Edgehill, 23rd October 1642

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Since I visited both Naseby and Marston Moor it was only a matter of time before I went for the hat-trick and visited Edgehill:  but it is a bit of a trek from deepest darkest Derbyshire. A weekend in London gave me the opportunity to have a detour and a break from driving on the way home.

Sadly there is precious little to see as most of the site is occupied by an MoD site and as such is closed to public access.

However, good views of the battlefield can be had from the ridgeline above. The best starting place is The Castle at Edgehill pub, where there is a Battlefield's Trust information board located in the beer garden.


There have been a number of recorded ghost sightings of armies fighting. This was first reported in January 1643: A Great Wonder in Heaven and The New Year’s Wonder both recounted the ghostly goings on. Mr Marshall, the minister in Kineton, went to Oxford to report the occurrences to the King. Charles sent six gentlemen to investigate, and the commissioners sought witness testimony and confirmed seeing two armies battling in the sky. 

A number of  WRAF and civilian workers at the MoD site also reported sightings in the '40s and '50s too. Sightings have decreased but the sounds of battle are still occasionally reported. 

As a result of this supposed Royal Commission investigation, it is often claimed that 'the Public Record Office officially recognises the Edgehill ghosts'. So, maybe it is best that most of the site isn't accessible. 

Only there is a slight problem with this story: the actual report from the Commission has never been found in the National Archives, despite extensive investigations. As Charles was at Oxford at the time of the Commission it is quite possible that official records were lost, or destroyed (very little paperwork from the Oxford government survived and made its way into the official archives). We only have the reports in newsletters of the events and of the Commission's findings. 

The Public Records Office was not set up until 1838, and was itself subsumed into the National Archives in 2003. Neither institution existed in the seventeenth century, so 'officially recognised' must be a more modern claim...

Both institutions are repositories for the nation's documents: they do not comment upon the documents that they hold, other than blog type interest articles such as "how we digitise the documents", "how we preserve...", or "a spotlight on our rarely seen illuminated manuscripts".

No official body, library or archive makes the claim for 'only officially recognised ghosts'. So who was the first to make this claim? I've been trying to track down the original source for the claim but alas I just keep going around in circles.

One to be filed with 'Cromwell banned Christmas'. Great story, but it would appear the 'officially recognised' bit is an urban myth.

There is a small, permanent exhibition at St Peter's church in Radway. St Peter's is still a 'working' church so please be respectful when visiting. Parking is a little tricky, please be respectful of residents access. 


The battlefield exhibition has it's own website - you will find direct downloads to the Battlefields' Trust leaflet and walk.




There is also the 'Kingsmill effigy' located in the church , at the base of the tower. It was erected to the memory of the Royalist Captain Kingsmill, who fell in the battle, by his grief stricken mother.

 

The memorial to the battle is a 'blink and you'll miss it' affair, sandwiched between two rail crossings into the MoD ammunition dump, there is a small layby next to it. There is another memorial located on the MoD site, which is inaccessible to the general public except at the annual wreath laying ceremony, on the anniversary of the battle.


Closest postcodes for SatNavs
Memorial stone  CV35 0JZ
St Peter's Church, Radway  CV35 0BS
Castle at Edgehill OX15 6DJ


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