The Market Harborough Civil War Hoard

[John Conduitt]

This is the grand name given to a modest collection of coins found by a detectorist in Gumley, near Market Harborough, Leicestershire, in 2020 (Portable Antiquities Scheme: NARC-51AB00). It comprises 5 coins, which passes the threshold for both a ‘hoard’ and ‘treasure’. The coins are misshapen, scratched and bent, as is typical for the era. Even so, it’s not often you get to own a whole hoard.

The Market Harborough Civil War Hoard

It’s a ‘Civil War hoard’ because of the latest coin, a Charles I sixpence from 1639-1640. The English Civil War commenced in 1642, at which point large numbers of coins were hidden and buried. As with many such hoards, this one was likely buried or lost around 1643, but the number of coins doesn’t allow accurate dating.

Charles I Group F Sixpence, 1639-1640

Tower. Silver, 2.72g. Triangle initial mark. Crowned Sixth Bust (Briot Type) left with VI behind; ·CAROL[VS DG].’MAG.’BRI:FR[A ET HI]B.’REX. Squared shield over cross pattée; [CHRISTO AV]SPIC[E REG]NO (S 2817). From the Market Harborough (Leicestershire) Hoard (2020). It certainly looks as if it circulated for a couple of years in a war zone before being buried.

Four of the coins are of Elizabeth I – three sixpences dated 1564, 1566 and 1581, and an undated shilling from 1589-1592. Civil War hoards typically contain sixpences and shillings of Elizabeth I and Charles I, along with a scattering of James I, Mary and Edward VI, which were all circulating at the time.

Elizabeth I Sixth Issue Shilling, 1589-1592

Tower. Silver, 5.83g. Hand initial mark. Crowned Bust 6B left; ELIZAB.’D.’G.’ANG.’FR.’ET:HIB.’REGI.’ Long cross fourchée over square shield; POSVI/DEV!AD/VITORE/M.MEV! (S 2577). From the Market Harborough (Leicestershire) Hoard 2020.

80% may seem like a high proportion of Elizabeth I, who died 40 years earlier. But for comparison, the Prestbury Civil War Hoard, deposited in 1643, included 60% of Elizabeth I and 24% of Charles I. Similar proportions were found in the Ewerby Hoard, which almost entirely comprised sixpences and shillings, with 83% of Elizabeth I’s coins being sixpences. Unlike higher denominations, shillings and sixpences were used day-to-day and easy to get hold of, while smaller denominations were not valuable enough to hoard.

Charles I Group D Shilling, 1635-1636

Tower. Silver, 29mm, 5.96g. Crown initial mark. Fourth Bust (Type 3a) with falling lace collar, facing left, large XII behind bust, no inner circle; CAROLUS D GMAG BRI FR ET HIB REX. Round garnished shield with no inner circle; CHRISTO AUSPICE REGNO (S 2791). From the Ewerby (Lincolnshire) Hoard 2016. Portable Antiquities Scheme: LIN-F454C4.

Composition of Civil War Hoards

Hoard	Deposited	Coins	Elizabeth I	James I	Charles I	Sixpences	Shillings	Halfcrowns	Other
Market Harborough (Leics)	1640-5	5	80%	0%	20%	80%	20%	0%	0%
Ewerby (Lincolnshire)	1643	1,200	55%	13%	30%	63%	36%	1%	0%
Prestbury (Cheshire)	1643	1,366	60%	16%	24%	53%	44%	3%	0%
Tidenham (Glos)	1643	119	41%	19%	39%	42%	48%	9%	1%
Weston-sub-Edge (Glos)	1643	309	35%	12%	50%	26%	61%	12%	1%
Ryhall (Rutland)	1643	3,221	22%	5%	73%	24%	70%	7%	0%
Totnes (Devon)	1644	176 (pt)	44%	10%	40%	47%	42%	6%	5%
Grewelthorpe (Yorkshire)	1644	302	36%	12%	49%	39%	40%	18%	3%
Breckenbrough (Yorkshire)	1644	1582	40%	12%	34%	37%	46%	7%	10%
Bitterley (Shropshire)	1644	138	33%	17%	47%	0%	72%	25%	3%
Castle Cary (Somerset)	1644-5	152	43%	11%	43%	47%	41%	11%	1%
Ackworth (Yorkshire)	1646	591	26%	12%	56%	29%	42%	15%	14%
Haddiscoe (Norfolk)	1646-7	316	41%	12%	46%	38%	51%	11%	0%
Middleham (Yorkshire)	1646-8	5,099	35%	12%	45%	33%	48%	12%	7%
Tregwynt (Pembrokeshire)	1647-8	500	30%	13%	54%	28%	45%	19%	8%
Messing (Essex)	1648	2,223	25%	13%	61%	13%	79%	9%	0%

There was very little gold buried with any of the hoards, except Ackworth and Tregwynt, which contained 9% and 7% gold coins respectively. The earlier hoards like Market Harborough, Ewerby and Prestbury with high proportions of Elizabeth I sixpences were likely to have been built from coins in circulation. They might be the owners’ savings, quickly hidden when the threat that they might be requisitioned increased.

Charles I Group D Sixpence, 1626

Tower. Silver, 3.16g. Tun initial mark. Fourth Bust (Type 3a) left with double arched crown, value behind, no inner circles either side; CAROLVS DG MA BR FR ET HI. Oval garnished shield; CHRISTO AVSPICE REGNO (S 2813). From the Prestbury (Cheshire) Hoard 2004.

By contrast, the Ryhall, Middleham and Messing hoards contained more Charles I halfcrowns. Halfcrowns were more available under Charles I simply as the result of inflation, while for hoards with later deposition dates – Middleham and Messing were buried at the start of the Second Civil War in 1648 – older coins had already been hoarded. It appears many of the coins in those hoards came straight from the mint, fresh and unclipped – 53% of the coins in Ryhall comprised Charles I triangle-in-circle shillings, struck close to the time of deposition. These were not hoards built from circulation but may have been payments for activities in the war.

Hoard Composition through the Civil War

Large numbers of sixpences featured Elizabeth I but these declined as the war progressed. They were replaced by Charles I shillings and halfcrowns as more hoarded coins came directly from the mint.

There were very few non-English coins in any of the hoards, with a handful and Scottish or Irish coins in many of them, although Middleham contained 5% Spanish silver. The type of person who had access to Spanish silver and large quantities of freshly struck coins was probably not the same as the one who built their hoard from circulation. Perhaps they’d been paid for their support during the conflict.

Charles I Group F Shilling, 1641-1643

Tower. Silver, 28mm, 5.94g. Triangle-in-circle initial mark. Large Sixth Bust (Briot’s, Type 4.4) left with stellate lace collar, double-arched crown, denomination behind head, legend around; CAROLVS.D.G.MAG.BRI.FRA.ET.HI.REX. Square-topped, quartered shield of arms over cross moline within inner circle, legend around; CHRISTO . AVSPICE . REGNO (S 2799). From the Ryhall (Rutland) Hoard 1987. Many coins in this hoard came straight from the mint.

The location of the Market Harborough Hoard is typical of the concentration of finds around the middle of the country. There was no great support for King or Parliament amongst the gentry of Leicestershire, but it was at the heart of the Civil War because of its location at the centre of England, with the Parliamentarians in London and Charles fleeing northwards. Gumley is 10 miles due north of Naseby, site of one of the pivotal battles of the First Civil War in 1645.

Map of the English Civil War (adapted from Simeon Netchev’s)

Locations of the hoards mentioned are in turquoise.

Supporters of both sides hid their coins and other valuables, not least because both sides demanded all silver be melted down and turned into coinage to pay their troops. Coins were hidden by labourers and gentry alike. They might’ve been stashed in the wall of a building or under a floor, or just buried in a yard. The five coins of the Market Harborough Hoard likely belonged to someone rather less wealthy than the owner of the Ryhall Hoard. Perhaps it was in a purse hidden in a thatched roof, both having since disappeared, leaving nothing to discover but the coins.

Charles I Group D Shilling, 1636-1638

Tower. Silver, 5.87g. Tun initial mark. Fourth Bust (Type 3a) left with double arched crown, no inner circles, value in field behind; CAROLVS DG MA BR FR ET HI REX. Oval shield garnished quartered shield of arms in frame, no CR either side; CHRISTO AVSPICE REGNO (S 2791). Ex Ivan Buck. From the Messing (Essex) Hoard 1975.

Charles fled north from London in early 1642 and set up a base in Oxford. By the summer of 1643, the war was finely balanced. That changed in the autumn after the Parliamentarians prevailed in the Siege of Gloucester and the First Battle of Newbury. They continued their success across eastern England, where many hoards are buried.

English Civil War Musket Balls

Lead. 20.92g and 9.94g (with impact indentations). Reputedly from the site of the Battle of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, July 1643. The two sides lined up against each another, with musketeers in the centre. The musketeers were three rows deep, the first kneeling, the second crouching and the third standing, so one could reload while the other fired. Pike men with pikes up to 18 feet long protected the musketeers. The cavalry attacked the opponents' cavalry before turning to their infantry, if they could get past the pike men.

Copper coinage was not hoarded, especially as it was frequently demonetised. The Parliamentarians feared Charles was striking farthings in Bristol and exchanging them for silver in London to fund his army. He wasn’t, but they decided to demonetise all his farthings anyway. To help do this, they changed the design so that the sceptres on the obverse of their new coins crossed below the crown instead of going through it.

Charles I Rose Type 5a Farthing Token, 1643-1644

London Token House. Copper with brass segment, 14mm, 1.13g. Privy mark mullet. Single-arched crown, sceptres with bosses on handles cross beneath crown; CAROLV . D : G . MAG : BR. Single rose; FRA : ET : HIB : REX . (Everson Rose Type 5a 208a; Peck/BMC Type 3a 348).

In the summer of 1645, Charles’s armies were destroyed by the re-organised New Model Army at the Battle of Naseby (near Gumley) and the Battle of Langport. Charles fled to Newark, hoping to establish territory between there and Oxford. Newark was extensively fortified, but Charles had run out of resources. A mint was set up in Newark to turn any silver they could find into coin. The town held out, but Newark surrendered in 1646 so that a fleeing Charles wouldn’t look bad. Even so, he was handed over to the Parliamentarians by the Scots and the First English Civil War ended.

Charles I Siege Ninepence, 1646


Newark-on-Trent. Silver, 4.43g. Large crown with jewelled band, Royal cypher, denomination below, C R IX (King Charles 9 pence). Legend across two horizontal lines, OBS: Newark (Siege of Newark), 1645 below (S 3144). Hand cut during the siege of Newark from donated silverware. The coins dated 1645 were minted in January-March 1645 (the end of 1645, which we now would call early 1646, just before Charles I arrived in May 1646).

Charles tried to make a comeback in 1648 and the Second Civil War broke out, but it was over by 1649. More than 200,000 people were dead and many of their coins remained hidden. More silver was put in the ground in those 7 years than at any time in British history. Over 300 Civil War hoards have been dug up, including this little hoard at Gumley.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

That's pretty neat to own a hoard, even a mini one!  Well done!

I'm going to have to get around to listening to the Rex Factor Charles I episode. I think their volume problems were fixed by then.

[JeandAcre]

@John Conduitt, this is absolutely brilliant.  Right, to @Nerosmyfavorite68's point, including the coins.  But the research and analysis, tying the hoards that closely both to the coins that were in circulation, and the shifting conditions of the war itself, really break new ground.  Your seamless integration of the numismatic and broader historical contexts has to evoke a lot of what @seth77 has done over the years.

Regarding what was in circulation, I have to wonder why there's nothing from James I.  Did it (edit: have) anything have to do with his unpopularity as a monarch, apparently among adherents of both sides?  That's only the best guess you'll get from me.  Otherwise, one can't be surprised that coins of Elizabeth I were in active use for as long as this.

Edited July 29, 2023 by JeandAcre

[seth77]

This is way more complex than anything that I have done here. I have tried a similar approach to a couple of groups of lrbs that I have bought in Britain back before Brexit, but as I was certain that the groups were incomplete, the statistics of types and dates could only bring forth fragmentary and incomplete data. I second the sentiment, great work, even though I know nothing about the coinage of Charles I and the Civil War.