siege of Newark between November 1645 and May 1646
the headquarters of the Parliamentarian regiment of Colonel Theophilus Gray
were located at Coddington. The earthworks are interpreted as representing the
remains of the south east corner of the defences, intended to offer protection
to a temporary encampment within. Further remains of the village defences have
been obscured by later settlement and activity and are not included in the
scheduling.
All modern fences and trackways are excluded from the scheduling, although the
ground beneath them is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
30238
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
