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The National Archives
Education
Civil War
An order published by Parliament about the city of Lincoln, 18 February 1642
(Catalogue ref: SP 16/497/29)
This is a Parliamentary Ordinance.
An ordinance was a law passed by Parliament that was not approved by the king. During the Civil War all new laws passed by Parliament were Ordinances.
Lincoln was controlled by Parliament in the Civil War, even though there were many supporters of the king in the city and in the county of Lincolnshire. County Committees ran areas controlled by Parliament.
These Committees were made up of men loyal to Parliament. Their job was to control their area and also to help Parliament’s war effort by supplying Parliamentary forces with food and equipment. This source comes from the early part of 1643 when people were beginning to feel the impact of the war. Both sides were desperate to find food, supplies and arms for their armies.
As the war went on the County Committees got tougher and tougher. They demanded more taxes, supplies, horses and so on for the war, and not just from Royalist supporters. As a result, they became increasingly unpopular.
County Committees usually singled out known Royalists in their area for harsh treatment, such as more taxes. Committee members were often Puritans, so they were also on the lookout for people who seemed to be sympathetic towards Catholics.
