ABSTRACT
ThevastmajorityofParliament'smilitaryexpenditurewentonpayingthe wagesofthesoldiers.Between1645and1651thetreasurersoftheNewModel Armyspentabout£250,000onarmingandequippingthearmyinEnglandbut over£4.25milliononpay.NeverthelessParliamentspentlargesumsofmoney onarmingandequippingitsforcesandahighproportionofthecontractswent toLondoners.Parliamentaryprivateeringalsoneedstobeconsideredinthis context.TosupplementtheirblockadeofroyalistandIrishportsParliament authorizedprivateindividualstosendoutwarshipsinreturnforashareofthe capturedprizes.Theprivateerswerethereforeanauxiliarynavy.Becausethey weremostlysuppliedbyLondonersthey,likethecontractsforthe conventionalforces,providedopportunitiesforLondonerstoprofit,which compensated,atleastinpart,forthewartimetaxes. 1
EstablishingthescaleofexpenditureonarmsandequipmentintheCivil Wariscomplicatedbythefactthatpurchasesweremadebyaverylarge numberofpeopleandinstitutions.Themajorcustomerswerethemainarmies andthenavy,butLondonersalsosuppliedtheprovincialforcesandgarrisons, whichtogethermaywellhaveprovidedatleastasmuchdemandforarmsand equipmentasthemainarmies.2MoreoverthewayParliamentsupplieditsmain fieldarmieschangedasthewarcontinued.Consequentlytheevidencefor contractingwasscatteredacrossalargenumberofsourcesmanyofwhich havenotsurvived.HoweverthankstotheheroicresearchesofPeterEdwards anoverviewofthissubjectisemerging.Atleast£450,000wasspentin Londononpurchasingarms,clothingandequipmentforthearmiesbetween 1638and1652?Howeverthismustbeseenasaminimumfigure,notonlyis
much of the evidence lost, but there are also other forms of expenditure, such as the navy, which also need to be included. The war also stimulated private demand for arms, for example at the outbreak of hostilities Edmund Heaman, a clothier from Devon, employed his brother, then living in London to purchase arms for himself and his servants.4
