For many years historians have lamented the lack of records identifying Royalist combatants in the civil wars of the 1640s and 1650s. An uprising of royalist supporters in 1654/5 was led by Sir Joseph Wagstaffe and Colonel John Penruddock in the vain hope of restoring the Stuart monarchy. One of the consequences of Penruddock‘s Rebellion, as this uprising is now known, was the Protectorate’s formation of geographical regions governed by experienced military commanders known as Major Generals. Colonel John Desborough, brother-in-law of Oliver Cromwell, was the man chosen for this post in the West Country and one of the results of his endeavours there was the many thousands of names of Royalist supporters sent to Thomas Dunn in London to be entered at his Registry in London.
 
The records Dunn kept reveal the Christian name, surname, place of residence and occupation of some 5,000 Royalists in Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Exeter, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. The small number of names submitted from Cornwall are in stark contrast to the numbers from all the other counties. How many of these men actually fought in the wars is not recorded but a significant number also appear in the Restoration pension records. 
 
The information in these records is quite diverse and revealing. The men whose names were recorded were not limited to the upper echelons of 17th century society. Although there are 92 men described as ‘esquire’, 469 described as ‘gentleman’, 11 knights and five baronets, there were also professional men such as attorneys. As one might expect, those with more specialised occupations are more often in found in larger towns. There were musicians in Bath, Salisbury and Sherborne but also in Broadhembury D,evon and ‘Norton, Somerset, three apothecaries in Exeter, two in Bath, and one each in Bruton, Cirencester, Minchinhampton and Sherborne. Bruton had a bookseller, Sherborne a bookbinder. At the lower end of the society there are men in these records who were were fishermen, miners, shepherds, warreners, labourers, parchment makers,  organ makers, button makers, chandlers, glaziers, glovers, helliars, masons, tailors, yeomen and husbandmen, a ‘haberdasher of hats’, a stock carder, a sackmaker, and many other occupations.
 
In addition to Dunn's lists of men, the British Library holds copy letterbooks containing correspondence with the deputies in the western counties These letters contain valuable information about the movement of Royalist men from the West Country to and from London. Many of these letters show the place of lodging in London and Westminster that some West Country men used. One particular entry of note reveals that Peter Lely (1618-1680), the famous court painter to Charles II, who was living in Covent Garden, provided temporary lodgings for Lawrence Washington of Garsden, Wiltshire. In some instances there are details of men travelling further afield after arriving in London. Any entries relating to the West Country have been abstracted for ease of use.
 
The publication of this landmark volume is a must for historians interested in local and family history, the civil wars and occupational subjects. It is a significantly important source for this period. All of the records referred to are held at the British Library. The records for the West Country have been edited and published by Sue Berry and Dr Adrian Webb. Copies of this fully indexed book, containing 376 pages, maps, illustrations, tables, costing £30 plus £4 p+p