Sconce and Devon Park is a park in Newark, Nottinghamshire, England. It is the location of Queen's sconce, an earthwork fortification that was built in 1646 during the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Angl ...

, to protect the garrison of King Charles I based at Newark Castle. It is a listed

ancient monument In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The ''Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 ...

. The park has a visitor centre, local nature reserve and it is part of a civil war trail through the town.

Facilities

There are large areas of open grass and woodlands which includes Devon Pastures Local Nature Reserve, a children's play area, a civil war trail, a cafe, a football centre with 2 adult and 4 mini-soccer pitches, a park ranger service, a fitness trail, a wildlife pond, a

parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...

takes place every Saturday morning at 9am, and there is a junior parkrun every Sunday at 9am. The River Devon passes the park and contains Perch, bream, pike, chubb and carp. There are woodland walks with

English Oak ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus ...

, willow and English Elm. There are two meadows which support grass species and marsh vegetation that are part of the Local Nature Reserve. An orchard has damson, blackthorn, plum and apple trees.

Queen's Sconce

Cannon sculpture in Sconce and Devon Park

Held by the Royalists,

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road bypasses the town on the line ...

played a major role in the First English Civil War, located on the last crossing point of the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

and at the intersection of the Great North Road and

Fosse Way The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia ( Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis ( Ilchester), Aquae Sulis (Bath), ...

it was strategically important. The stronghold was centred on Newark Castle and was besieged three times before it succumbed, at the King's instruction, in May 1646. The sieges resulted in extensive siegeworks built by both sides.

Construction

The second siege of Newark had highlighted the weaknesses of the garrison's defences and two new earthwork forts were constructed. The Queen's Sconce was one of these with the other being the King's Sconce. The Queen's Sconce was built upon a knoll positioned to cover approaches to the town from the south. It was named after the wife of Charles I,

Henrietta Maria of France Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She wa ...

. The Sconce is one of the few forts that still survive and was only left untouched because the victorious Parliamentary army fled because of fears of the plague. The sconce measures 120m by 133m with a height of up to 9m, angle

bastions A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

project from the south, south west, north and north east. The corners of the ramparts are interpreted as platforms for firing artillery. The

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from " The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

s and bastions are enclosed by a ditch up to 21m wide and 3.6m to 4.5m deep. A

counterscarp A scarp and a counterscarp are the inner and outer sides, respectively, of a ditch or moat used in fortifications. Attackers (if they have not bridged the ditch) must descend the counterscarp and ascend the scarp. In permanent fortifications th ...

bank about 0.7m in height running along the south eastern and north eastern edge of the ditch shows the location of a

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade ...

which contemporary accounts suggest originally enveloped the sconce. It was built using gravel from the River Devon and it is star-shaped when viewed from above.

References

1646 establishments in England Buildings and structures completed in 1646 17th-century fortifications Parks and open spaces in Nottinghamshire * Civil wars in England Charles I of England Henrietta Maria {{coord missing, Nottinghamshire