ONE of the UK’s leading authorities on Oliver Cromwell is to visit Worcester to give a talk in the city where an effigy of the former Parliamentarian leader’s head is nailed by its ears above the main door of the civic headquarters.

Worcester has since glorified in the title the Faithful City for its support of the King during the English Civil War and although this claim is open to debate, there is no doubt that after Cromwell was gone and the monarchy restored, its citizens took to mocking  the Lord Protector by adding his gargoyle-like mask to the Guildhall frontage on High Street.

Professor Peter Gaunt of the University of Chester, who is president of the Cromwell Association, will speak in the Commandery on Thursday as part of the Battle of Worcester Society’s Civil War Nights programme.

Prof Gaunt gained a first degree in history and went on to write and research a doctorate at the University of Exeter on the government of Oliver Cromwell’s Protectorate 1653-58.

He is acknowledged as a leading expert on Oliver Cromwell and the English Civil War and has had many published works on these topics, but his talk at The Commandery will be titled “The Nursery of the King’s Infantry – Reassessing the Civil War in Wales 1642-1646”.

He will be questioning the strength and depth of the apparently dominant Royalism seen in most of the principality and exploring how the Parliamentarians set about recapturing Wales.

However, Prof Gaunt will take questions about Cromwell, the figure who played such a pivotal role in Worcester’s historical legacy, at the end of his address.

He explained: “Although I have quite a varied background in and experience of both archaeology and history, including work on medieval secular and ecclesiastical buildings and on post-medieval royal palaces, my principal research interests lie in the field of early modern England/Britain.

“I specialise in the history of the English Civil War and the life and times of Oliver Cromwell, embracing aspects of military, political and constitutional history.

"I have written or edited 15 books and more than 40 articles or chapters, including histories of the Civil War in England, Wales and Britain as a whole and two biographies of Oliver Cromwell.”

Prof Gaunt has also been an architectural historian for English Heritage working mainly on Hampton Court Palace and a researcher/writer for the parks and palaces division of the Department of the Environment ,working mainly on the Tower of London and Kensington Palace and Gardens.

His talk starts at 7pm on July 18 and the Commandery Cafe will be open until then. Tickets are on sale at the Commandery Shop, the tourist information centre at the Guildhall, or on the door on the night.

The cost is £7 for adults, £5 for Battle of Worcester Society members and £3 for students.