1643 AD - Thomas, the Bailiff's son of Brummagem

Easter Monday - Thomas astir before dawn, but many people up all night. Last evening horsemen had spurred tired horses up the hill, and battered on the Toll Booth door - Manor Court in anxious session there. Soon all knew - the Dragoons were coming ! Prince Rupert, the King's nephew was at Henley with 2,000 men, planning to march to Lichfield and spend night in Brumingham - sending Quartermaster to prepare his lodging and troops' billets. Townsmen's dilemma : divided but most for Parliament, against King - making arms for former, refusing royal contracts. Had seized Charles's baggage train in previous October and sent it to Warwick. Would Rupert exact vengeance? Should they try to keep him out? Brumingham an open, straggling place, not compact and walled like Coventry - how to defend it?

Many troubles in recent years - serious fires, several plague outbreaks, trade depression : how could town survive more ? Hot argument, but outcome not awaited - valiant if foolhardy men at work preparing for defiance, led by Richard Porter, the blade-miller.

Upper part of Deritend was deep holloway, clay worn by centuries of traffic : barricade erected there, another in Digbeth. 200 foot-soldiers, some cavalry, to aid townsfolk - could they persuade Rupert to turn aside ? To Thomas the preparations seemed exciting without being really serious : there had never been fighting in Brummagem, and it was hard to believe there would be.

He and other children helped pile timber, carts, and hay, at the barricades, then unseen he slipped away across some fields to Kemp's Hill. From a tree-fork he could look down to the town, less smoky than usual for the smiths had other work today, and also see far along the highway to Stratford. It was noon and there was movement to the South. Thomas waited to be sure - made out armed men, and Rupert's standard - then raced for home. He climbed the barricade, shouted news to the musketeers, dashed on to tell his father, the chief citizen. He looked grim but put on a bold face, rode the rounds of the defences, such as they were. All went strangely silent : town's Royalists and the prudent nailed up shutters, locked and barred doors, while defenders stood at windows, loopholes, and barricades.

Cavalry came slowly by, confidently down through the deserted hamlet of Bordesley, into Deritend's deep trench. Leading ranks came into distant range, sporadic fire upon them. Confusion, then rally and charge : heavy fire from barricade and houses. Attack repulsed, dragoons retreated. Rupert set up HQ at Ship Inn, commanders ordered troops into fields to outflank defences.

Soon townsmen obliged to retreat to avoid being cut off, crossed ruined bridge to second barricade. Thomas was watching all this from the church tower : he saw that the Royalists soon gave up trying to cross the bridge under fire, splashed through river above and blow, and entered the town at several points. The defenders abandoned the barricades, sought to escape and hide their weapons : cavalry charged up streets, shooting at anyone they saw.

The Parliamentary troops fled north, pursued by Lord Denbigh's men : that leader was shot by Captain Graves as he came up, and the Roundheads were able to escape.

But not the townsfolk : the dragoons ran riot, hacking, hewing, and pistolling all they met. The whole action was over in less than two hours, but the terror had only begun. All evening and night, the Royalists destroyed the plundered, robbing and ill-treating the people. Thomas, his mother and sister, were safe, for their father would not hide himself but had sent them to the priest-hole. Their house in Bell Street had belonged to Catholics : Thomas himself had found the little secret room where a Priest could have been hidden during the Elizabethan persecutions. There they stayed, Thomas holding a loaded pistol too big for him, hearing faint shouts and screams all night.

Next morning Prince Rupert came into the town through the smoke of many fires. Met by the Council : soldiers had set fire to the buildings and were preventing rescue of property. The Prince made no promises but soon troops were being called to the Corn Market by bugle, and by noon the folk were able to begin fire-fighting. Thomas and his family had a lucky escape - the next door house was ablaze but they were unaware. The Bailiff returned in time to save his house, ordering the pulling down of burning building with hook and rope : Thomas hauling with the rest.

Losses totalled by nightfall : 80 houses destroyed, mostly in Bull Street, Dale End, Moor Street - no water - Porter's Blade Mill too, and œ3,000 in money and valuables, apart from losses in fires, and scores of people killed or wounded.

It seemed that Brumingham could never recover, but there was still a great demand for its weapons, and its sufferings gained it respect and profit : in Puritan England, goods from Bromwycham (and many other spellings) were sure of a ready sale.

By the time Thomas was grown-up and an important metal-wares merchant, the town was rebuilt, filling up rapidly, and it became more prosperous than it ever had been. The county had honoured its obligation to restore the bridge, although to save wear it was only to be opened when the ford was impassable : and if only there had been better communications with other towns and ports, and with sources of raw material and fuel, the town's growth would have been even greater. Thomas was well satisfied with it anyway - dirty, planless, inconvenient overgrown village though it was!