Friends of National Civil War Centre - Newark Museum

27/04/2026

Join us for our last event before summer!
Saturday 2nd May 4.30 pm
Country Beats & Dancing Feet : Dancing in Stuart England.

Shake a leg Stuart style as we learn about the country dances of market squares and village greens as recorded in John Playford’s 1651 ‘The English Dancing Master’. This first ever country dance manual, complete with instructions and music for each dance, was an immediate hit with many editions in print over the next 100 years.
Lynne and Mike Spicer will offer a short introduction to the history behind the dances and offer everyone a chance to have a go.
Easy to learn and enjoyable to try, these dances and accompanying talk will leave you smiling whether you prefer to watch or give country dancing a go!

Free for under 25s
£10 or £3 for Friends and volunteers.

13/04/2026

Silent Witnesses - What the Human Remains Tell us About the Battle of Stokefield

Our next talk is this Friday, 17th April, 7pm.

Dr Samantha Tipper, Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, examines what human skeletons from the Battle of Stoke Field can reveal about violence, injury and life during one of the most significant battles of the late medieval period.

Cost: £10, £3 for Friends of NCWC or Volunteers.
Bar open at 6.30pm

10/04/2026

Don’t miss your chance for attending this year’s conference!

The Battlefields Trust East Midlands Region and the Friends of the National Civil War Centre are pleased to announce their annual conference looking at events during the final year of the British Civil Wars in 1646.

The programme is as follows:
1000 – 1030
Registration and tea/coffee

1030 – 1040
Welcome; Housekeeping; Friends and BT – aims & benefits of membership.

1040 – 1100
Where 1645 Part 2 Ended
Don Smith

1100 – 1200
The Battle of Torrington and the demise of the royalist Western Army
Terry Keefe

1200 – 1300
The Midlands and the surrender of Oxford
Gregg Archer

1300 – 1400
Lunch

1400 - 1500
Stow on the Wold 1646: the battle and its location
Simon Marsh

1500 - 1600
The final siege and surrender of Newark & the King’s march north with the Scots
Kevin Winter

1600 - 1610
Closing Remarks and Plans for Next Year

Costs and Booking

The cost including a buffet lunch is £45.

For members of the Battlefields Trust or Friends of the National Civil War Centre there is a reduced cost of £30.
Non-members who join the Friends on the day and pay by standing order will be given a refund and pay only the reduced amount.
The easiest way to book a place at the Conference is via Eventbrite:

Members:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1646-members-tickets-1982118221959?aff=oddtdtcreator

Non Members:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1646-non-members-tickets-1981707213622?aff=oddtdtcreator

Alternatively please complete a paper booking form.

Come join us for 1646 , looking at events in the final year of the First Civil War

21/03/2026

Our next talk is with Norton Disney archaeologist Richard Parker talking about the Dodecahedron - history’s strangest puzzle
Friday March 27th @ 7pm.
Tickets £10 or £3 for Friends of the NCWC-NM.
Tickets are selling fast so don’t miss out on seeing this unusual object!

10/03/2026

The Trial of Francis Hacker

The Trial of Colonel Francis Hacker will take place at St Mary Magdalene Church in Newark, Nottinghamshire
On Friday 8th May 2026 at 7:00 pm

Meet & Greet from 6:30 pm

The good people of Stathern in Leicestershire are taking their infamous regicide to the Royalist stronghold in Newark, Nottinghamshire, to be tried for the part he played in the murder of King Charles I in 1646.
You will be transported back to the year of Our Lord 1660, where you will join a jury of many to hear the evidence laid before Francis.

Once the witnesses have been called to testify and the summary of charges presented, you will cast your verdict. Is he Innocent, or is he Guilty?

WHAT WILL YOU DECIDE?

Numbers are limited, so book your tickets early to avoid disappointment

Tickets £10 + Booking Fee

Tickets can be booked via the link below:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-trial-of-francis-hacker-tickets-1982872283377?aff=oddtdtcreator

For those attending the conference on the 9 May there are a number of discounted tickets available via the link below:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-trial-of-francis-hacker-tickets-1982872283377?discount=CWConference26

Tickets £5 + Booking Fee

Please only purchase a ticket with this link if you have already booked for the conference

You are hereby summoned as a juror to decide the fate of the regicide Colonel Francis Hacker.

09/03/2026

he Battlefields Trust East Midlands Region and the Friends of the National Civil War Centre are pleased to announce their annual conference looking at events during the final year of the British Civil Wars in 1646.

The programme is as follows:
1000 – 1030
Registration and tea/coffee

1030 – 1040
Welcome; Housekeeping; Friends and BT – aims & benefits of membership.

1040 – 1100
Where 1645 Part 2 Ended
Don Smith

1100 – 1200
The Battle of Torrington and the demise of the royalist Western Army
Terry Keefe

1200 – 1300
The Midlands and the surrender of Oxford
Gregg Archer

1300 – 1400
Lunch

1400 - 1500
Stow on the Wold 1646: the battle and its location
Simon Marsh

1500 - 1600
The final siege and surrender of Newark & the King’s march north with the Scots
Kevin Winter

1600 - 1610
Closing Remarks and Plans for Next Year

Costs and Booking

The cost including a buffet lunch is £45.

For members of the Battlefields Trust or Friends of the National Civil War Centre there is a reduced cost of £30.
Non-members who join the Friends on the day and pay by standing order will be given a refund and pay only the reduced amount.
The easiest way to book a place at the Conference is via Eventbrite:

Members:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1646-members-tickets-1982118221959?aff=oddtdtcreator

Non Members:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1646-non-members-tickets-1981707213622?aff=oddtdtcreator

Alternatively please complete a paper booking form.

22/02/2026

Come & join us for a fun night & help our fundraising efforts 😁

21/02/2026

This years conference in association with the Battlefields Trust- East Midlands will be on 9th May 2026

18/02/2026

Thank you for supporting our fundraising and for your generous donations.
We are now able to buy the defib cabinet for the NCWC-NM.
Our next project is to purchase two laptops for volunteers & work experience students to use in the NCWC-NM.

Our next fundraising events for the Friends National Civil War Centre-Newark Museum are:

Spring Quiz Thursday 5th March 7pm at the NCWC-NM Teams of 4 (maximum) but these can be made up on the evening. The bar will be open. Join us for a fun quiz to help us buy the laptops. Book your places at: [email protected]

The next talk:
The Norton Disney Dodecahedron Friday 27th March 7pm
Discover the secrets of a rare Roman dodecahedron found near Norton Disney with archaeologist Richard Parker.
Book your ticket online at:

From our spectacular annual pantomime to our summer Palace at the Castle programme of outdoor theatre, find comedy, drama, music and more, all available to book here. Search to discover something especially for you or just see what’s coming next at this beautiful art deco theatre and our partner ...

06/02/2026

Busy times!
Our next talk - Friday 13th February @ 7 pm

The British Civil Wars & The Wider World.
Find out how the small & distant settlements in the New World, who were also ruled by Charles 1, were affected.
Professor Carla Pestana, University of California, Los Angeles.

25/01/2026

Don't forget our next talk at the NCWC-NM is on next:

Saturday 31st January 7pm at the NCWC-NM

Beacon of local pride! Discover how St Mary's Church shaped local life during the British Civil Wars in this illuminating talk by historian Stuart Jennings.

Book your ticket online or at the reception desk or you can pay on the night.

£3 for volunteers and FNCWC-NM members and £10 for non members.