The

First English Civil War 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 b ...

battle of Lansdowne, or Lansdown, was fought on 5 July 1643, at

Lansdowne Hill Charlcombe is a civil parish and small village just north of Bath in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset, England. The parish had a population of 422 in 2011, and includes the villages of Woolley and Langridge and the ha ...

, near Bath, Somerset, England. Although the

Royalists A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gover ...

under Lord Hopton forced the Parliamentarians under Sir

William Waller Sir William Waller JP (c. 159819 September 1668) 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 ...

to retreat from their hilltop position, they suffered so many casualties themselves and were left so disordered and short of ammunition that an injured Hopton was forced to retire.

Prelude

By late May 1643, Lord Hopton's Royalist army had captured most of the south-west of England. Joined by the

Marquess of Hertford The titles of Earl of Hertford and Marquess of Hertford have been created several times in the peerages of Peerage of England, England and Peerage of Great Britain, Great Britain. The third Earldom of Hertford was created in 1559 for Edward Sey ...

, he then advanced eastward into Parliamentarian-held territory. Sir

's army held

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, to obstruct their further advance. On 2 July 1643 the Royalists seized the bridge at

Bradford-on-Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in west Wiltshire (district), Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restauran ...

. On 3 July, skirmishes took place at Claverton and at Waller's positions south and east of Bath. Waller retired to a strong position on Lansdowne Hill, north-west of Bath while the main Royalist force moved north through

Batheaston Batheaston is a village and civil parish east of the English city of Bath, on the north bank of the River Avon. The parish had a population of 2,735 in 2011. The northern area of the parish, on the road to St Catherine, is an area known as ...

to Marshfield. Hopton's forces encountered Waller's position on Lansdowne Hill on 4 July and were unpleasantly surprised at its strength. They withdrew north-east to Marshfield, while their rearguard repulsed an attempt by Waller's cavalry to pursue them.

Battle

Early on 5 July 1643, Waller moved to the north end of Lansdowne Hill, where he built crude

breastworks A breastwork is a temporary fortification, often an earthwork thrown up to breast or shoulder height to provide protection to defenders firing over it from a standing position. A more permanent structure, normally in stone, would be described as ...

for his infantry, and sent some of his cavalry against Hopton's outposts. The Parliamentarians put to flight some badly led Royalist cavalry, and the alarm caused all of Hopton's army to form up and to begin advancing west until they came in sight of Waller's position. The two forces engaged in indecisive skirmishing for two hours until Waller tried to withdraw. Waller once again sent his horse and

dragoons Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

against the Royalists' rearguard, and this time they routed the Royalist cavalry, although the infantry stood firm. Hopton's army then turned about and ultimately defeated the Roundhead cavalry in a confused action. With his Cornish foot regiments already advancing without orders, Hopton at last attacked Lansdowne Hill. As they charged up the steep slopes towards the Parliamentarian position on the crest, Hopton's cavalry suffered badly, and many panicked. As many as 1,400 of them fled, some as far as

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. Under Sir

Bevil Grenville Sir Bevil Grenville (23 March 1596 – 5 July 1643) was an English landowner and soldier who sat as a Member of Parliament for various constituencies between 1620 and 1642, although during those years there were few parliamentary sessions. ...

, Hopton's Cornish pikemen stormed Waller's breastworks, while Royalist musketeers outflanked Waller's forces through the woods on each side of his position. Grenville was mortally wounded in hand-to-hand combat as the Parliamentarian horse cavalry counter-attacked and were driven off. Waller's infantry fell back to a wall across the crest of the hill from where they kept up musket fire until darkness fell. During the night, they withdrew silently, leaving burning matches on the wall to deceive the Royalists that they still held the position.

Aftermath

The day after the battle, a Royalist ammunition cart exploded. Hopton was injured and temporarily blinded. The loss of the powder and the absence of most of their horse meant that the Royalists could not fight another action. Meanwhile, Waller had retired to Bath, where he was reinforced and was ready to attack again. Hopton's army retreated in low spirits to

Devizes Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...

. Hopton's army was in such a poor situation before their retreat that Hopton's military opponent but old friend Waller offered him hospitality in Bath, though the former refused it. A Cornish officer describing the battle wrote that Waller was ''"... the best shifter and chooser of ground when he was not Master of the field that ever I saw"''. (sic) The site of the battle is marked by a monument to Sir Bevil Grenville, who died after the battle in

Cold Ashton Cold Ashton is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. It is located north of Bath, near the junction between the A46 and A420 roads. The village church has a 14th-century tower and the rest of the church was rebuilt in the 16th century ...

Rectory. The battlefield is included on the Register of Historic Battlefields which is part of the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

Citations

References

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General references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lansdowne, Battle of 1643 in England Battles of the English Civil Wars Military history of Somerset Conflicts in 1643 Registered historic battlefields in England History of Bath, Somerset 17th century in Somerset