Siege of Helmsley Castle

Last updated

Siege of Helmsley Castle
Part of First English Civil War
DateSeptember to November 1644
Location
Helmsley, North Yorkshire
54°14′47″N1°03′23″W / 54.2465°N 1.0563°W / 54.2465; -1.0563
Result Parliamentarian victory
Belligerents
Royal Standard of England (1603-1689).svg Royalists Flag of England.svg Parliamentarians
Commanders and leaders
Sir Jordan Crossland Sir Thomas Fairfax
Strength
c. 200 Unknown
North Yorkshire UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Helmsley
Helmsley in North Yorkshire

Helmsley Castle was a Royalist stronghold in North Yorkshire during the First English Civil War. It was besieged by Parliamentarian forces in September 1644 and surrendered on 22 November after a siege of two to three months.

Contents

The military situation in Yorkshire in 1644

The destruction of the Royalists' northern army at Marston Moor on 2 July 1644 meant that their strongholds in northern England, unprotected now by any field force, were vulnerable to being captured one by one. After the fall of York (16 July 1644), the Parliamentarian armies that had fought at Marston Moor went their separate ways. Lord Leven's Scottish army marched north to besiege the city of Newcastle. The army of the Eastern Association, under the Earl of Manchester, withdrew southwards, capturing Tickhill Castle (26 July) and Sheffield Castle (11 August) on the way. The Parliamentarian forces left in Yorkshire, under the command of Lord Fairfax, set about reducing the remaining Royalist garrisons in the county. They began with Helmsley Castle. [1]

The castle and its defences

The first castle on the site was built in the 1120s by the Norman baron Walter Espec. The site was of no great strategic importance and the castle was built there simply because it was the centre of Walter's estates. [2] This first castle was a timber and earthwork castle. The first stone castle on the site was built in the late twelfth century by Robert de Roos, also known as Fursan. The castle was much added to over the centuries and at the time of the Civil War, the defences were reasonably well maintained compared to many medieval castles. [1] [2]

By the early seventeenth century, the castle was in the hands of the Manners family. On the death of Francis Manners, 6th Earl of Rutland in 1632, the castle passed to his daughter, Katherine Manners, widow of James I's favourite, the Duke of Buckingham. Through her the castle was to pass to their son, the second Duke. [3]

The castle was built on an outcrop of rock on the north bank of the River Rye. The main ward, roughly rectangular in shape, was surrounded by high curtain walls with towers at the corners. The castle keep, known as the East Tower, lay about halfway along the east wall. The castle was surrounded by two deep, steep-sided ditches separated by a bank. The main gate to the castle was in the south-east corner of the curtain wall. This gate was protected by the massive Southern Barbican which stood on an enlarged section of the bank between the two ditches. Stretches of wall extended from the southern barbican across the inner ditch to join it to the main defences.There was a second, less important gate in the north wall of the castle and this was protected by a smaller barbican which also stood on the bank between the ditches. [4] [5]

The opening of the siege

The East Tower at Helmsley showing the destruction inflicted after the end of the siege. East Tower Remains, Helmsley Castle - geograph.org.uk - 2656807.jpg
The East Tower at Helmsley showing the destruction inflicted after the end of the siege.

The siege began in September 1644. [6] The Parliamentarian force was under the command of Sir Thomas Fairfax, Lord Fairfax's son. The Royalist garrison consisted of about 200 men under the command of Sir Jordan Crossland, a committed Royalist who was later to convert to Roman Catholicism. [7]

Fairfax's plan seems to have been to reduce the castle by starvation rather than by assault or bombardment and there is little evidence for the use of artillery at Helmsley. The Parliamentarians certainly had artillery at the siege as we are told that the subsequent siege of Knaresborough could not start until the artillery had arrived from Helmsley. [7] It may be that Fairfax lacked guns powerful enough to knock down Helmsley's walls. [8]

The Royalists for their part mounted an active defence, conducting a number of sallies from the castle. [9]

The wounding of Sir Thomas Fairfax

Few details of the siege have been recorded but one of the more notable incidents was the wounding of Sir Thomas Fairfax. There are two versions of how this happened. In one version, Sir Thomas was leading a counterattack against a Royalist sortie when he received two wounds from musket shot which fractured his shoulder blade and broke his arm. In the other version, he was shot by a marksman from the castle keep while visiting the besiegers' lines. [9] Sir Thomas in his own account gives no details of how the wound occurred, but he leaves no doubt of its severity: 'After this (i.e. Marston Moor and the surrender of York) I went to Helmsley to take in ye castle there, but received a dangerous shott in my shoulder and was brought back to Yorke; All for some time being doubtful of my Recovery.' [10]

Crossland's proposed articles of surrender

By the beginning of November, conditions in the castle were deteriorating and Crossland sent out to the Parliamentarian commanders a set of propositions for surrendering the castle. The propositions are summarised below.

The garrison would be allowed to march out with all the honours of war, i.e. "…with their arms loaded, matches lighted, colours flying, and drums beating", [11] and safely convoyed to the Royalist stronghold of Scarborough.

Private goods belonging to the occupants of the castle, including those of the Duchess of Buckingham, were not to be plundered.

Prisoners taken by both sides were to be set at liberty.

Crossland also stipulated "That the Castle of Helmesley was to be absolutely demolished, and that no garrison hereafter be kept there by either party." [12] It was unusual for the garrison of a besieged castle to insist on its demolition as part of the terms of surrender; this was normally a demand of the besieging force. Crossland presumably wanted to ensure the castle could not be held against the Royalists in the future.

The last article stipulated that both sides would wait until 16 November to see if the garrison would be relieved by Prince Rupert, failing which the articles would be implemented. [13]

The relief attempt

By this time a relief attempt was in the offing, though it is uncertain whether Crossland was aware of this when he proposed his articles. On 4 November, [14] Sir John Mallory, commander of the Royalist garrison at Skipton Castle, sent a troop of horse to join up with a force from Knaresborough Castle and attempt the relief of Helmsley. On 12 November this force took the besiegers by surprise and scattered them, at least initially. However, the respite was only temporary as the Parliamentarians quickly rallied and drove off the relieving force inflicting a heavy loss in killed and captured. The parliamentary journal A Perfect Diurnal, gives the names of 9 officers and 44 men captured by the Parliamentarians in this action. [15]

The castle surrenders

The failure of the relief attempt left the garrison with no choice but to surrender. The terms originally proposed by Crossland on 6 November were now accepted by Colonel Francis Lascelles on behalf of Lord Fairfax. [16] and on 22 November 1644, Crossland with his 100 remaining men quit the castle and marched off to join Sir Hugh Cholmley's force at Scarborough. [17] On taking possession of the castle, the Parliamentarians acquired nine artillery pieces, 300 muskets and pikes and six barrels of gunpowder. [18]

The Parliamentarians subsequently rendered the castle indefensible by demolishing sections of the curtain wall and blowing down the eastern wall of the keep. [17]

Citations

  1. 1 2 Binns 2004, p. 114.
  2. 1 2 Coppack 1990, p. 23.
  3. Cooke 2011, pp. 63–4.
  4. Cooke 2011, pp. 64–5.
  5. Coppack 1990, pp. 3–22.
  6. Cooke 2011, p. 65.
  7. 1 2 Cooke 2011, pp. 65–6.
  8. Binns 2004, p. 115.
  9. 1 2 Cooke 2011, p. 66.
  10. Fairfax 1883, p. 222.
  11. Cooke 2011, p. 67.
  12. Cooke 2011, p. 68.
  13. Cooke 2011, pp. 67–8.
  14. Cooke 2004, p. 152.
  15. Cooke 2011, pp. 68–9.
  16. Binns 2004, p. 116.
  17. 1 2 Cooke 2011, p. 69.
  18. Clark 2004, p. 117.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Marston Moor</span> 1644 battle of the First English Civil War

The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639–1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters under the Earl of Leven defeated the Royalists commanded by Prince Rupert of the Rhine and the Marquess of Newcastle.

The Battle of Nantwich was fought on 25 January 1644 in Cheshire during the First English Civil War. In the battle, Sir Thomas Fairfax in command of a Parliamentarian relief force defeated Lord Byron and the Royalists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sieges of Taunton</span> Series of three blockades during the First English Civil War

The sieges of Taunton were a series of three blockades during the First English Civil War. The town of Taunton, in Somerset, was considered to be of strategic importance because it controlled the main road from Bristol to Devon and Cornwall. Robert Blake commanded the town's Parliamentarian defences during all three sieges, from September 1644 to July 1645.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Adwalton Moor</span> Battle that took place in 1643 during the First English Civil War

The Battle of Adwalton Moor occurred on 30 June 1643 at Adwalton, West Yorkshire, during the First English Civil War. In the battle, the Royalists loyal to King Charles led by the Earl of Newcastle soundly defeated the Parliamentarians commanded by Lord Fairfax.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of York</span> Siege of the English Civil War (1644)

The siege of York in 1644 was a prolonged contest for York during the First English Civil War, between the Scottish Covenanter army and the Parliamentarian armies of the Northern Association and Eastern Association, and the Royalist Army under the Marquess of Newcastle. It lasted from 22 April until 1 July when the city was relieved by Prince Rupert of the Rhine. Rupert and Newcastle were defeated the next day at the decisive Battle of Marston Moor, and the siege resumed until the city was surrendered on easy terms on 16 July.

The Battle of Boldon Hill was a day-long engagement that took place in modern-day Tyne and Wear between English Royalists and an army made up of Scottish Covenanters in alliance with Parliamentarians from nearby Sunderland on 24 March 1644 during the First English Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helmsley Castle</span> Medieval castle in Yorkshire, England

Helmsley Castle is a medieval castle situated in the market town of Helmsley, within the North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Carlisle (1644)</span> Siege of Carlisle during the First English Civil War

The siege of Carlisle occurred during the First English Civil War when the allied forces of the Scottish Covenanters and the English Parliamentarians besieged Carlisle Castle which was held at the time by the English Royalist forces loyal to King Charles I. The siege took place in Carlisle, Cumbria from October 1644 to 25 June 1645.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Lathom House</span> 1645 battle

The siege of Lathom House was a military confrontation between a Parliamentarian army and a Royalist stronghold in Lathom near Ormskirk in Lancashire, during the First English Civil War. The first siege lasted from late February to late May 1644, when the siege was lifted. The second siege took place a year later from July to December 1645. Lathom House was captured and slighted.

The Storming of Bolton, sometimes referred to as the "Bolton massacre", was an event in the First English Civil War which happened on 28 May 1644. The strongly Parliamentarian town was stormed and captured by Royalist forces under Prince Rupert. It was alleged that up to 1,600 of Bolton's defenders and inhabitants were slaughtered during and after the fighting. The "massacre at Bolton" became a staple of Parliamentarian propaganda.

The unsuccessful second siege of Hull by the Royalist Earl of Newcastle in 1643 was a victory for Parliament at the high point of the Royalist campaign in the First English Civil War. It led to the abandonment of the Earl of Newcastle's campaign in Lincolnshire and the re-establishment of Parliament's presence in Yorkshire.

The Battle of Selby occurred on 11 April 1644 in North Yorkshire during the First English Civil War. In the battle, the Parliamentarians led by Lord Fairfax attacked and captured the strategic Royalist garrison of Selby under the command of John Belasyse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Siege of Scarborough Castle</span>

The Great Siege of Scarborough Castle was a major conflict for control of one of England's most important stone fortresses during the First English Civil War fought between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists loyal to King Charles I. In February 1645, Parliamentarians laid siege to Scarborough Castle. For five months, they bombarded it, destroying most of the keep, and engaged in bloody fighting before the defenders finally surrendered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Heptonstall</span> Battle of the First English Civil War

The Battle of Heptonstall occurred in November 1643 during the First English Civil War at Hebden Bridge and Heptonstall, Yorkshire. During the battle, Colonel Bradshaw, a Parliamentarian commander fended off an attack by Sir Francis Mackworth and the Royalists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Lincoln</span>

The siege of Lincoln took place from 3 to 6 May 1644 during the First English Civil War, when the important town of Lincoln was besieged by Parliamentarian forces under the Earl of Manchester. On the first day, the Parliamentarians took the lower town. The Royalist defenders retreated into the stronger fortifications of the upper town, which encompassed and incorporated Lincoln Castle and Lincoln Cathedral. The siege ended four days later when the Parliamentarian soldiers stormed the castle, taking prisoner the Royalist governor, Sir Francis Fane, and what remained of his garrison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Newcastle</span> A Battle that took place in 1644 during the First English Civil War

The siege of Newcastle occurred during the First English Civil War, when a Covenanter army under the command of Lord General Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven besieged the Royalist garrison under Sir John Marlay, the city's governor. Eventually, the Covenanters took the city of Newcastle upon Tyne by storm, and the Royalist garrison who still held castle keep surrendered on terms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Relief of Montgomery Castle</span> A Battle that took place in the First English Civil War

The Battle of Montgomery took place during the First English Civil War of 1642–1646. On 17 September 1644, a Parliamentarian force commanded by Sir John Meldrum advanced to engage a Royalist army led by Lord Byron which was besieging Montgomery Castle in mid Wales. The battle was fought the next day. After the Royalists gained an initial advantage, the Parliamentarians counter-attacked and destroyed Byron's army.

The battle of Leeds took place during the First English Civil War on 23 January 1643, when a Parliamentarian force attacked the Royalist garrison of Leeds, Yorkshire. The attack was partly dictated by the need to maintain local support for the Parliamentarian cause; the Earl of Newcastle had recently shifted the balance of power in Yorkshire in the Royalists' favour with the addition of his 8,000-strong army, and sent one of his commanders, Sir William Savile to capture Leeds. The West Riding of Yorkshire relied on the cloth trade, and Ferdinando, Lord Fairfax sent his son, Sir Thomas Fairfax to bolster the defences of nearby Bradford, before agreeing to his request to attack Leeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capture of Wakefield</span> 1643 engagement of the First English Civil War

The capture of Wakefield occurred during the First English Civil War when a Parliamentarian force attacked the Royalist garrison of Wakefield, Yorkshire. The Parliamentarians were outnumbered, having around 1,500 men under the command of Sir Thomas Fairfax, compared to the 3,000 led by George Goring in Wakefield. Despite being outnumbered, Parliamentarians successfully stormed the town, taking roughly 1,400 prisoners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sieges of Bradford</span> Civil War skirmishes in Bradford, England

The sieges of Bradford, were two very short-lived sieges that took place separately in the town of Bradford, Yorkshire, in December 1642 and early July 1643, just after the Royalist victories in Pontefract (1642), and the Battle of Adwalton Moor (1643) respectively. In the second siege, with the Parliamentarian forces dispersed to the west in and around Halifax, the Earl of Newcastle subjected Bradford to a brief siege to enforce rule and allegiance to the king.

References