A CONFERENCE to introduce people to the impact of the English Civil War on the local area will take place at Middlesbrough’s Dorman Museum next week.
The English Civil War on Teesside: An Introduction is an ideal opportunity to learn more about this rarely-discussed conflict from experts who study it.
Talks will include an overview of the English Civil War in the North East, costume and equipment of the time, and 17th Century locations on Teesside, with speakers from Tees Archaeology, the Battlefields Trust, the Dorman Museum and Huddersfield University.
Attendees will also be offered the opportunity to volunteer their time for a project aiming to find out more about the English Civil War period in the area.
Senior Museum Curator Phil Philo, one of the conference’s speakers, said: “The people of the Tees Valley played an important role in the Civil Wars of the 1640s and that contribution is largely overlooked.
“Large numbers of North East men were recruited into the military, particularly the King’s armies and fought not just in the region but all over the country.
“The women who were left at home to bring up families and look after the households were exposed to the needs of many different marching armies crossing back and forth across the River Tees, as well as the day-to-day hardships of failed crops, harsh weather and disease.
“This taster session starts off looking at the military background but it is hoped that future work will look at the subject and period as a whole.”
The conference is organised by the Battlefields Trust, Dorman Museum and Tees Archaeology as part of the HLF-funded River Tees Rediscovered Landscape Partnership Project.
It will take place on Saturday, July 11, at the Dorman Museum, Middlesbrough.
Admission is free but places must be pre-booked by contacting Robin Daniels at Tees Archaeology by email at teesarchaeology@hartlepool.gov.uk or call 01429 523455.