Newark Penny Loaf Day and the Hercules Clay Bombshell Sermon

That's quite a title isn't it? Let's break it into smaller chunks. 

The extraordinarily-named Hercules Clay was the mayor of Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire during the English Civil War. On the night of March 11th 1643, while the Royalist town was under siege by the Parliamentarian army, he dreamt that his house was on fire. Then, the following night, he had the same dream - and then again on the third night. At this point he began to suspect it was some kind of a premonition so he woke his family and herded them out of the house. Just at that moment, the house was indeed damaged by fire in the siege. 

Hercules Clay died just ten months after the siege and, in his Will, he left £100 to the church of Newark for a sermon to be said. 'Upon the 11th day of March yearly forever upon which day it pleased God of his infinite mercy wonderfully to preserve me and my wife from a fearful destruction by a terrible blow of a granado (grenade) in the time of the last siege'. This is now known as 'The Bombshell Sermon'.

He also left another £100 for bread to be given to the poor of Newark yearly on the same date in the form of penny loaves. And so, every year on the Sunday closest to 11th March - which, this year, is today - a special bread-themed service still takes place with Alderman Clay’s Bible on the altar. Local dignitaries process to church from the Town Hall, accompanied by Civil War re-enactors Colonel Robert Overton's Regiment, who provide a colourful guard of honour and small loaves are distributed to local charities for the homeless. The regiment later stage an exciting performance of drill at the National Civil War Centre and musket fire at Newark Castle to mark this extraordinary anniversary.

Hercules Clay’s house is now a bank and has a plaque to commemorate the events under the large bow window.