"Clubmen of the Field - what were they?" Topic

At the Battle of Whalley in 1643 the Royalist forces are described as including a large number of "Clubmen of the Field" (A true discourse upon the war in Lancashire).

These don't appear to be clubmen as found later in the war acting in defence of their local area from all comers. Instead they seem to be a local militia. Does anyone have any ideas as to who they were and how they would have been equipped? I'm a assuming that they are not the local Trained Bands or could they be the local TB members but not marching under their TB standards?

I know from accounts of later clubmen engagements there were around a third of the clubmen who were armed with firearms. The rest appear to be a mix of improvised weapons.

Can anyone add anything to what I have already uncovered?

First, 'Clubmen' were not so named because of the weapons that they carried. (Took me a while to realise this!)

In the main, they were clubs/associations of gentry, yeomen and townsmen that banded together in militia units, separately from the local Trained Bands, to defend their locality against the depredations of both Royalist and Parliamentarian forces.

Can't comment on Whalley specifically, my main interests are the campaigns in the South West (where I was born) and Yorkshire (where I now live)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clubmen

The wiki article makes the same mistake, as had I until I started reading up on the subject . Whalley is the fight which lost Lancashire to the King in April 1643. What is intriguing is the contemporary account in the "true relation" ( it might be a true discourse I don't have it handy at the moment ) speaks of these clubmen of the field as if they were a part of the Earl of Derby's army and not the more traditional associations of clubmen.

"He stayed a day or two in order to summon the Fylde, which was entirely royalist in sympathy, and so added to his numbers 3000 clubmen over whom officers were appointed."

from "The Great Civil War in Lancashire" (1910) at link

So I suspect "of the field" should actually be "of the Fylde", the area in western Lancs.

And I doubt if they were anything to do with the Trained Bands, or surely they'd already have officers, not need to have them appointed?

Interesting point I have a copy of Broxup 's book on file somewhere . I will compare it to Robinson's account in a true relation . Given how flexible 17th Century spelling was a transcription error could have crept in when the manuscript was turned into the Cheetham Society edition.