Details

The monument includes the remains of a Civil War redoubt constructed by the
Parliamentarian forces besieging Newark in 1645-1646.

The remains include earthworks defining a square enclosure c.20m across which
is comprised of ramparts up to 0.5m high. An external ditch approximately
0.35m in depth surrounds the ramparts. A slight break in the northern ramparts
and ditch approximately 1.5m in width may represent the original entrance.

The monument is one of several redoubts constructed by the Scots who comprised
part of the besieging Parliamentarian forces during the third and final siege
of Newark between November 1645 and May 1646. A contemporary plan recording
the fieldworks of the Parliamentarians clearly depicts the monument and
attributes it to the Scots. Another contemporary plan of Royalist origins
describes the redoubt as `works to secure the bridge'. Contemporary maps show
a bridge which was constructed by the Parliamentarians from the Winthorpe side
of the Trent to Crankley Point in order to enable reinforcements to reach the
island. This is further corroborated by an account of the final siege which
also dates the completion of the bridge and therefore possibly the redoubt to
March 1646.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 5 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

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.

The remains of the redoubt on Crankley Point survive particularly well as a
series of substantial earthworks and will retain significant archaeological
potential in the form of buried deposits. As a result of both the survival of
historical documentation and subsequent archaeological survey, the remains
will contribute particularly to understanding of the final siege of Newark.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
The Seige of Newark by the English and Scotch Armies, (1646)
Clampe, R, A Description of the Seidge of Newarke upon Trent, (1646)
RCHME, , Newark on Trent - The Civil War Siegeworks, (1964)
'Journal of the House of Lords' in Journal of the House of Lords, (1646)
Other
Staniforth, J. (landowner), (1997)

Source: Historic England