In the mid-17th century, Bristol was one of the most important cities in England, second only to London in wealth. The Royalists failed to secure it when the war began, leaving it under Parliamentarian control although there were many Royalist sympathisers within the city. In July 1643, the city's garrison was weakened when 1,200 men were sent to reinforce Sir William Waller's Army of the Western Association, which was destroyed at the Battle of Roundway Down on 13 July.[1]
The Royalists quickly realised this presented them with a great opportunity to capture important Parliamentarian-held towns in the south-west of England. Only two days after the battle, Prince Rupert marched from Oxford, the Royalists' wartime capital, with a large army. He also sent orders to the Royalist western army which had been victorious at Roundway Down, now under the command of his younger brother Prince Maurice, to march against Bristol from the south while he himself advanced on the city from the north.[2]
Defences
The garrison under Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes consisted of 300 cavalry and 1,500 infantry, plus some poorly-armed town militia. The fortifications consisted of an inner wall immediately surrounding the city and resting on the Rivers Avon and Frome plus an outer five-mile circuit of walls and forts. To the south and east the outer wall was a continuous barrier consisting of a curtain wall and ditch on low-lying ground; to the north and west, the defences consisted of a chain of forts and batteries resting on the high ground overlooking the city, linked by a low earthwork.[1] A total of 100 guns were distributed along the defences, mostly taken from ships in the harbour, but the loss of the troops sent to reinforce Waller left Fiennes unable to properly defend the long perimeter defences.[3]
Royalist plan
Prince Rupert personally led a reconnaissance of the defences to the north of the city on 23 July. There were some clashes between Royalist outposts on Clifton Hill and Parliamentarian sorties, which were beaten off.[4]
After investing the city on the morning of 24 July, Rupert formally summoned the garrison to surrender, but when Fiennes refused he crossed the Avon to confer with Prince Maurice and his officers. The council was divided; since Prince Maurice and his Cornish infantry faced the stronger southern defences, they preferred to undertake a formal siege and bombardment. However, Rupert was conscious of the wider strategic issues; a series of Royalist successes and dissension within Parliament meant the West needed to be secured quickly to facilitate an offensive against London.[3]
Rupert argued the northern defences were vulnerable given the weak state of the garrison, while a simultaneous assault from the south would prevent them being reinforced. His view eventually prevailed, and the attack was planned to begin early on 26 July. The signal would be a salvo from a Royalist battery facing the Prior's Hill Fort at the northern point of the defences.[5]
Unfortunately the Cornish attacked from the south prematurely at 3:00 am, forcing Rupert to begin the assault earlier than intended.[1] Split into three columns, the Cornish rolled carts and wagons into the ditch in front of the wall to fill it and allow them to cross but the ditch was too deep and this approach failed. They then used faggots and scaling ladders to continue the attack but suffered heavy casualties. The three column commanders, Sir Nicholas Slanning, John Trevanion and Colonel Brutus Buck, were all killed[1] and the Cornish eventually driven back.[6]
The northern assault force consisted of three infantry brigades and some dragoons led by Colonel Henry Washington. The brigade commanded by Viscount Grandison attacked the Prior's Hill Fort and a nearby redoubt at Stokes Croft, but was repulsed and Grandison was killed. Sir John Belasyse's brigade was also unsuccessful at Colston's Mount and Prince Rupert had a horse killed under him while rallying Belasyse's infantry.[1]
The third brigade under Colonel Henry Wentworth was more successful. Supported by Washington's dragoons, they penetrated a re-entrant between the Brandon Hill and Windmill Hill forts, into "dead ground" where they were protected from the fire of either fort. After throwing grenades over the wall to drive back the defenders, they pulled it down using halberds and partisans. Fiennes's cavalry tried to counter-attack but their horses flinched when faced with "fire-pikes",[1] pikes to which fireworks were attached.[6]
Wentworth's brigade pushed forward towards the inner defences, followed by Belasyse and Colonel Arthur Aston's regiment of cavalry.[7] They captured another strongpoint, the "Essex Work", when the defenders panicked. There was severe fighting for two hours around the Frome Gate, part of the inner defences, as some of the townswomen tried to improvise a barricade of woolsacks behind the gate.[8]
Surrender and aftermath
Prince Rupert had sent for the Cornish infantry to reinforce the attack, but about 6 pm Fiennes asked for terms. Although granted the honours of war, which allowed them free passage to the nearest friendly territory and to retain their weapons and personal property, they were plundered by undisciplined Royalists when they marched out on 27 July.[8]
Both sides suffered heavy casualties in the assault. Royalist statesman Clarendon later wrote "his Majesty’s loss was inestimable, and very hard to be repaired... there were slain...about five hundred common men and many excellent officers, whereof many were of prime command and quality". The loss of Slanning, Trevanion and Buck was especially significant, as the Cornish infantry were among the best troops in the Royalist army but reluctant to serve outside Cornwall or under "foreign" officers. With the death of the highly popular Sir Bevil Grenville at Lansdowne, many of their leaders were gone and they now returned home.[9]
However, victory secured the second largest city in Britain and a landing point for reinforcements shipped from Ireland following the truce agreed in September with Confederate Ireland. In addition, Bristol's workshops eventually re-equipped the entire Royalist army with muskets, while they secured immense amounts of booty, including £100,000 of cash and war supplies. Eight armed merchant ships were captured, which later formed the nucleus of a Royalist fleet.[10]
The capture of Bristol and Royalist success elsewhere meant by late August the Parliamentarian cause was close to collapse and was saved only by John Pym's leadership and determination.[11] However, as was common for both sides throughout the war, success was followed by high rates of desertion as individuals took their loot home. The need to replace them prevented the Royalists from taking full advantage of their victory and delayed their attack on the main prize of London until late October.[12]
Fiennes was tried by Parliament and sentenced to death for "improper surrender"; although reprieved, this temporarily ended his political and military career. The rapid surrender of Bristol by Prince Rupert to the New Model Army under Sir Thomas Fairfax in September 1645 vindicated his claims the city was far more vulnerable than was apparent. Fairfax's officers subsequently drew up a certificate exonerating Fiennes from all blame for capitulating in 1643.[13]
Firth, Charles Harding; Leslie, JH (1925). "The Siege and capture of Bristol by Royalist forces in 1643". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 4 (18): 180–203. JSTOR44227516.
Gentles, Ian (1993). "Why Men Fought in the British Civil Wars, 1639-1652". The History Teacher. 26 (4): 407–418. doi:10.2307/494465. JSTOR494465.
The Battle of Roundway Down was fought on 13 July 1643 at Roundway Down near Devizes, in Wiltshire during the First English Civil War. Despite being outnumbered and exhausted after riding overnight from Oxford, a Royalist cavalry force under Lord Wilmot won a crushing victory over the Parliamentarian Army of the West under Sir William Waller.
Sir William Waller JP was an English soldier and politician, who commanded Parliamentarian armies during the First English Civil War. Elected MP for Andover to the Long Parliament in 1640, Waller relinquished his military positions under the Self-denying Ordinance in 1645. Although deeply religious and a devout Puritan, he belonged to the moderate Presbyterian faction, who opposed the involvement of the New Model Army in politics post 1646. As a result, he was one of the Eleven Members excluded by the army in July 1647, then again by Pride's Purge in December 1648 for refusing to support the Trial of Charles I, and his subsequent execution in January 1649.
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point between 1639 and 1653, while around 4% of the total population died from war-related causes. These figures illustrate the widespread impact of the conflict on society, and the bitterness it engendered as a result.
The First Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War that was fought on 20 September 1643 between a Royalist army, under the personal command of King Charles, and a Parliamentarian force led by the Earl of Essex. Following a year of Royalist battlefield successes, in which they took Banbury, Oxford and Reading without conflict before storming Bristol, the Parliamentarians were left without an effective army in the west of England. When Charles laid siege to Gloucester, Parliament was forced to muster a force under Essex with which to beat Charles' forces off. After a long march, Essex surprised the Royalists and forced them away from Gloucester before beginning a retreat to London. Charles rallied his forces and pursued Essex, overtaking the Parliamentarian army at Newbury and forcing them to march past the Royalist force to continue their retreat.
The Second Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War fought on 27 October 1644, in Speen, adjoining Newbury in Berkshire. The battle was fought close to the site of the First Battle of Newbury, which took place in late September the previous year.
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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.
Sir Nicholas Slanning was a soldier and landowner from Devon who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1642. He served in the Royalist army during the First English Civil War and was mortally wounded at Bristol on 26 July 1643.
Cornwall played a significant role in the English Civil War, being a Royalist enclave in the generally Parliamentarian south-west.
The Battle of Aldbourne Chase was a relatively small battle of the First English Civil War that occurred on 18 September 1643. In the skirmish the Royalist cavalry led by Prince Rupert attacked the extended columns of the Parliamentarian army of the Earl of Essex at Aldbourne Chase, Wiltshire, as he was attempting to get his army to London.
1643 was the second year of the First English Civil War. Politically, the latter months of the year were the turning-point of the war. The King made a truce with the Irish rebels on 15 September which united against him nearly every class in Protestant England. Only ten days after the "Irish Cessation," Parliament at Westminster swore to the Solemn League and Covenant, and the die was cast.
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The siege of Plymouth took place during the First English Civil War, when Royalist forces besieged Plymouth, in Devon, held by a Parliamentary garrison.
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