The University of Sheffield
Department of History

HST3081/3082: Civil War and Restoration London, c. 1640-1670

40 credits (semesters 1 and 2)


Module Leader: Dr. Tom Leng

Pre-requisites

A pass in at least two history modules at level two.

Module Summary

In 1642, the city of London went to war with its King, Charles I. Eighteen years later, London welcomed back the Stuarts, in the form of his son Charles II. This module explores the history of London in this period of civil war, regicide and republicanism, and the Restoration of the monarchy, an era marked by political and religious conflict and radicalism, the outbreak of London's last major plague epidemic, and a devastating fire which destroyed four-fifths of the ancient City. The focus is on how these events were experienced and interpreted by the different social and religious communities of mid-seventeenth-century London, thus combining political, social and cultural history.

The course begins by surveying civic culture and society in the pre-civil war period, focusing on London's political and religious environments. We will introduce major themes in the history of early modern London: crisis and stability; participation and exclusion; religious uniformity and diversity; and public opinion. This will form the backdrop for our exploration of civil war London: we will consider the role which the city played in the outbreak of this conflict, and the extent to which Londoners experienced civil war in their own city, examining mass political mobilization, fears of popish plots, crowd protest and petitioning, the role of the printing press, and divisions in the city. We then move on to consider religious developments, particularly the growth of radical sects and the reactions they provoked, asking whether the 1640s sees the emergence of a genuine religious marketplace in London. We will see political and religious contests become entwined in the post-civil war period, and will trace the 'struggle for London' as it unfolded up to and after the execution of Charles I. Throughout, we will be interested in the extent to which civic culture was challenged and transformed by this explosion in political mobilization and religious diversity. These issues will inform our discussion of the Restoration period, in the second part of the course. We will examine the extent to which a successful royal Restoration was possible in London, how this was destabilized by the continuing politics of religion, and the ways in which plague and fire exposed the tensions underlying London society in this decade.
Overall, the course will aim to develop students' understandings of urban culture, society and politics within the context of mid-seventeenth-century London, and their critical skills in interpreting contemporary source material in documentary format.


Teaching

Seminar discussion of primary and secondary sources will allow students to acquire an in-depth knowledge of the historiography of this period and of the principal varieties of primary source material available to historians.

Assessment

The word limit for essays includes footnotes, but excludes the bibliography.


Selected Reading

Although much of the reading you will undertake for this module will be based on London, it will be very useful for you to undertake some general preparatory reading on seventeenth century English history, and the civil war period specifically, to provide wider context. The following general textbooks all have their advantages and disadvantages in terms of the periods they cover and the approaches they take, but are widely available (including in second hand copies) and would make good starting points:
Your time would be most usefully spent in reading a good account of the civil war. Most recent and particularly good on London (not to mention written by a Sheffield historian) is:
We will use a course pack to access some of the more specialized London readings. Should you want a taster of the sort of things we will be reading, the following are all recommended and available from the library (note that you are not expected to purchase any of these, and indeed several are prohibitively expensive):

Should you want a feel for what it was like living in early modern London, Samuel Pepys' diaries are always a fascinating read and worth dipping in. You may want to read a good general history of the city of London written for a non-academic audience. Of those available, the best for our period is probably:


Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the module, a candidate will be able to demonstrate: