William Cavendish, Earl and later Duke of Newcastle, was the foremost of the King’s aristocratic Generals. By 1643 he’d raised the largest Royalist army of the First Civil War.
He was granted greater powers than any other regional royalist commander, and was able to raise his own taxes and coin money. He also dubbed 12 knights.
Although far from being a great general, Newcastle was certainly foremost among the king’s “grandees”. He was the most successful royalist commander of 1643. Exceeding his initial objectives, he did much to raise, maintain and protect the largest royalist army of the First Civil War. In this he was a great coalition builder, sustaining a large multi-confessional armed force for two years. He proved an effective figurehead, organiser and propagandist, although perhaps a poor reader of terrain. On occasion, he showed himself a successful tactician, overcoming his lack of pre-war military experience. Dependent on professional advice, he took it, choosing talented and experienced subordinates. His army’s series of victories at Piercebridge, Tadcaster, Seacroft Moor and Adwalton Moor raised the possibility of an outright royalist victory.
But as Professor Andrew Hopper of Lifelong Learning at the University of Oxford reveals in this programme circumstances prevented him from fully exploiting this opportunity.
