April 29th 2012 News Update
First the project would like to apologies for not updating on a regular bases, believe me when I say , the team and I have not stopped over the pass months. ( Where do the time go? )
The Tywardreath Battlefield Project as moved on over the pass mouths. The project as from now have incorporated Lostwithiel as part of its project. This part of the phase will be called " The Tywardreath Battlefield Project Phase Two ).
To date we have seen the landowners and farmers surrounding Lostwithiel with agreements signed so that project members can carryout searching and research on there land for civil war artefacts. We have also carryout research within Lostwithiel, speaking to stonemasons and builders to try and find out if they have seen any impact relating to musket or cannon balls hitting walls and houses, sorry to say not one impact have been seen or reported. We appreciate that Lostwithiel in 1644 was less then a quarter of the size it is today, we also know that Lostwithiel from 1644 have been well developed what with new housing etc.
I am sure the residence of Lostwithiel have been aware over the pass mouths that roadworks have been in operation, again project members have been keeping there eyes on the trenches. Again no civil war artefacts seen or found, the only artefacts found was medieval pottery. We have also been around Lostwithiel church with a find tooth comb and again I am sorry to say; I cannot find one impact.
Our next stop was Lostwithiel Museum, again the artefacts within the museum dating to the civil war are not looking promising. Yes the musket balls could date to the civil war but not one show any intercation it has been fired, in other words I did not see any blast marks or the use of a ramrod or impact of any musket ball, as for the cannon balls ? again iron cannon balls was used from the seventieth century up to the ninetieth century so we cannot say with certainty that the artefacts within the museum date to the "English Civil War".
Reading the above you would be right in thinking Lostwithiel never had any part in the English Civil War, but you would be wrong. With the lack of information and artefacts the above statement ask questions and hours of research not to mention the Archaeology within Lostwithiel and the surrounding fields. It's when we have all the answers can we write the history of Lostwithiel in the time of The English Civil War. We will keep you up to date of our findings. In the meantime if any residence of Lostwithiel find anything of interest in gardens or fields please e-mail us.
E-Mail address in Contact. ( SJ Andrews )
The Tywardreath Battlefield Project as moved on over the pass mouths. The project as from now have incorporated Lostwithiel as part of its project. This part of the phase will be called " The Tywardreath Battlefield Project Phase Two ).
To date we have seen the landowners and farmers surrounding Lostwithiel with agreements signed so that project members can carryout searching and research on there land for civil war artefacts. We have also carryout research within Lostwithiel, speaking to stonemasons and builders to try and find out if they have seen any impact relating to musket or cannon balls hitting walls and houses, sorry to say not one impact have been seen or reported. We appreciate that Lostwithiel in 1644 was less then a quarter of the size it is today, we also know that Lostwithiel from 1644 have been well developed what with new housing etc.
I am sure the residence of Lostwithiel have been aware over the pass mouths that roadworks have been in operation, again project members have been keeping there eyes on the trenches. Again no civil war artefacts seen or found, the only artefacts found was medieval pottery. We have also been around Lostwithiel church with a find tooth comb and again I am sorry to say; I cannot find one impact.
Our next stop was Lostwithiel Museum, again the artefacts within the museum dating to the civil war are not looking promising. Yes the musket balls could date to the civil war but not one show any intercation it has been fired, in other words I did not see any blast marks or the use of a ramrod or impact of any musket ball, as for the cannon balls ? again iron cannon balls was used from the seventieth century up to the ninetieth century so we cannot say with certainty that the artefacts within the museum date to the "English Civil War".
Reading the above you would be right in thinking Lostwithiel never had any part in the English Civil War, but you would be wrong. With the lack of information and artefacts the above statement ask questions and hours of research not to mention the Archaeology within Lostwithiel and the surrounding fields. It's when we have all the answers can we write the history of Lostwithiel in the time of The English Civil War. We will keep you up to date of our findings. In the meantime if any residence of Lostwithiel find anything of interest in gardens or fields please e-mail us.
E-Mail address in Contact. ( SJ Andrews )
November 19th. News Update
BBC filming
During October 2011, the Tywardreath Battlefield Project were contacted by the BBC in respect of filming a new history series following the English Civil War. Filming commenced in Tywardreath on '15th' November 2011 where we were joined on the battlefield by the series host Michel Wood & Professor Mark Stoyle ( English Civil War historian ) .What seemed like a lengthy film shoot included metal detecting & the recovery of actual artifacts with an insight into the battle itself.
Filming concluded at the New Inn Pub at Tywardreath, where the finds & the finds maps created great interest from Michael & Prof Mark Stoyle. It truly was a first class experience to be included in this new series which is to be shown on the BBC 2 in the spring of 2012.
The programme will be shown in six parts which will also cover the Cornish Prayer Book Rebellion 1497.
August 13th, Sealed Knot March Through Tywardreath.
July 19th 2011.
The Sealed Knot will be marching through Tywardreath on the 13 August 2011 on the 367th Anniversary of the battle of Tywardreath/ Castle Dore.
The march will start at Tywardreath Junior School at 2.30pm, arriving at the New Inn 3 o'clock where the Sealed Knot will muster in the back garden of the New Inn and fire their muskets.
There is also a barbecue and the Tywardreath Battlefield Project will be displaying the latest finds and up to date maps.
It will be a great day out so come along and "Keeping Cornish History Alive ".
The Sealed Knot will be marching through Tywardreath on the 13 August 2011 on the 367th Anniversary of the battle of Tywardreath/ Castle Dore.
The march will start at Tywardreath Junior School at 2.30pm, arriving at the New Inn 3 o'clock where the Sealed Knot will muster in the back garden of the New Inn and fire their muskets.
There is also a barbecue and the Tywardreath Battlefield Project will be displaying the latest finds and up to date maps.
It will be a great day out so come along and "Keeping Cornish History Alive ".
Analysis Record from The Royal Armories Leeds. 29/06/2011
July / 2011
Last April a member of the Tywardreath Battlefield Project excavated a gun barrel from a field near Tywardreath. At the time we were hoping it was a gun lost or buried by one of the musketeers so dating back to the English Civil War, ( Seventeenth century ). The barrel was sent to The Royal Armouries Leeds for analysis, this was undertaken by Jonathan Ferguson ( Curator of Firearms ).
After analyses using X-radiographs and consultation with both Jonathan and Peter Smithurst, ( Curator Emeritus of Firearms ) the barrel was definitively dated to the mid-late 19th century, ( Possibly 1850s ) and belongs to a gun or rifle of high-end sporting design most likely a smoothbore gun e.g a fowling piece. We are disappointed about the date since the barrel was found on a seventeenth century battlefield, but saying that, it's still a great and important find and is recorded with the Tywardreath Battlefield Project.
Jonathan Ferguson Report.
"The barrel is mid-late 19th century in date, and belongs to a gun or rifle of high-end sporting design - most likely a smoothbore percussion gun known as a fowling piece. Like a modern shotgun, these had relatively light, thin-walled barrels that were stronger at the breech area to safely contain the exploding charge, as the Royal Armouries x-rays showed. Instead of screwing into the stock, the breech area of the barrel features a short 'hook' set lower down on the breech plug. This is designed to hook into a notch in a 'false' breech - a metal shoe screwed into the stock, allowing easy removal for cleaning, transit and storage.
Sporting guns were typically more advanced than their military equivalents. In this example the touchhole is incorporated into the breech plug instead of being simply drilled through the barrel wall with a simple threaded plug just behind it.
X-rays showed a slight 'chambered' breech, designed to control combustion of powder behind the charge of ball or shot, and an angled and widened touchhole. All of this increases the efficiency and speed of ignition, taking full advantage of the early 19th century innovation of percussion ignition. Similar features can be seen on a Henry Nock patent of 1787 (drawing #4, Patent 1598), but these features would have been relatively rare until the mid-19th century when this gun was made. "
The Project members would like to thank Jonathan and the Royal Armouries Museum for their help and report.
Enclosed two links to give a better and easier understanding of the Nock Patent.
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/categories/partdetail.aspx?catid=4&subid=38&styleid=141&partnum=plan-nock&as=1weeblylink_new_window
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=w7sUAAAAYAAJ&dq=nock%20%22patent%20breech%22%20angke&pg=PA39#v=onepage&q&f=false
After analyses using X-radiographs and consultation with both Jonathan and Peter Smithurst, ( Curator Emeritus of Firearms ) the barrel was definitively dated to the mid-late 19th century, ( Possibly 1850s ) and belongs to a gun or rifle of high-end sporting design most likely a smoothbore gun e.g a fowling piece. We are disappointed about the date since the barrel was found on a seventeenth century battlefield, but saying that, it's still a great and important find and is recorded with the Tywardreath Battlefield Project.
Jonathan Ferguson Report.
"The barrel is mid-late 19th century in date, and belongs to a gun or rifle of high-end sporting design - most likely a smoothbore percussion gun known as a fowling piece. Like a modern shotgun, these had relatively light, thin-walled barrels that were stronger at the breech area to safely contain the exploding charge, as the Royal Armouries x-rays showed. Instead of screwing into the stock, the breech area of the barrel features a short 'hook' set lower down on the breech plug. This is designed to hook into a notch in a 'false' breech - a metal shoe screwed into the stock, allowing easy removal for cleaning, transit and storage.
Sporting guns were typically more advanced than their military equivalents. In this example the touchhole is incorporated into the breech plug instead of being simply drilled through the barrel wall with a simple threaded plug just behind it.
X-rays showed a slight 'chambered' breech, designed to control combustion of powder behind the charge of ball or shot, and an angled and widened touchhole. All of this increases the efficiency and speed of ignition, taking full advantage of the early 19th century innovation of percussion ignition. Similar features can be seen on a Henry Nock patent of 1787 (drawing #4, Patent 1598), but these features would have been relatively rare until the mid-19th century when this gun was made. "
The Project members would like to thank Jonathan and the Royal Armouries Museum for their help and report.
Enclosed two links to give a better and easier understanding of the Nock Patent.
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/categories/partdetail.aspx?catid=4&subid=38&styleid=141&partnum=plan-nock&as=1weeblylink_new_window
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=w7sUAAAAYAAJ&dq=nock%20%22patent%20breech%22%20angke&pg=PA39#v=onepage&q&f=false
Barrel Found on Tywardreath Battlefield.
Barrel Length 380 mm
Barrel Length 380 mm
The Sealed Knot Society Visit to Tywardreath.
June 12 2011
Members of the Sealed Knot civil war re-enactment group have kindly offered to host a talk in the church at Tywardreath on 'Saturday' July 9 from 7.00pm, authentic costume & weapons will also be available for viewing, there will also be a short talk by a member of the Cornwall Archaeological Society on the use of geophysics and the part it plays in current field archaeology.
June 12 2011
The Tywardreath Battlefield Project is currently following up an enquiry from a local school who have expressed interest in the project & its findings. We will let you know of any developments as they happen. We are also planning two tours around the battlefields, one at Tywardreath and one at Castle Dore, this again will be after August 13. If you're coming the talk on July 9 at Tywardreath church, this will be a great opportunity to let one of members of the project know if you would like your name put down for one of the tours or both, or you could e-mail John Andrews. ( e-mail address in Links / Contacts )
June 12 2011
Everything is also now in place for the Sealed Knots visit on August 13 , the day will commence with a march through the village by members of the SK , start times will be announced during July.
May 4 2011
Sealed Knot visit 2011 It really is fantastic news to be able to confirm that the Sealed Knot will be visiting Tywardreath on August 13th 2011, The project team will be visiting them at the re-enactment of the battle of Stratton (Bude) on May 14th - 15th to gain an insight into what is involved with a full on battle re-enactment, which we also hope to bring to the fields above Tywardreath very soon !
Our own days activities on August 13th will comprise of an afternoon march through the village by Slannings Regiment of Cornish foot, leading to a display of arms & musket firing in the rear gardens of the New Inn. At the same time in the garden marquee we will have on display a vast selction of finds we have recovered from our own Tywardreath Battlefield, along with large size up dated maps showing the distribution of finds which will enable you to see the shear scale of this ongoing project.As well as being able to ask the Sealed Knot & project members any question you may have, you can also try your hand at metal detecting, BBQ & hot drinks also will be available.
Join us on the August 13th for a full afternoon and help keep history alive. Start times to be announced soon.
Graham
Members of the Sealed Knot civil war re-enactment group have kindly offered to host a talk in the church at Tywardreath on 'Saturday' July 9 from 7.00pm, authentic costume & weapons will also be available for viewing, there will also be a short talk by a member of the Cornwall Archaeological Society on the use of geophysics and the part it plays in current field archaeology.
June 12 2011
The Tywardreath Battlefield Project is currently following up an enquiry from a local school who have expressed interest in the project & its findings. We will let you know of any developments as they happen. We are also planning two tours around the battlefields, one at Tywardreath and one at Castle Dore, this again will be after August 13. If you're coming the talk on July 9 at Tywardreath church, this will be a great opportunity to let one of members of the project know if you would like your name put down for one of the tours or both, or you could e-mail John Andrews. ( e-mail address in Links / Contacts )
June 12 2011
Everything is also now in place for the Sealed Knots visit on August 13 , the day will commence with a march through the village by members of the SK , start times will be announced during July.
May 4 2011
Sealed Knot visit 2011 It really is fantastic news to be able to confirm that the Sealed Knot will be visiting Tywardreath on August 13th 2011, The project team will be visiting them at the re-enactment of the battle of Stratton (Bude) on May 14th - 15th to gain an insight into what is involved with a full on battle re-enactment, which we also hope to bring to the fields above Tywardreath very soon !
Our own days activities on August 13th will comprise of an afternoon march through the village by Slannings Regiment of Cornish foot, leading to a display of arms & musket firing in the rear gardens of the New Inn. At the same time in the garden marquee we will have on display a vast selction of finds we have recovered from our own Tywardreath Battlefield, along with large size up dated maps showing the distribution of finds which will enable you to see the shear scale of this ongoing project.As well as being able to ask the Sealed Knot & project members any question you may have, you can also try your hand at metal detecting, BBQ & hot drinks also will be available.
Join us on the August 13th for a full afternoon and help keep history alive. Start times to be announced soon.
Graham
The Sealed Knot Society to Visit Tywardreath
March 20 2011
During January 2011,
The Project were very fortunate & honoured to have visited by members from the Sealed Knot re-enactment group. The purpose of this visited was for them to see for themselves the distribution of archaeological artefacts recovered & recorded from the Tywardreath battlefield. The evidence gathered by the Project gave the group an insight into how the battle was fought and the positions of infantry, cannon & horse mounted cavalry 'etc'. We in return were also given an insight into where certain buttons & buckles were situated on seventieth century uniforms along with tactics used during battle.
The meeting was mutually beneficial for all parties involved & it has now been decided that to take the Project further into the local community, the Sealed Knot ( Slannings Regiment ) will be marching through Tywardreath on August '13' 2011. Within the next few weeks we will make available an itinerary for the day, the march will be through the village ending at the New Inn pub where there will then be a drill & display of musket fire in the beer garden at the rear.
The Sealed Knot will be available all day for you to see authentic dress & weapons from the civil war period, there will also be available for viewing all the finds recovered from the battlefield along with team members available whom can answer any questions you may have.
Food will be available in the beer garden along with a possible PIG ROAST '?'.
The decision to stage a major re-enactment in 2012 in the fields above Tywardreath could rest on the success of August '13' 2011, so we ask for you to make welcome our visitors as we will all benefit from the 2012 event ?
Thanks from the Project team.
Information on the Sealed Knot & Slanning Regiment can be abstained by clicking on the link.
GH
March 25 2011
Hi all, If you missed the news printed on the 16 February '2011' in " this is Cornwall " This is the web-site to see.
http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/news/John-hopes-enact-Civil-War-battle-actual-site/article-3223386-detail/article.html