Pride’s Purge and the Rump
John Lobban (1919-1996)
Category
Coins and medals
Date
1993
Materials
Silver
Measurements
517 mm (Diameter)
Place of origin
United Kingdom
Collection
Osterley Park and House, London
NT 773623
Summary
Silver, Pride’s Purge and the Rump, medal designed by John Lobban (1919-1996) and Michael Harvey (1931-2013), struck Royal Mint, Llantrisant, 1993. The twelfth medal in a set of twelve issued by the Royal Mint in 1992 and 1993, to mark the 350th Anniversary of the English Civil War. The obverse, designed by John Lobban, shows Colonel Thomas Pride of the New Model Army with his soldiers outside Saint Stephen’s Chapel, Westminster, as they block the way to Parliament of Members who they had decided would be unlikely to support punishment of the King. The artist’s monogram 'JL' at far left. The reverse, designed by Michael Harvey, is inscribed 'PRIDE’S PURGE AND THE RUMP / 6 DECEMBER 1648. / If we beat the King ninety-nine times he would be King still.' The legend inscription refers to a conversation after the Battle of Marston Moor, between one of the New Model Army’s commanders, Edward Montagu, Earl of Manchester and Oliver Cromwell. Manchester said to Cromwell: ‘The King cares not how oft he fights, but it concerns us to be wary, for in fighting we venture all to nothing. If we beat the King ninety-nine times he would be King still, and his posterity, and we subjects still; but if he beat us but once we should be hanged, and our posterity be undone.
Full description
The Civil War was fought, mainly in England, between 1642 and 1649, the result of a long struggle for power between King Charles I (1600-49) and Parliament. After the royalist insurgencies in 1648, the Army became frustrated with the King’s constant attempts to foment rebellion, so it put pressure on Parliament to have the monarch brought to proper account for his actions during the Civil War. ‘Pride’s Purge’ took place on 6 December 1648, Colonel Thomas Pride and his soldiers took up station outside the entrance to St Stephen's Chapel. As the House of Commons gathered, Pride had his men arrest 45 Members and exclude from Parliament a further 186, whom the Army thought likely to oppose any measures to punish the King. This action was in effect a military coup d’état. A further 86 Members left in protest, leaving a 'Rump' of just some 200 Members and preparing the ground for the forcing through by a small group of an 'Act' on 6 January 1649, which led, despite opposition from those peers still sitting in the Lords, to the establishment of a court to try Charles I for high treason. This was the eleventh in a series of twelve medals issued by the Royal Mint at monthly intervals from June 1992, to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the outbreak of the English Civil War. The twelve medals illustrate the significant points in the conflict, from the raising of Charles I’s standard at Nottingham on 22 August 1642, to his execution on 30 January 1649. The designs of the obverses of the medals were commissioned from three leading contemporary artists, John Lobban, Michael Rizzello and Avril Vaughan, whilst the reverses, each of which contains a quotation relating to the subject of the medal, were designed by the distinguished lettering artist Michael Harvey, best-known for the names of celebrated Renaissance artists carved into the stonework of the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery. Michael Harvey’s original artwork for the series is in the Library of the University of Reading (URL MS 5115, file 392). The selection of the twelve episodes and the accompanying legend was devised by the historian of Tudor coinage Dr Christopher Challis. The medals were issued in silver and in bronze, in editions of 2,500 and 5,000, retailing at £84.50 or £49.50 per medal respectively. It was possible to buy the medals singly or as a set of twelve, the latter housed in an African walnut case. The whole series is in the collection at Osterley, but without the wooden case (NT 773248-773258, NT 773623). Jeremy Warren 2019
Provenance
Given to the National Trust in 1993 by George Child Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey (1910-1998).
Marks and inscriptions
Obverse: JL (monogram of John Lobban) Reverse, legend: PRIDE’S PURGE AND THE RUMP / 6 DECEMBER 1648. / If we beat the King ninety-nine times he would be King still.
Makers and roles
John Lobban (1919-1996), designer Michael Harvey (1931-2013), designer The Royal Mint, manufacturer