A true relation of the carriage of a party of horse, at Medborne in the county of Leicester: as it was given in to the Committee of Leicester, on Thursday the 9th. of April, 1646. By the minister, and inhabitants of the said towne.

A True RELATION, &c.

VPon Friday the 3. of this instant April, 1646. about eleven or twelve of the clock in the forenoon, there came nine or ten Troopers into Medborne in the County of Leicester, and enquired for the Consta∣ble. He not at home, they demanded of his wife Provender and Quarter for ten horses and men: She asked to whom they belong'd; they answered, to Colonel Rossiter. She told them they should have Provender and Quarter assigned them presently, and called for her son to accommo∣date them: One of them presently replies, Come, come, we must not stay your leisure, wee'll take some of these things here (in the house) & make mony of them to pay our quarters. I hope (Sir) saith the woman, you will not be so violent: Yes, said he, (bending his Pistol at her) we have a Commission to kill and slay all Cavaliers that we find without tickets, and we have been at Holt this morning, and if we had found any of them there without tickets, we would have put them all to the sword. The woman, very well affected to the Parliament, yet affrighted with such carriage and language, desires them to have patience, and fetcheth them what provender they demanded, offering them tickets to quarter at severall houses, which they refused, saying they would quarter to∣gether at the Ale-house, and the Constable should pay for it, And so they did for an houre or two.

Anon, one of them returns to the Constables house, and demands a horse out of the stable: she intreats them to be content with their free quarter for themselves and their horses; But he growing violent, and preparing and trying to break open the stable, and threatning to shoot her sonne that had locked the door. She sent privately for Mr. Doughty the Minister of the Town, as one well known to the neighbouring gar∣rison, to perswade them: the Souldier suspecting something, ran after the man that was sent, with his pistol, as if he would kill him, who hard∣ly escaped through a Barn, which the said souldier searched diligently for him. The Minister, when he came, found them all horst at the Con∣stables door, and saluting them after a friendly manner, asked if there

were any Officer amongst them? They begin to handle their arms, and (with other insolent and reproachfull language) said, Who made you an examiner? and, We will know, ere we go, who made you an exa∣miner. And being somewhat calmed with fair words, one amongst them said he was Quartermaster, but they refused to give any other account of themselves, then, that they were for King and Parliament, and, Per∣haps we belong to Rossiter, and perhaps have been conveighing prest men to Northampton, and what has any body to do with that? The Minister desired to know whether they quartered hereabout last night, and where the rest of their party was? they answered, They could speak to these things, but scorned to be accountable to every one. The Minister told them, that by vertue of an Order from the Committee of Leicester, he had power to examine them, or any that should come in that manner, but yet desired only as a friend to know to whom they belonged; they answer, That's all one, we shall desire to be excused.

A while after, news was brought to the Minister, that a horse was taken out of his team that was at plough, by the souldiers that quartered in the town, and that they had beaten the plough-men, and railed at their master, saying that he was a Rogue, and they would have one of his horses, which carriage of theirs made many believe they had been a party of Cavaliers; whereupon the Minister, with his youngest brother and two men, took some arms and ran out on foot to rescue the team being near the town, and in the recovery of the horse which the souldi∣ers had taken, they took the Quartermaster prisoner with his horse and arms (who with some others charged those that came to rescue the horse) and brought him into the Parsonage, without any bloodshed on either side.

The rest escaping, seized upon one whole team in the field, and part of another, and were driving them apace towards Rockingham, where∣upon the town generally rose, and with forks and staves and some few guns pursued them, and in Drayton field, a mile from Medborne, over∣took them, where the Troopers attempted once or twice to charge them, but the Townsmen thus bespake them; Gentlemen, we desire to do you no wrong, and we desire you would do us no wrong; You have taken away cattle, and we have a man of yours in the town, Let us have our horses, and you shall have your man, if you tell us to whom you belong; And do not you offer to hurt us, for we stand upon our own defence, and if ye do, ye come upon your own perill. Here they came

to an agreement: the Troopers said they were Major Babingtons men, that their Lieutenant and Troop quartered at Calcut (in Rutland, with∣in a mile of Rockingham) that the horses were gone thither, but they would send one of their company for the horses, and the rest return to Medborne for their man that was at the Parsonage. Hitherto there was no blood drawn on either side (though one pistol was casually fired, and some stones thrown) saving only that one or two of the Country-men that stragled from the rest, were cut before this agreement.

And now marching in a friendly manner all together towards Med∣borne, (for now some on both sides remembred one another as being formerly acquainted) within a quarter of a mile of Medborne, a party of about twenty Horse, which they had treacherously sent for from their Quarters (and not for the town-horses, as was agreed and sworn) over∣took them: the Country men no sooner discovered them, but they de∣sired one of the Troopers that were going back with them, to ride and meet them, and tell them that all was agreed, that there might be no mischief done. This messenger was a Scot, who when he came up to the said twenty, told them that the Townsmen had taken their men pri∣soners; And saved indeed the Ministers brother from the fury of the rest, of whom three or four fell violently upon him (yet hurt him not) but joyned with them in falling upon the Townsmen now dispersed and scattered over the field; and without mercy stabbed, wounded, miserably bruised and trampled with their horses, sixteen men or up∣wards in the field, of which one dyed within twelve houres, and other two within five dayes: divers were thrust through, as they ran from them towards the hedges and ricks; one had his bowels let out with a wound, other some had their hands almost cut off, and some beaten and bruised so that they are not likely to recover, and the rest lesse dan∣gerously hurt. Of these, divers were grievously mangled and cut, after the Souldiers had perswaded them to lay down their arms, and sworne to do them no harm, especially those that most manfully defended themselves. And when all was done, the Constable James Barret comming in (from the wood) to see what was the matter, and having told them he was the Constable, three or foure of them fell upon him and thrust him through the body, whereof he is dead. And when as they rode up and down the field to seek out the country men (for many endeavoured to hide themselves) crying, Kill, kill the Rogues, and some of the wounded answered, They had their deaths wounds already:

they made them open their clothes, and shew where and what their hurt was, before they would spare them; cursing and swearing all the while after a dreadfull manner: and divers they cut with their swords as they lay upon the ground, and as they found them in the ditches: and when some that were deadly wounded, were set on horseback to be carried into the town, some of those souldiers caused them to be taken down, saying, Throw them down: and when some answered, He is wounded, he cannot go; One Mr. Mansell (not the Lieutenant, for he was not amongst them nor any other Officer but one Corporal) said, Throw him down, Plague on them, if he cannot go, let him not in the ditches. And after they had wounded them, they would not suffer them to be carried into the town of an houre or more, but made them lie in their blood and sweat on the cold ground.

Being come into the town, they came swearing and raging after a dreadfull manner to the Ministers house demanding entrance, and their man that was there prisoner. The Minister (who stayed at home, whilst his brother and servants went out to rescue the Towns teams) desired them to forbeare till his brother and Townsmen were returned, that he might know what was done in the field, and they should have their man, if withall they declared to whom they belonged, and what they were, which the prisoner had refused to discover. They swore they were Major Babingtons men, and would have their man and the Mini∣ster too, or they would fire the house. The house, said another, nay fire the Town: and with that one of them rode to the other side of the town, brake open a house, and fetcht out a fire-brand, with which he rode back to the Parsonage; but one lesse desperate then he, beat it out of his hand and put it out, before he could put it into the Hovell.

When they had burst open the gate, and attempted upon the house, the Minister brought their man to the window, that they might see he was well, and desired him to perswade them to forbeare, and he should be let out unto them, who instead of perswading, did more incense them to violence: whereupon they cry out with horrid oaths, No parley, no quarter, nothing but blood, or submission to our mercy. The Mini∣ster presents a short scattering gun at four or five of them together that were breaking a window, whereupon some of them shrunk back, and all swore desperately, that if he made but one shot, hit or misse, they would kill his brother and the rest of the Townsmen that were their prisoners in the field, and then fire the house and put all therein to the sword,

and one swore, Let't go & kill them in the field, the first thing we do. And then did one of them bring a burning firebrand of the bignes of a mans arm, and thrust it into a hovell of Pease-straw and Pease, neer the house, which being heavy fell out upon the ground before it could kindle. And so breaking in at a window (whilst the Minister and his wife, with M. Boheme Minister of Hallarton who was then also in the house, escaped out at a back-doore) they brake open every door that they found lock∣ed, to search for Mr. Doughtey, (save one door that they attempted, but could not break) swearing they would cut the maids in a hundred peeces, if they told not where he was, for they would have his blood if they were hang'd for it. And having plundered the house at their pleasure of such things as they could best carry away, ransacking and breaking up divers trunks and boxes, and cutting some furniture with their swords in their rage; at length they departed, and carried the Ministers brother prisoner behind one of them to their quarters, where they kept him that night, some of them swearing often they were sorry they had given him quarter; and others threatned, that when or where∣soever they should meet with him, or his brother the minister, alone, they would kill them.

Since this, they have been heard at severall times to threaten and sweare, that they would kill the said Mr. Doughtey, and that the rest of the Town should drink of the same cup, rejoycing at the death of some, and miseries of the rest, boasting and glorying how many they had wounded.

Also upon Wednesday April 8. as one of our slain (the Ministers servant) was carried to the grave, a party of the same men, with drawn swords at the towns end, stood hooping and hallowing as in triumph, and challenging the Town to come out, greatly terrifying the inhabi∣tants.

All which Premises the whole Town of Medborne hum∣bly refer to your considerations, desiring that the rest of the said Party may be apprehended, and all proceeded against according to law and justice, and the Town secured from their further threatned rage.

And as we desire that all that Troop may be brought

to examination, so, that the innocent and guiltlesse among them may be speedily cleered; And all with as little pre∣judice as may be to Major Babington, his Lieutenant, and other Officers and Souldiers that had no hand in the pre∣mises.