From The Neolithic To The Sea: A Journey From The Past To The Present

Queen's Sconce

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Military
Nottinghamshire
53°04'07.4"N 0°49'18.7"W
SK7906253052
Ruin
1644
Free
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Queen's Sconce is an earthwork gun platform, located in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire.

The sconce was built using gravel from the River Devon by the Royalist defenders at the intersection of the Great North Road and Fosse Way in 1644, during the English Civil War, to protect the last crossing point of the River Trent and the southern side of Newark. The town was besieged three times before it surrendered, at the King’s instruction, in May 1646. The sieges resulted in extensive earthworks built by both sides.

The second siege had shown where the defence of the town was weak, so it was decided that two gun platforms would be built either side of the castle. The one to the north, known as the Kings Sconce no longer exists. The Queen's Sconce was built upon a knoll and aligned to cover the approaches to the town from the south and was said to be named after the wife of Charles I, Henrietta Maria of France.

The Sconce, one of the few forts that still survive, was only left intact because the Parliamentary army fled for of fears of plague.

The sconce is an Ancient Scheduled Monument and part of the Newark Civil War trail.