By the Sword Divided

By the Sword Divided is a British television series produced by the BBC between 1983 and 1985.

The series, created by John Hawkesworth, was a historical drama set during the mid-17th century, dealing with the impact of the English Civil War on the fictional Lacey family, made up of both Royalist and Parliamentarian supporters.

It follows the family as it is torn apart by the conflicting and changing loyalties of the war, as families were during that time, and the defeat of the Royalist forces at the end of the First English Civil War. Series two covers the second and third civil wars and the eventual Restoration of the Monarchy. The last episodes see the surviving members of the family (from both sides of the divide) witness the arrival of King Charles II on a visit to the ancestral Lacey home.

Cast
Regular Cast


 * Lucy Aston – Lucinda Lacey/Ferrar
 * Timothy Bentinck – Sir Thomas (Tom) Lacey
 * Simon Butteriss – Hugh Brandon
 * Judy Buxton – Susan Protheroe/Winter
 * Jeremy Clyde – HM King Charles I
 * Rosalie Crutchley – Goodwife Margaret
 * Rob Edwards – John Fletcher
 * Peter Guinness – Dick Skinner
 * Janet Lees Price – Emma Bowen/Skinner
 * Andrew McCulloch – Captain/Colonel Leckie
 * Andrew MacLachlan – Nathaniel Cropper
 * Sharon Maughan – Anne Lacey/Fletcher
 * Bert Parnaby – Sir Austin Fletcher
 * Edward Peel – Walter Jackman
 * Eileen Way – Minty

Series 1 only:


 * Ben Aris – Edmund Waller
 * Tim Brierley – Lord Edward Ferrar
 * Mark Burns – Captain Charles Pike
 * Simon Dutton – Will Saltmarsh
 * Julian Glover – Sir Martin Lacey
 * Charles Kay – Sir Henry Parkin
 * Frank Mills – Matthew Saltmarsh
 * Michael Parkhouse – Sam Saltmarsh
 * Malcolm Stoddard – Captain/Colonel Hannibal Marsh
 * Jerome Willis – John Pym

Series 2 only:


 * Cyril Appleton – Mayor of Swinford
 * Peter Birch – Lord Edward Ferrar
 * David Collings – John Thurloe
 * Peter Jeffrey – Oliver Cromwell
 * Joanna McCallum – Lady Frances Neville/Lacey
 * Christopher Neame – Henry Snelling
 * Sir Robert Stephens – Sir Ralph Winter
 * Malcolm Terris – Gabriel Rudd
 * Gareth Thomas – Major-General Horton
 * Simon Treves – HM King Charles II
 * John Woodvine – Solicitor General

Film locations
The filming for the programme took place at Fermyn Woods Hall, Rockingham Castle and Lilford Hall in Northamptonshire.

DVD release
By the Sword Divided is available on DVD in the UK, distributed by Acorn Media UK.