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First exhibition of 2020 at Daventry
Museum commemorates 375
years since the Battle of Naseby
and Daventry’s Place in the
Confl ict.

On the morning of 14th June 1645,
Parliament’s Newly Modelled
Army destroyed King Charles I’s
Army at Naseby, the decisive battle of
the fi rst English Civil War. Nights
before this, King Charles stayed
at Daventry’s Wheatsheaf Inn and
his Royalist forces used Borough
Hill as a base before marching to
fi ght at Naseby.

Daventry Museum’s exhibition
Commemorating the Battle of
Naseby: 375 years. Daventry’s
Place in the Confl ict is a fi rst for the museum’s
collaborators The Naseby Battlefi eld Project
(NBP) and the fi rst of a number of activities
planned by the Project in the run up to the
anniversary in June 2020. Many items in the
exhibition will be on display for the very fi rst
time from lenders who were the fi rst to dig
the battlefi eld site for archaeology, as well as
patrons and trustees of the NBP.

Exhibits include articles such as original
armour and swords, fi nds from the battlefi eld
site such as cannon balls and smaller intimate
items such as a love token, a playing dice
and coins, plus contemporary
paintings of soldiers and views
of the battle itself. Highlights
include loans from The National
Civil War Centre in Newark
such as Fairfax’s campaign
cup and fl ask given to him by
Cromwell, and a lobster pot helmet
complete with ‘battle scars’ from the
Naseby confl ict. Weaponry, silk
standards and replica costumes,
accompanied by the sights and
sounds of a battle re-enactment
will immerse visitors in the rich
history of the turbulent 17th
century Civil War.

During the exhibition there will
be special evening and Saturday
open day talks given by Civil
War historians; please check social media
and website for details. Reenactors from the
Sealed Knot will attend the museum during
open Saturdays, there will be showings of
the Harborough Movie Makers fi lm about the
battle. Throughout the exhibition’s run there
will be activities for children and a selfi e area
with replica ‘lobster pot’ helmet to try on.

The exhibition runs until Friday 24th April 2020.
Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday 9.30am
to 1.30pm and Saturday 7th March & 4th April
10am to 4pm. Entry free. 

Battle of Naseby

Battle of Naseby