With the king under their control, the determination of Fairfax's Army made Presbyterian parliamentarians buckle. And when Ireton presented the carefully worked Heads of Proposals to the Officers and Agitators at the Army General Council at Reading, it seemed that at last a peace agreement was within grasp. Once agreed, Fairfax and the Army could march into London with King Charles at its head, and a new world could begin. All that was needed was the king to agree to the best peace proposals he will ever receive, so good surely it'll be in the bag.

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In 1647 The New Model Army became a battleground between Independant and Presbyterian factions. Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell were caught in the middle. As Holles came closer and closer to destroying the New Model, Fairfax might be forced to choose between the parliament whose rights he had fought to uphold, and justice for the soldiers with whom he'd lived and fought.

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In June 1646 Charles' path had taken him to the Scots, on the hope he could persuade them to put him back on the English throne. But he was not prepared to pay their price, and in England Holles and the Presbyterian party saw a way to break the power of the New Model Amy and the Independents once and for all. And achieving the departure of the Scottish army was the key.

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The Levellers were not an organized, structured politial party or pressure group. They were a loose association of radicals who found they shared new ideas that sprang from their religious view, the chaos and freedoms of the time, and the possibility of change. In 1646 their first coherent petition hit the streets - The Remonstrance of Many Thousand Citizens

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In one sense this is a Tale of Two Cities - Oxford and London, HQs of King and Parliament. But the First Civil war is a conflict that reaches into every town, village and parish. There are national armies, regional armies, local armies and countless garrisons. Even commuities that try to reject any conflict - the Clubmen. This is the story of the First Civil War as king and parliament fight over religion and their version of the Ancient Constitution.

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Charles options in 1645 were increasingly limited, as Fairfax and Cromwell closed down garrison after garison, and parliament defeated the few remaining royalist field armies. In Ireland he sent an envoy with secret instructions to the Confederate Association - maybe new concessions would a fresh army of 10,000 men to turn things around? Or in Scotland, Montrose was still ripping Covenanter armies to pieces - and had marched into Glasgow and called a new Scottish parliament. Or maybe France would help? Jean de Montereul, Mazarin's diplomat, was making nice noises. Surely all was not yet over? After all, he was God's annointed facing mere rebels.

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17th Century was a century of change and revolution, a world beautifully described in the a rich and varied book, The Blazing World. Historian Jonathan Healey comes along to talk through some of the themes and events that make the century such a fascinating time.

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After Naseby, Fairfax took the New Model on the Western Campaign, to deal with the last remaining significant royalist army in the field - George Goring at Taunton. On the way, and after victory at Langport, he met the phenomenon of the Clubmen risings. As communities tried to rediscover the peace that had been lost.

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We come to 1645, and the first test of the New Model Army. To Charles and Rupert this was an opportunity to destroy it while full of raw recruits. Through the sack of Leicester they lured the 'brutish' general Fairfax to meet them on the fields of Naseby.

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Despite the realities of the strategic situation, parliament and people were deeply discouraged by the failures of the Lostwithial and Newbury campaigns. Parliament was fractious, divided and argumentative. But from the disputes, debates and divisions - a solution emerged, and was crafted into a new weapon of the Revoluton.

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Excavations in Suffolk near Sutton Hoo have revealed fascinating news about the royal centre at Rendlesham, active from 570 to 730 ish. There's that - and news of a new Anglo Saxon series for you all

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