In 1643 a general obligation was imposed on Oxford colleges to support the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. The King called for Oriel's plate, and almost all of it was given, the total weighing . of gilt, and . of "white" plate. In the same year the college was assessed at £1 of the weekly sum of £40 charged on the colleges and halls for the fortification of the city. When the Oxford Parliament was assembled during the Civil War in 1644, Oriel housed the Executive Committee of the Privy Council, Parliament being held at neighbouring Christ Church. Following the defeat of the Royalist cause, the University was scrutinised by the Parliamentarians, and five of the eighteen Oriel fellows were removed. The Visitors, on their own authority, elected fellows between 1648 and October 1652, when without reference to the Commissioners, John Washbourne was chosen; the autonomy of the college in this respect seems to have been restored.