Battle of Roundway Down

After Primary Sources trrc Bellum Civile, Sir Ralph-Hopton's Memoirs of the Campaign in theWest 1642-4 (ed.A,Wicks). $attle Roahdaq) Capt. Edward Harley, see below. Capt. Richard Atl<ins, see below orRoundway The Royalist victory at Roundway Down Available in Wiltshire Heritage Museum Library. scattered the army of Parliament to the Secondary Sources four winds.The Royalists went on to ByThe Sword Divided, Ey6witness accounts of the capture Bristol, tal<ing first the area outside English CivilWar,John Adair (capts. Edward ; the walls;the following day the rest of Harley and Richard Atkins).Alan Sutton Down the city surrendered.Then they drew the Publishing, I 998, Gloucester. T he English Civil Wor ; Mau ri ce Ash |ey. Alan Sutton King his from with army over Oxford to Publishing, I 990, Gloucester. besiege Gloucester, planning thus to secure The Bottle of Lonsdowne, John Bariatt. Miniature I Wargames@ magazine, Pireme Publishing Ltd. IJ communications with Wales. Parliament i1 responded by sending another army, under Bournemouth, 1 993. Roundheod General,T he Compoigns of Sir Williom Lord Essex, with the Trained Bands from ll*: Wotter, lohnAdair.Alan Sutton Publishing, I 997, London and their presence was enough to Gloucester. raise the siege.This army then started to Western Wonders, Bob Moulder. KeepWargaming, retire towards London, pursued by the Devizes. W ilm ot's V iao ry )ohn Barratt. I bid. Royalists. Pursuers overtook pursued at Newbury and on 20th September: battle was joined again with the two armies fighting each other for twelve hours. Both sides were exhausted and the Royalists, being particularly short of powder and shot, retired to Oxford and Lord Essex to London. Generals Hopton and Waller went on to fight each other again Suonorted bv the niiitage Lbttery Fund the following year at Cheriton in Hampshire where Parliament had the victory. Lord Produced in association @ith Haselrigg, who had raised and equipped the most heavily armoured unit of the war, and ffiw7 ]Ig$H[ had been wounded at Roundway, had Battlefields Trust Kennet District Council recovered and led his troop again at Cheriton. r"Er ,/: By the end of the year both sides knew ffi Wwilr;,hitp The full well there was no more chance of a N".nJ[JIiIi r,,, Wiltshire Countv Council ond the consequences negotiated settlement.There had to be WiITSHIIE Victor and Vanquished. mffi HER|IACF II of the bottle I The Great Civil\A/!rr Battle at Devizes I I ( Orisins The War The Battle of rhVl,Vor to Date of Lorusdo@ne Charles I ( 1625- 1649) inherited a difficult The King raised his standard at Nottingham The King's strategy was to recapture situation from his fatherJames I (1603-1625). in 1642 and both sides busied themselves London by a three-pronged attack from He was king of two countries which had raising and equipping troops.The country his areas of strength - the North,Wales been at war sporadically for centuries. became a patchwork of Royalist or and the West Country.As part of this Each had its own traditions and forms Parliamentary allegiances, based on plan, Sir Ralph Hopton was advancing of worship which James had respected. religion, local influences or from Cornwall with his troops through Unfortunately both kings believed economic factors, Devon and Somerset and came face to in the Divine Right of Kings, though many face with his old friend (and now that is they were appointed areas remained adversary) Sir William Waller at the by God and answerable to neutral. Battle of Lansdowne to the north of no man. Charles' obstinancy Generally, Bath on 5th July 1643. Launching his and expensive wars with London, the brave Cornishmen and reinforcements France and Spain drained his towns and the from the King up a steep hill at Waller's coffers and he had to ask the English Navy were for Parliament army and withstanding several charges Parliament to finance his military activities. while rural and Celtic areas were for the by Haselrigg's'Lobsters' (so called because Distrustful of the King's policies, they refused, King. ln the first year of the war, the of their encasing armour), Hopton caused so he dispensed with Parliament for eleven Royalists had the better cavalry and the Parliamentary forces to fall back to years from 1629 to l640.This could work if Parliament the better infantry.The first Bath, where they hoped to bar the route he was careful with expenditure but when he major clash came at Edgehill in October to the important city of Bristol. Hopton, tried to force the English Prayer Book on l642and although the King held the field, however, had been badly wounded when Scotland, he provoked war with the Scots and his troops failed to destroy the Earl of a wagon of gunpowder was accidentally so was forced to recall Parliament who were Essex's army, which escaped to London. ignited by some prisoners smoking their now in a strong position to impose conditions pipes.The Royalists therefore decided on the King in return for finance.They forced to march to the loyal town of Devizes, him to execute his chief minister, the Earl of carrying Hopton in a litter, and take Strafford, who had provoked rebellion in refuge in the castle to give their leader lreland with his strong policies, and passed time to recuperate.They were pursued laws to restrict the King's power.As relations by Waller and his forces and several deteriorated, both sides knew that skirmishes took place along the road compromise was no longer possible. from Chippenham. .

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