paull cliffe battery was built in 1542 by the order of henry viii
Paull Cliffe Battery was brought into life during Henry VIII’s reign as part of the fortifications of Hull, a battery for 12 guns was constructed in the village of Paull.
This was part of a larger plan to bolster the defence of England and Wales, for fear of invasion from the french, which followed just 3 years later (The battle of Solent)
The costings of these defences are estimated at £2 - £82Million in todays money. These funds were raised through the dissolution of the monasteries, in which Henry VIII disbanded Catholic monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland. Henry VIII seized their wealth and disposed of their assets.
In 1642 King Charles I visited the battery during the Civil War In England to review his forces. Shortly after this visit he was famously turned away from Hull by Sir John Hotham. Later in the same year the Battery was partly demolished by gunfire from Parliamentarian ships sailing up the Humber to relive the siege of hull. Paull Church was damaged by shots aimed for the Battery.
the civil war
The English Civil War comprised of three wars between the Cavaliers and Roundheads (Royalists and Parliamentarians)The first (1642-1646), Second (1648) and Third (1650-1651)
Spoiler alert - Resulting in the execution of King Charles 1 in 1649 and the establishment of the Commonwealth and Protectorate, a period without a monarch. (The only ever British monarch to be executed)
The human mortality rate through these wars were huge, amassing an enormous 200,000 loss of lives, equating to 4.5% of the population.
The Civil wars saw the beginning of the modern British Army tradition with the creation of the New Model Army, the first national Army comprising of trained soldiers.
The battle of solent
The Battle of Solent was a response from the French after henry VIII’s military campaign in France, capturing Boulogne in 1544.
The French launched their invasion in 1545 after a ropey start, the flagship of Admiral Claude d’Annebault was destroyed by fire and the replacement ran aground and leaked.
The French had far superior numbers to the English fleet, 200 ships carrying 30,000 soldiers compared to 80 ships in the English fleet.
Early stages of the battle were not favourable due to weather conditions. When the wind picked up the English ships could make their move, The Mary Rose apparently being the first which in turn resulted in The Mary Rose sinking to the seabed.
Only 3 days after the sinking of The Mary Rose, the French decided to abandon the invasion. The invasion of the Isle of Wight wasn’t going to plan, the flagship La Maistresse was still taking on water, supplies were low and illness was setting in.
However this wasn’t their last act, a day later some 1500 French troops attacked Seaford but where kept at bay by the local militia and longbows. D’Annebault cut his losses and headed back to France.
