Map of the week – Edgehill

January 1643

3 months after the first battle of the Civil War, Edgehill, a pamphlet describing the ghostly events that continued in the area after the battle was published. Titled “A Great Wonder in Heaven”, it reported the first encounter with a ghostly re-enactment of the battle by local shepherds. The priest at Kineton also described his brush with the ghosts when around the battlefield. King Charles dispatched a Royal Commission to investigate – they too described a ghostly battle scene, the details tallied with survivors actual accounts of the real battle.

The villagers decided the only way to rid themselves of these phantoms was to bury all the battle-dead in Christian graves (the bodies still remained on the field through the winter).

This map shows the battle area with Grave Ground and Graveground Coppice clearly marked.

To this day, there are still reports of eerie sounds and phantom soldiers appearing at the scene on the anniversary of the battle.

The area has also has a fascinating 20th century military history that can be explored

Map of the week – Berkeley Castle and the last days of Edward II

Berkeley Castle, whose origins date to the 11th century, can be found on the outskirts of the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire and is traditionally believed to be the scene of the murder of King Edward II.

The map shown above is a 1:2,500 county series map from 1880

Edward’s reign was marked by alleged incompetence, political squabbling and military losses including the devastating defeat at Bannockburn in 1314. He was eventually overthrown by his wife Isabella of France and Roger Mortimer, an exiled opponent of Edward, in favour of Isabella’s son who was crowned Edward III in January 1327.

After Edward II was deposed in 1326 he was exiled to Berkeley Castle, where in late September 1327, after a failed escape, he was reputedly murdered by means unknown. Although popular stories of a red hot poker or suffocation persist, some commentators have claimed that Edward’s escape was actually successful, and that someone else was later murdered in his place. Whatever the truth, much of the original fabric of Berkeley Castle still stands as a reminder of the last days of one of England’s Plantagenet kings.

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Decorative historical maps from the British Library Map Collection

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