Wargaming the English Civil War in 15mm, home of the English Civil War travelogue.
Showcasing dreadful painting and mediocre prose.
Yes, you read that title correctly. English Civil War Lego . The good people at the Cromwell Museum have teamed up with United Bricks to create a small range of Civil War figures. As it was the Cromwell Museum who initiated the project, it will come as no surprise that Old Knoll has been created as a minifigure. Old Knoll and his hat. In case you are wondering, the blutack keeps him in place on…
Inspired by last summer's holiday to Scotland, and in particular the imagery on display at the West Highland Museum, Fort William, may I present Lord Brechin's Regiment of Horse. I realised that my Scots fielded lancers and harquebusiers, but there was no pistoller/Moss trooper type unit (lightly armoured with buff coats and armed with pistols). So here they are: oodles of headswaps for Scots blew…
We all have these 'I could just...' ideas about our toy soldiers which usually involve buying even more shiny things™. There's a couple of *big* thoughts kicking around my head (my RoF really need a third line of musketeers, and surely I need to represent my dragoons mounted too) which get beaten with a metaphorical big stick every time they start making any sort of noise. Recently a new 'I could…
Stuart Reid's latest offering via Partizan Press is a regimental history of the Covenanting Armies. This hardback is beautifully presented, but appears to have been poorly proof read. There are a number of typos, which is beginning to be a little too familiar with books from the Partizan stable. For £35, I do expect a level of publishing professionalism that appears to be lacking here. Just…
The latest offering from the FK&P* Celtic Fringe team giving us a scenario book. Firstly, as I've written before, I doff my cap to anyone bringing the Irish component of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms into the spotlight. Peter, Paul and Mary Bill** please take a bow. They have given us eight fantastic scenarios; an introduction to the fighting on the emerald isle, including short biographies of…
As it will soon be ECWtravelogue season again, those of you heading out on an ECW 'tour', might be facing a raft of entrance fees, that can quickly begin to mount up. Here are some ways of possibly saving yourself some money. Prices are correct for 2026. Please note, none of these links are corporate links. I won't receive any commission if you click through. I have just gathered all this…
Having just had a reorganisation of my storage boxes, and realising that my two Scottish armies now had space... I resorted to going through my spares boxes in order to work out what purchases would be required to fill the newly found vacant space. A Freikorps Covenanter officer Might as well paint them up whilst I await the postie bearing packets of lead and freshly layered MDF. Inspired by my…
The final instalment of the ECWtravelogue's summer expedition to Scotland. This time the focus is on the Highlands and Islands. Lochaber axes, West Highland Museum, Fort William Mingary Castle seen from the Oban-Castlebay ferry through a very long lens C13tth/C14th Mingary Castle was garrisoned by the Covenanters. It fell to the Irish Brigade in 1644. The Castle fell into disrepair and had been…
Happy bloggiversary*! 8 today. Cue elderly relative asking how it feels to be 8. Jings and crivens, never thought I'd be able to keep this up. This year saw the blog clock up over 1 million views, and receive its 500th post. Both statistics I find slightly bonkers. Just checking the 'supplies' for the KeepYourPowderDry bloggiversary party This year has seen a big jump in views, just shy of 400k in…
Spurred into action by Radio 4's Food Programme trotting out the 'Cromwell banned Christmas' line, time for the annual public service clarification... It being that time of year, it is only right and proper to debunk the commonly held 'fact' that Cromwell banned Christmas. The Puritans who held the majority in Parliament effectively banned Christmas as a) they believed it to be wasteful and a sin,…
After a brief sojourn in the Marches, it's back to Scotland for the ECWtravelogue. Today's post looks at Central Scotland, and the (alleged) jewel in the crown of Scottish Castles - Stirling. Stirling Castle, from the Rose Garden The Royal palace of Stirling Castle , had fallen into "ruin and decay" when Anne of Denmark chose to travel to Stirling for the birth of her first child in December 1593.…
Yet another major update for the Shropshire entry (makes a change from all the Scottish travelogue entries of late). Shropshire was, pretty much, a hot bed of Royalist support. The ECW travelogue takes in not just those sites associated with the fighting of the Wars, but also the many places that claim to have helped save the life of the future Charles II. And, of course, an infamous oak tree.…
W hat's this, another Scottish entry for the inappropriately named ECWtravelogue? This time our spotlight falls on the Grampian region. This post is also a bit of a milestone, as this is my 500th post. Aberdeen was the site of two battles. In 1644 Montrose routed a Covenanter Army, led by Robert Balfour, 2nd Lord Balfour of Burleigh. On the morning of September 13th, 1644, the Covenanter forces…
The briefest entry for the current rash of Scottish entries. Brodick Castle was seized by Argyll in 1639; it would be reclaimed by James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, only to lose it to the Campbells in 1646. Hamilton would be captured at Preston, and be beheaded the 9th March 1649. Brodick Castle The Castle would again be garrisoned for the King in 1650. The garrison resisted repeated half…
The inappropriately named ECWtravelogue turns its attention to Lothian, scene of Oliver Cromwell's arguably greatest military victory. See also Edinburgh Before we turn our attention to the Second Battle of Dunbar, there are a couple of other Wars of the Three Kingdoms locations worthy of our attention. Borthwick Castle's cannon scars Borthwick Castle , was besieged by Oliver Cromwell's forces in…
Yet more Scottishness from the ECWtravelogue summer jolly... Blair Castle Blair Castle , was garrisoned for the Royalist Engager cause, but was besieged by the New Model Army who took it quickly in 1650. bronze mortar barrel, inscribed "Thomas Pitt made this peece 1614", it also bears the Rose of England and Iacobus Rex The castle entrance hall is resplendently bedecked with C16th and C18th…
Well flabber my ghast. I really am shocked. Shocked I tell you. I started KeepYourPowderDry just under 7 3/4 years ago as a repository for all the scraps of paper that I was amassing researching my English Civil War project. I never really expected anyone to actually read it. But read it you do. Numbers slowly started appearing, a hundred one month, two hundred the next. A thousand views in a…
The latest instalment of the ECWtravelogue summer road trip. This time attention turns to the Borders. The Battle of Philiphaugh was fought on 13th September 1645, to the south west of Selkirk. After Montrose's victory at Kilsyth in August 1645, he made a critical error: rather than pressing on and consolidating his gains, he allowed his army to disperse, giving his enemies a chance to regroup.…
The second of the ECWtravelogue posts from its grand summer Scottish road trip. Ayr Citadel was started in 1652 during the Interregnum, and possibly never finished. The site of the fort is outlined by Montgomorie Terrace, Arran Terrace, Ailsa Place and Bruce Crescent. What had been built was demolished upon the Restoration. The Battle of Kilsyth took place on the 15th August 1645. Having won…
Latest behind the scenes update - August '25 After all the tales of woe and gnashing of teeth (see here ), I'm very pleased to report that: the BCW Project & Regimental Wiki is back! Slightly different domain though: BCW-Project.org.uk (TL;DR a long story mostly centred around corporate greed). The Project side of things: the Project is 'as it was' when it disappeared from the internet nearly 2…
The first of rather a lot of Scottish entries to the now rather inappropriately named, ECW travelogue. Apologies to Scottish readers who steadfastly, and proudly hang on to traditional Scottish shire boundaries, for ease of writing I have gone with the nine Scottish regions established by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. (Yes I know those areas are now defunct, but it made sense at the…
Finally! I hear some of you say. A Royalist Army reading list. Well, there's a problem. The Royalist Armies are nowhere near as well documented as the various Parliamentarian Armies. Why is this the case? There are, potentially, several reasons. Parliament, at every level, consisted of committees who needed minutes, account books and audit trails. Parliament 'won' the Wars, so these records were…
As the Scots fought on both sides, and regularly changed allegiance it makes sense to just write one Scottish reading list. Regular readers (hello all 12 of you) may have noticed a bit of a shift to matters north of the wall. You'd be correct, and can expect quite a bit of Scottish content over the next few months. The 'regularly changed allegiance' bit of that sentence seems rather flippant, but…
Today's post takes a look at a very exciting release from Partizan, that focuses on the flags of the Scottish Covenanters. Regular readers may well spot a plethora of Scottish related posts over the rest of 2025 - guess where the ECWtravelogue is going on holiday this year... For transparency please note, whilst I do occasionally get sent books to review, I bought this volume with my own money.…
The ECW Travelogue turns its attention on Staffordshire. For some reason, rather than starting the entry at the bit of Staffs that is 'next door' to Château KeepYourPowderDry I started with the corner of Staffs that was furthest away. The first entries look at the escape of Charles II after the Battle of Worcester. Of course any post about Staffordshire requires, by law, pictures of Staffordshire…