Jack Neill

DPhil Research Topic

Social Relations and the English Revolution, c. 1640 - c. 1660.

Supervisor: Andrew Hopper and Ismini Pells

My research analyses how the internecine warfare and political revolution associated with the British Civil Wars (1642-1651) impacted social relations in parishes across England. It is likely that a greater percentage of the population died as a result of the conflict than did during the First World War, and for the first time people across the nation had to choose an allegiance that was separate from their confessional identity.

My thesis assesses how in a post-conflict society notions of neighbourliness changed as non-gentry groups refashioned their parish communities and social networks based upon what side they supported. Individual chapters address themes such as:

• Denunciation.
• Gender and allegiance.
• Microhistorical approaches to allegiance.
• How civilians interacted with the soldiery.
• Relations between the laity and clergy.

This will widen understandings of the nature of the English Revolution, and social relations more broadly in early modern England. Ultimately it will be argued that the years between 1640 and 1660 were crucial in the formation of a nascent national popular political culture.

My research primarily uses archival sources, including criminal depositions, petitions, and parish registers.

My research is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the
Cyril and Phillis Long Scholarship from The Queen’s College.

I am from Northumberland and before starting my DPhil studied my undergraduate degree in History at Durham University. I completed my MSt in Early Modern History at St Catherine’s College at the University of Oxford in 2024.