Nantwich Town Mayor David Marren has opened the new Cheshire Civil War Centre gallery at Nantwich Museum.
The display features interpretation panels developed by the museum’s Research Group, supplemented by artefacts of the time and informative replicas.
Chair of the museum Board Nick Dyer says the Centre will be of interest to specialists, local residents and visitors.
Mayor Cllr Marren said: “Although the Civil War produced a military dictator in the form of Cromwell, and ultimately led to the restoration of the Stuart monarchy, it did create the foundation for a new kind of monarchy which was quite different from the “absolute” monarchies which dominated the rest of Europe.
“This exhibition tells how Nantwich played its part, and how its people were affected by the conflict and the hardships and sufferings they endured but also explains the strategic importance of the town.
“In late 1643 Nantwich was the only town in Cheshire still held by the Parliamentarians.
“The defeat of Royalist forces at Nantwich thwarted King Charles’s plan to create a field army in the northwest based on regiments returning from Ireland and so altered the course of the conflict and therefore in some small way we can claim credit for a constitutional monarchy and the supremacy of Parliament.”
In development since 2015 under the direction of Dr Keith Lawrence, the centre was conceived as an educational resource focussed on the war in this locality.
Keith Lawrence, pictured, said: “The new centre is trying to paint an accurate picture by peeling apart the conventional stories, which are mostly propaganda.”
Those involved in creating the centre include the National Civil War Centre, Newark and Grosvenor Museum, Chester as well as Colin Bisset and Brenda Rampling of The Sealed Knot.
Entry to the museum and new centre is free.
Contact Nantwich Museum on [email protected] or call 01270 627104, visit www.nantwichmuseum.org.uk, https://www.facebook.com/nantwich.museumoffical/ or https://twitter.com/NantwichMuseum
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