The English Civil War and our pubs

The English Civil war of the mid 17th century was the result of the irretrievable breakdown in relations between King Charles I and his Parliament. Culminating in the King's attempt to arrest five members within the parliament itself. During the English Civil War the city of Oxford was the home base for King Charles I. From 1642 to 1646, he was resident at Christ Church and his Queen, Henrietta Maria held her court at Merton College. Strangely, the town itself supported Parliament, but the University was staunchly Royalist. The City of Oxford suffered for its support of Charles; when the English Civil War ended, the military authorities had ordered that the defences of the city were to be slighted.

The sealed Knot the English Civil War re-enactment society.

The key role the City of Oxford played in the English Civil War resulted in much civil war activity in and around the county of Oxfordshire. Two of the pubs now owned by Hook Norton Brewery featured prominently in these events; The Reindeer in Banbury and The Castle Inn at Edgehill.

The years of the English Civil Wars from 1641-52 are a bloody and turbulent period in the history of these islands. The causes of the three wars are many and varied, but it is a period that has left a deep mark on our society and one that can be traced through some of Hook Norton Brewery's pubs.

For both sides - the Roundheads (the Parliamentarians) and Cavaliers (the Royalists) – used to billet their troops in alehouses, taverns and inns. As the progress of the war swung in favour of one side and then the other, an alehouse would change its name from say, the King's Head to the Nag's Head and back again.

The Castle Inn

Every year the Castle Inn in the village of Edgehill, Warwickshire plays host to many members of the Sealed Knot, the English Civil War re-enactment society.
The Castle Inn, also known as The Round Tower, or Radway Tower, lies on the summit of Edgehill, some 700ft above sea level.

Building work on the eight-sided tower started in 1742 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Edgehill, opening in September 1750 on the anniversary of Oliver Cromwell's death.

The tower marks the spot where, on the afternoon of Sunday 23 October 1642, King Charles I raised his standard and summoned his officers about him to prepare for the first major battle of the English Civil War.
In the bars of The Castle Inn, reminders of the Civil War years are plentiful - muskets, halberds, breastplates, maps and paintings adorn the walls.

The Reindeer Inn and the Globe Room

The Reindeer Inn has one of the most interesting and unique histories of all of the pubs in the Hook Norton Brewery tied estate.
It's strong link with Oliver Cromwell and the English Civil war being one. Also being situated on Parsons Street, a location in days gone by that was the rough end of town and extremely well populated with ladies of the night and the activities that surround them. This was reflected in the name given to the Street at this time and, if repeated here (which I have no intention of doing!) would tell you all you need to know.

The Reindeer's colourful history has also produced many unusual stories. One of the strangest is that a knife or sword belonging to the notorious highwayman Dick Turpin was discovered in the loft above the Globe Room.
How a link between this blade and Turpin has been made, and why he strolled off one day without it is not mentioned. I leave you to decide on the validity of this tale....

I am very pleased to tell you that after the passing of the centuries, the wild activities of Dick Turpin and others have long since ended.  Visiting the area today and, in particular The Reindeer Inn, is a more pleasant experience and safer environment in which to sup your Hook Norton ale and enjoy a meal in a unique building steeped in English History.

1564 and 1570 It would seem that a baker called John Knight, then living in the timber-framed building which now forms the Western half of The Reindeer’s frontage, bought a cottage or shop adjoining it.
In 1570 he demolished this cottage and built an extension to his house which now forms the Eastern part of The Reindeer. It probably became an inn sometime between 1564 and 1570.In 1637, five years before the start of the English Civil War, The Reindeer Inn was perhaps Banbury’s most important pub.

It was at this time that further buildings had been built at the back of the Inn and the yard was almost surrounded, with the addition of the Globe Room it was completely enclosed.

The Globe Room

The Globe Room was much more than the last phase of an interesting range of buildings that now make up the Reindeer Inn.
It is believed to have been used as a meeting and function room for local dignitaries and it is possible that it came by its name "Globe Room" at this time, although why this name was chosen is not certain as the room is not circular .

Oliver Cromwell

It is very likely that the Globe Room was used regularly by Oliver Cromwell as his head quarters and more interestingly, as a court room to sit in judgment in one of the several Royalist trials that took place during the Civil War. We know this because of an engraving showing him seated behind a desk in front of the great mullioned window (see below) with the unfortunate captive standing infront of him.

A copy of this engraving can be seen in the Globe Room. Another possible reason for Cromwell's use of the Globe Room was to plan one or both of the sieges of Banbury Castle that stood on the north side of the Market Place, the site now occupied by the Castle Quay shopping precinct.

The first took place during the winter of 1644-45 which the Castle survived surprisingly well, and the second siege began on January 23rd 1646 and lasted 3 months until the Castle's surrender.

The Globe Room was a structure built in accordance with the most advanced taste of the time.

The Globe Room had a high ceiling and richly carved panelled walls with pillars, shields, scrolls and cherubs. Above the panelling was an ornamented frieze covered in a mixture of angels and scrolls.

To surmount the whole room was a magnificent honeycomb-patterned plaster ceiling rich with flowers, urns and scrolls with mermaid like figures appearing at intervals.

On the East side is the great mullioned window of eight bays, with a carved oak ionic pillar on each side of it, at either end of this wall are carved oak doorways.
At the time this room would not have been out of place in the home of a great nobleman so just why it came to be in the parlour of an inn in a remote country town, we can only imagine.

Saving the Globe Room

In 1909 proposals were made to demolish the Globe Room for the sale of the ceiling and panelling. There were protests by the Banbury Guardian and it was offered to the local council by Hook Norton Brewery but was declined.

The contract for purchase of the ceiling, oak panelling, the stone mullion window and 17th century fire place was signed in 1912 with a London firm called Lenygon and Co. and was sold for no more than a thousand pounds.

The Room was re-erected at their showrooms at Burlington Street but for some reason the sale was never completed.

After this it was the general belief that the Room had been exported to the United States and was reported as such in many publications.

However, this was not the case despite having been offered for sale in full page advertisements in Connoisseur in 1929 and 1930. The Wall Street Crash then put an end to a transatlantic sale and the Room seems to have been put into storage.

During the Second World War it was stored in London, and the ceiling was destroyed in the Blitz. Later, the panelling was stored in a garage on the “Great North Road”. Then it was moved in 1963 to Islington and was stored in the factory of Messrs. White Allom.

In that same year, the Banbury Historical Society looking to produce an article on The Reindeer Inn, were keen to discover the location of the Room, still believing it to be in the United States, but all their enquiries in the US proved fruitless.

Then, in 1964 the Historical Society approached the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to help locate the castings for the Globe Room ceiling taken in 1899. They were then informed by the Museum that the oak panelling had been offered to them the previous month.

The Historical Society, after an inspection of the panels, quickly informed Banbury Borough Council that the panels were available for purchase.

The Council’s development committee was keen to bring the items back to Banbury and proposed this. The proposal was formally approved and after some minor renovation, the panels were fitted once more into the Globe Room.