The English Civil War is both a pivotal event in British History, and one of its most controversial subjects. The Civil War paved the way for the Industrial Revolution a century later, and so to the society of today. Traditionally the events of 1640 to 1660 - the collapse of government, civil war and revolution - have been attributed to divisions within the ruling class and, as a consequence, historians have mostly confined studies to the nobility and gentry. Yet, what of the role of the vast majority of ordinary people?