WINCHESTER IN THE CIVIL WAR How to get there CHERITON The walk starts from the car park of the Hinton Arms, grid reference SU 5906 2785, 10 kms east of on the A272. You can leave your car at the pub but please park considerately. BATTLE FIELD Buses: Stagecoach service 67 Winchester to Petersfield. Nearest stop New Cheriton Crossroads. The full walk is 8¾ kms long, taking 3 – 3½ hours but you WALK

A313 can create shorter circular routes using the map overleaf. A3057 There are some gentle inclines with surfaces ranging from dirt tracks to tarmac road. Remember to wear appropriate footwear and always follow the Countryside Code.

A30 A detail of Arnald’s painting, c1810, showing Cromwell’s artillery train M3 approaching Winchester 9 Alresford As in most places in Britain, the loyalties of the people of 10 Winchester were divided. Of the city’s two MPs, one supported Winchester A31 parliament and the other the king. The city sat in a major strategic Cheriton position, controlling the road from Southampton to the north, and the western road from Portsmouth. As a result, the city was to pay 11 A272 a heavy price. In December 1642 the Royalists entered Winchester A3057 Castle, closely pursued by Parliamentarians who captured and ransacked the city. The next day the ill-prepared Royalists Acknowledgements surrendered the castle. In 1643 the city and castle were retaken by Gillian Gray Knight, Richard Pearce and the Sealed Knot, the Royalists and the defences of both were strengthened. In 1644, A27 Cultural Trust, Richard and Anne Mattia at the M3 after the Battle of Cheriton, the Parliamentarians under Waller once Hinton Arms and Hampshire County Council Countryside 13 again captured and sacked the city, although the castleA3090 remained Service.

14 A3 in Royalist hands. The castle was taken by OliverA3 6Cromwell on 5 4 Originally produced by the Battle of Cheriton Project Ltd as October 1645 and soon after was blown up and made unusable. 4 part5 of a programme of activities explaining the importance 2 3

1 M27 of this battlefieldM27 and of the events that unfolded across A33 A35 M271 Hampshire during the English Civil War in 1644. A27 The Battle of Cheriton was a major turning point in 7 the English Civil War and resulted in an important A336 A33 For further information log onto www.battlefieldstrust.com CITY WALK MILITARY A3024 A334 A tour of King Alfred’s Winchester Trace Winchester’s military past from Parliamentarian victory that helped shape the future the Iron Age to the Nuclear Age

A3051 8 of . Follow this trail that sets out from the A3025 A3 (M) You can also download this A32 Parliamentarian camp at Hinton Ampner and embark on the walk taken by the troops on 29 March 1644 to 9 King_Alf leaflet and our other trails from Winchester has a rich and varied military history. From Iron Age forts, to Civil War sites, through two Follow in King Alfred’s footsteps on this tour of World Wars to the completion a Nuclear bunker Winchester’s historic landmarks. sited at Twyford - the district’s military stories span 10 the Cheriton Battlefield, tracing the movements of the This walk is divided into three loops so you can choose centuries of history. how much to do. Set out from the famous statue of If you are interested in finding out more about the King Alfred and explore the heart of the ancient capital, military history of Winchester, ancient and modern, A3 the upper city and Alfred’s final resting place in Hyde then follow these two informative trails – one based 11 visitwinchester.co.uk Abbey Gardens. in the city and one taking you further afield. KingAlf If you would like this leaflet in a M27 soldiers who shaped our nation. A27 Winchester visitwinchester.co.uk visitwinchester.co.uk larger format, please contact the KingAlf 12 Winchester’s Official tourist VIADUCT WAY MEDIEVAL visitorA326 information centre Walk or cycle to Winchester’s restored historic railway JEWISH TRAIL Winchester The story of Medieval Jews in Winchester A32 A323 guides run tours on some of 01962 840 500 M275 these fascinating themes. See [email protected] visitwinchester.co.uk winchestertouristguides.com

“The dandelions are gliding into the woods, I leap up Winchester has an important Jewish past. The earliest and try to make a grab for them - record of Jews in the city date to the mid-1100s, making but I miss every time.” it one of the earliest, largest and wealthiest Jewish Becky Witheyman, Compton All Saints Primary School. settlements in England.

visitwinchester.co.uk visitwinchester.co.uk Check restrictions at visitwinchester.co.uk visitwinchester.co.uk Cover image ©Rusty Aldwinckle It’s time to enjoy your Winchester. ©Winchester City Council - October 2020 CHERITON BATTLE FIELD WALK

THE BATTLE OF THE OPPOSING WEAPONS AND WAR CHERITON COMMANDERS Civil War foot regiments consisted of pikemen and musketeers formed of companies of 100 to 140 men each. The pikemen, Between 1642 and 1649 Britain was In the 1620s two young men, William whose main weapon was a 16 foot ash pike tipped with steel, divided by bloody civil war. On one side Waller and Ralph Hopton, served together stood in blocks eight ranks deep with the pikes of the front three stood King Charles I, a believer in the on the continent in a conflict known as ranks levelled at the enemy. When two blocks of pike met, the rear Divine Right of Kings, and his supporters The Thirty Years’ War. They became close ranks pushed those in front forward driving through the opposition. called Royalists. On the other were those friends and together rescued King Charles who supported the rights of the House I’s sister from the besieged city of Prague. Musketeers could either be used en masse to deliver a devastating King Charles I Ralph Hopton of Commons, called Parliamentarians. On their return to England, Hopton went 1st Baron Hopton of Stratton volley or, as in Cheriton Wood, tactically in small groups. They wore The country was divided – son fought home to Somerset and Waller moved © National Portrait Gallery, London the distinctive bandolier, a leather belt slung across the chest, from father and brother fought brother. On 29 March 1644 the Battle to his residence in Winchester Castle. which hung containers with a measured charge of powder. The of Cheriton was fought, and it proved to be a turning point in Both became Members of Parliament, front-loading matchlock musket was fired by a slow-burning taper the war. Within five years King Charles I was to lose his head and but Waller became increasingly unhappy setting off the main charge, firing a lead ball the size of a marble the country entered a period of republican rule known as the with Charles I’s unconstitutional rule, with a range of 100m. It took an experienced musketeer 30–60 Commonwealth. while Hopton’s support for the king seconds to reload, but with the gun weighing up to 6kg, it could grew. Although they were to retain also be used as a club in hand-to hand combat. THE ROAD TO CHERITON good relations, the subsequent Civil War The basic unit of cavalry was a troop of between 25 and 80 men shattered their friendship. under the command of a captain. A regiment could consist of The campaign season of 1643 started in the south-west, where Sir William Waller three to ten troops. There were two types of cavalry. The cuirassiers Hopton, the commander of the Royalist forces, drove Waller and his © National Portrait Gallery, London were heavily armoured and carried pistols, carbine and sword. The Parliamentarians out of Somerset, Dorset, and Wiltshire. Hampshire harquebusiers, who formed the bulk of the cavalry at Cheriton, was now in the front line. used similar weapons, but were less heavily armoured and therefore Early March 1644 saw the Royalist and Parliamentarian armies more manoeuvrable. marching and countermarching to gain control of the eastern Artillery consisted of a range of guns of different sizes and design. approach roads to Winchester. On 25 March the two armies were The pieces at Cheriton had a range of 650m with ball and up to within two miles of each other and skirmished throughout the next 200m with canister-style shot. two days. The Royalist army gained Alresford and set up camp on the high ground of Down. The Parliamentarians camped across the valley on a lower ridge at Hinton Ampner. The scene was ANDOVER set for an epic showdown, the result of which was to influence the BASING HOUSE character of the Civil War south of the Thames. River Test ALTON

WINCHESTER CHERITON

River Itchen

SOUTHAMPTON

This map shows the Royalists contolled centres (blue) and those under the control of Parliamentarians (red) at the time of the battle

PORTSMOUTH

CHRISTCHURCH This map shows the Royalists contolled centres (blue) and those under the control of Image ©Rusty Aldwinckle Parliamentarians (red) at the time of the battle CHERITON BATTLE FIELD WALK

TICHBORNE DOWN ROYALISTS

6

Badshear Lane Alresford Lane

7

CHERITON WOOD

Broad Lane

Upper Lamborough Lane

8 5 EAST DOWN 9

Cheriton Lane Sunken 4 Lane 10 3 River CHERITON A272 Itchen

Battlefield walk 2

Other footpaths

Cannon Hinton 1 Arms Pikemen

Musketeers

Cavalry Source of the River Itchen PARLIAMENTARIAN

1 6 This walk begins in the stop on your left turn north of Cheriton Lane along a short After you reach the end of commanders were content to are beaten back. Now Waller car park of The Hinton Arms away from the main road and stretch of track joining Alresford the lane, continue on a short hold. But one of their officers, makes his move. Looping round public house. The landscape of continue up the gentle incline Lane. Follow this route to the distance along the road which Sir Henry Bard, has rashly both flanks of the Royalist hedgerows, lanes, and woods on the north side of the shallow edge of Cheriton Wood. will then bear right taking you led his infantry in an attack. force, his infantry advance, has hardly changed since the valley. to a T junction and the site of a Surprised by Parliamentarian every ditch and hedgerow is day of the battle. As you leave 5 memorial commemorating the cavalry, his men are being cut contested as the Royalists begin the car park turn right, taking During the night the troops from both sides who lost 3 You have attempted to to pieces. to give ground. care as you follow the path Parliamentarian commander, their lives during the battle. This clear the Parliamentarian lines along the side of the A272. It William Waller, positioned a high ground, occupied by the but through the morning mist 8 As you reach the ridge 10 Turn right down the is barely light on the morning mixed force of cannon, cavalry Royalist force, offers the best you begin to make out the turn right, along the rear of the sunken hollow of Cheriton of 29 March 1644, the eve and musket in the wood in an view of the battlefield. Cheriton distinctive sounds of troops and Royalist lines. Bard’s action lane. Battle rages in the fields of battle. A thick mist lingers attempt to outflank the Royalist Wood, now in Royalist cavalry preparing for battle. This has resulted in increasing above and the wreckage litters in the valley and clings to the line. Ralph Hopton, the Royalist hands, can be seen on is the Royalist force of 7,000 numbers of Royalist troops the fields. As many as 500 may slopes of the ridge of high commander, quickly moved the left although the main and they are directly ahead of being committed to the attack. have died with many ground on your right. Leaving to counter the threat, sending Parliamentary army you, although it is impossible Losing the advantage of the more wounded. The Royalists Cheriton to its fate, you walk on. a force of 1,000 musketeers is obscured by East Down in the to say how far. It is time to try high ground, they engage with have been forced back to their to take the wood. The sound middle distance. Hopton now and exit the battlefield, but it the advancing Parliamentarian original position from of fighting is getting closer. takes the decision to move his 2 At this point on the road, may already be too late. At the musketeers. Fierce fighting has where Hopton will make an Several riderless horses come troops forward onto this ridge. as the light improves, you are crossroads turn right, along broken out all along the line. ordered retreat to Basing careering out of the trees, with You decide to follow. Re-trace greeted by an awesome sight. Cheriton Lane. With one last roll of the die the House, sacking Alresford on the remaining Parliamentary your steps along the road to Looming out of the mist, in troops close behind. Hopton’s Royalists send in their cavalry. his way. Our story of the battle the fields on your right, is the the junction with Alresford 4 As you reach the end of musketeers, now using their is now over and your journey Parliamentary force, 10,000 Lane, and continue along the the lane you hear the sound muskets as clubs, have routed 9 Turn left down the through it almost at an end. strong. It is so close you can road as it bears right onto of musket shots, mingled with Waller’s inexperienced London lane towards Cheriton. The Walk back along the lane and smell the horses and hear the Badshear Lane. shouts and cries, some distance Brigade who are now in full terrain only allows the cavalry turn right towards the road. shouts of command. To the away on your left. The battle retreat back to the safety of to advance in small groups Returning to the A272, turn left rear are the cannon, in the 7 At this point turn left, off has begun. Now curiosity their own lines, and you are down two lanes and you back to the Hinton Arms. centre the main body of troops, the road, along the footpath. gets the better of you, you in their way! You continue follow one towards Cheriton. pikemen and musketeers, You can clearly hear the sound must have a closer look. This towards the relative safety of Parliamentarian troopers are flanked to left and right by of battle as you approach the is your chance to see history the Royalist position, after all, deployed and waiting for them. cavalry. Just past the bus ridge, a position the Royalist in the making. Turn north off they do appear to be winning... Outnumbered and hemmed in Continue along Alresford Lane. by the deep sunken lanes, they