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| HER Number | MWB16592 |
|---|
| Record Type | Monument |
|---|
| Name | Clay Hill |
|---|
Summary
Strategic location for Parliamentarians during the Second Battle of Newbury, 1644
Monument Type(s):
Full Description
Although Clay Hill is often considered as part of Shaw, the summit of the hill is within Cold Ash parish and the lower slopes are within Newbury. The name Clay Hill has been written on Ordnance Survey maps in various locations, and on the 1st Edition map <6> it is located adjacent to kilns and brickworks.
The western side of Clay Hill was a significant natural highpoint used during the Civil War Second Battle of Newbury by the Parliamentarians facing Royalists based at Shaw and Donnington <2><4><5>. Manchester's troops waited on Clay Hill (perhaps behind the ridge) whilst other Parliamentarian soldiers marched in a wide loop north and then west of Newbury to attack the King's men from the west. Money thought that the site of the Parliamentary Camp stretched from Clay Hill towards Ashmore Green and Cold Ash Common, and that near 'Red Field' part of an extensive entrenchment could still be seen, about twelve feet wide by eight feet deep <2, marked on the Plan>. This defensive breastwork had originally extended along the face of the hill but evidence had been removed by clay digging; however, Money reported that cannon balls, bullets and 17th century clay pipes had been found, as well as wood ashes indicating the remains of camp fires.
The GIS point has been drawn half way down the hill on the ridge, but this is not intended as a precise location of any military activity.
Sources and further reading
| --- | Thames Valley Archaeological Services. 2021. Coley Farm, Stoney Lane, Newbury, West Berkshire: Geophysical Survey (Magnetic). 21/139. 2022 WBC Network. [Unpublished document / SWB150246] |
| <01> | Money, W. 1881. The First and Second Battles of Newbury (1st ed). [Monograph / SWB11644]
https://archive.org/details/firstsecondbattl00monerich (Accessed on 02/08/2022) |
| <02> | Money, W. 1884. The First and Second Battles of Newbury (2nd ed). p153, 158-9, 160, 164, 171-4, Plan. [Monograph / SWB12745]
http://openlibrary.org/books/OL14008014M/The_first_and_second_battles_of_Newbury_and_the_siege_of_Donnington_Castle_during_the_Civil_War_1643 (Accessed 23/09/2013) |
| <03> | Money, W. 1905 & 1972. A Popular History of Newbury (also Walter Money's History of Newbury). p54. [Monograph / SWB11278] |
| <04> | Burne, Lt Col A H and Young, Lt Col P. 1959. The Great Civil War - A Military History of the First Civil War 1642-1646. p188. [Monograph / SWB146726] |
| <05> | Rogers, Col H C B. 1968. Battles and Generals of the Civil Wars 1642-1651. p169-172. [Monograph / SWB146743] |
| <06> | Landmark. 1872-85. Digital Ordnance Survey Mapping Epoch 1, 1:2500 (25 inch). Digital. 1:2500. [Map / SWB14341] |
Related Monuments
| MWB15775 | Newbury II Battlefield, 1644 (Landscape) |
| MWB19367 | Pens Cottage, Curridge (Building) |
Associated Excavations and Fieldwork
| EWB1960 | Coley Farm, Stoney Lane, Newbury: Geophysical Survey (Magnetic) (Ref: CFN 15/284) |
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