17th Oct. – Dressing to impress: clothing and equipment during the Civil Wars

Sir Arthur Erskine’s Regiment in the 17^thCentury:

This regiment is unusual in that it was initially raised, in 1643, with the encouragement of the clergy to whom the idea of having its own ‘regiment’ appealed. This resulted in the regiment also being known as The Ministers. They saw service during 1644 at the siege of Newark and at Marston Moor before taking part in the storming of Newcastle in October. Towards the end of 1645 The Ministers were involved in siege of Newark where, in May 1646, King Charles I surrendered to the Covenanters. As far as we know, the regiment were then quartered back in Newcastle and the North East counties of England until February 1647 when they withdrew from England and were disbanded. Sir Arthur later commanded a cavalry regiment at the Battle of Dunbar in 1650.

 

Sir Arthur Erskine’s Regiment in the 21^stCentury:

The Regiment came into being in 2012/2013 and specialise in 17th century re-enactment and historical interpretation, the main focus being the period from 1638 until 1660 (the Bishops Wars until the Restoration). The main body of the current membership, are based in eastern Scotland and north east England, although there are members dotted all over the UK. Catch us on Facebook

This event will be rather unusual, as we will focus on dressing a woman of the ‘middling sort’, usually associated with commerce, the needs of the day led many ‘Middling sort’ women to contribute in the political and religious debates, but how did they dress, and why? We will then look a bit, upon male attire. This will be a practical demonstration as well as an explanation, therefore we advise caution for those of a nervous disposition