Conflict Archaeology is a relatively new aspect of the discipline; in Britain, at least, it is more commonly known as Battlefield Archaeology, reflecting what is often its main focus. Yet, with a few notable exceptions, British battles were relatively short affairs, most lasting just hours. Sieges, on the other hand, could last for days, weeks, or even months, meaning that they leave a potentially greater archaeological ‘footprint’. Sieges were also the most prominent type of action during the so-called ‘English’ Civil Wars (‘so-called’ because this series of conflicts started in Scotland in 1639 and ended in Ireland some 14 years later); in England, for example, for every major battle there were eight sieges. Investigating a Civil War siege-site had long been the ambition of a group of archaeologists and historians that I belong to, and ultimately good fortune brought us to one such location: the Norfolk town of King’s Lynn. There, in January 2018, the late Neil Faulkner and I founded a community-based archaeological research project called King’s Lynn under Siege (KLuS).
Situated near the mouth of the Great River Ouse as it enters the Wash, King’s Lynn was not one of England’s great walled medieval towns. Instead, its fortifications evolved organically. To the west, it was protected by the river, while several streams and smaller rivers were diverted to help shield the settlement to the east and south. Where there were gaps, earth banks topped with wooden palisades were erected, and finally, to control passage in and out of the town, a number of gateways were built, most notably on the London and Norwich roads. During the latter years of the Middle Ages, these gates were rebuilt in brick and stone (the South Gate remains a local landmark), and a short stretch of masonry wall was constructed on either side of the East Gate (itself demolished in 1800). In summary, we can envisage the defences as being D-shaped, with the Great Ouse forming the straight side of the letter.
As King’s Lynn entered the post-medieval period, it was no longer one of England’s chief ports (it had declined since its Hanseatic League heyday), but it was nevertheless still important to river and coastal shipping. Nine counties could be reached by boat from King’s Lynn, while its further-ranging vessels sailed up and down the east coast of England, and the town also traded across the North Sea. Its defences evolved to reflect this importance: while the town was not included in Henry VIII’s coastal defence programme of the 1540s, two additional forts were constructed nearby during the 1580s and 1620s. Then, at the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, like so many other towns, King’s Lynn’s defences were repaired and improved – although even these proved insufficient to withstand what followed. In the summer of 1643, a bloodless coup saw King’s Lynn become the only openly Royalist town in East Anglia, but in September ‘Roundhead’ forces laid siege to its walls, and the town soon fell once more to the Earl of Manchester and the Parliamentarian Army of the Eastern Association.
