Hazzard's Company, like so many other stories, was a small footnote in the greater narrative of the English Civil Wars.
Not the big names from the history, but ordinary men and women lost in the grand sweep of history, living their lives in a world turned upside down.
Through diligent and meticulous research we have been able to tease out details of the historical unit we portray. Some things we have on record, and much more can be inferred through more general study.
The Historical Hazzards
Captayne Henry Hazzard’s Companie of Firelocks and Artillerie
One of the “Blewcoated companies of Firelockes” who took part in the storming of Alton.
We have few records of the original members of the Companie, one came to light in the National Archives at Kew; our sincere thanks to Alan Turton who spotted it, and was kind enough to point it out.
At the end of the Civil War, the victorious troops had to be given their arrears of pay; the losers were to provide. This is the registration of the sale of a “Parcell of ye Mannor of Spalding, Com. Lincoln”, to raise £1184. 7s 6d – to defray the pay of 89 soldiers, on 30th August 1653.
In amongst them is one solitary mention -no.21 – of John Driver; he appears listed under Capt. Arthur Helsams Companie in Col. Cox’s Regiment. We have no other mention of John Driver; we have lists of officers, down to Corporall, from their disbanding 25th April 1645, at Wokingham. We know that the Companie was taken into the New Model Army, along with others from Essex’s Army, and we think that Hazzard himself ended up in Poole, along with the guns from Waller’s Trayne.
Part of the text reads:-
John Driver as foote soldier in
21 Capt. Hazards Comp: of ffirelockes 001:01;02
Comptroller of the Traine to Sir Wm
Waller’s Army
Hazzard’s were raised in 1642/3 and fought for two to three years together, ten years later, after probably serving in further action, John Driver gets £1 0s 6d in arrears.
We have a list of officers in the final days of the company from a manuscript in the Bodleian Library, MS.Tanner 60. Fol.146r
A list of Capt. Henry Hazzards officers over fireLocks belonging to the Trayne under the Honourable Sir William Waller being reduced at Oakingham 25th April 1645
Henry Hazzard Capt
Henry Higgins Leuten’t
Roger Preston Ensign
William Bedford} sergeant
Henry Nicholas}
Laurence Pollard
John Wilkinson } Corporalls
Nicholas Cooke
Richard Hide Drum
Matthew Phillips provt Marshall
Further Historical Research
Our company members have a wealth of historical knowledge, and we have copies of many more documents in our archives that members can search through at one of our many working weekends.
If you are a historical researcher let us know, we may be able to help you delve further, or you may have found items we have missed.
Either way we would love to hear from you.