The fighting men of the English Civil War had more uniformity than their counterparts on the continent in the Thirty Years War, but such uniforms were at the discretion of the Colonel who raised the regiment. The officers seemed to have worn their own civilian dress in a variety of styles and colour and it was only the ordinary fighting men who were issued with coats, breeches, stockings and headwear.
The uniform colours of the vast majority of regiments, both foot and horse, are unknown today, but we have listed some of the notable exceptions within this section. Some regiments have become known by colour, notably the Trained Bands of London, but this colour refers to the unit standards not the uniforms – although you can assume they are the same if you wish, with no fear of contradiction.
Red and blue were common on both sides, as were white or grey coats. This can be attributed to the availability of dyes rather than any grand desire to create army uniformity. The Scots Covenanter force was generally all in ‘hodden grey’ coats as they were a centrally raised standing army, although even here there were notable exceptions.
The good news in all this is that your painted regiments can be used in both Royalist and Parliamentarian armies with the judicious swapping over of regimental flags; the King’s Guard of today’s battle can transform into Denzil Holles roundheads tomorrow.
Dan Hewitson
Josh Berridge