19th century Wooden Case Containing English Civil War Relics, $8,450
HARWICH, U.K. – This 19th-century glazed wooden case containing musket balls, ceramic fragments, and three complete clay pipes carries a raised plaque that is inscribed with the phrase ‘English Civil War Relics from the siege of Newark 1645-1646 found at the site of the camp of troops of the Earl of Lincoln nr. Clay Lane Newark’. It measures 2ft (60cm) across.
This collection of relics from the English Civil War appeared at TimeLine Auctions in Harwich, England on December 5, where it was eagerly contested, exceeding its £200-£300 estimate to hammer for £5,000 and sell for £6,750 ($8,450) with buyer’s premium. It was part of an old collection of antiquities and relics collected by the Gilstrap family, who were wine merchants in Newark, Nottinghamshire, England.
The Third Siege of Newark began on November 26, 1645. King Charles I’s army had been destroyed at the Battle of Naseby, and Newark was one of the last Royalist towns capable of resisting a Roundhead army of 17,000 soldiers. The siege lasted six months and inflicted great hardship before the king surrendered on May 6, 1646, followed by the surrender of Newark itself two days later.
