The siege of Hereford took place in 1645 during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

when the city of

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

and its English Royalist garrison was besieged by a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Covenanter Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...

army under the command of the

Earl of Leven Earl of Leven (pronounced "''Lee''-ven") is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1641 for Alexander Leslie. He was succeeded by his grandson Alexander, who was in turn followed by his daughters Margaret and Catherine (who are u ...

. The Covenanters were allied to the English Parliamentarian cause and moved to take the Royalist stronghold in the wake of their victory at the

Battle of Naseby The Battle of Naseby took place on 14 June 1645 during the First English Civil War, near the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire. The Roundhead, Parliamentarian New Model Army, commanded by Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, Sir Th ...

. After a month-long siege, the approach of Royalist reinforcements and news of Montrose's victories against the Covenanters in Scotland forced Leven to abandon the siege and retreat. However, in December of the same year the city was taken in a

surprise attack Military deception (MILDEC) is an attempt by a military unit to gain an advantage during warfare by misleading adversary decision makers into taking action or inaction that creates favorable conditions for the deceiving force. This is usually ...

by Colonel John Birch and remained in Parliamentarian hands for the remainder of the conflict.

Background

Hereford and the

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...

were a major recruiting ground for the Royalist cause. After the city was briefly seized by Parliamentarian troops under

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 ...

in 1643, a prominent local man Barnabas Scudamore was appointed as Governor replacing

Fitzwilliam Coningsby Fitzwilliam Coningsby (died August 1666) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1621 and in 1640. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. Biography Coningsby was born at Hampton Court, Herefordshire, the ...

. Scudamore oversaw a dramatic improvement in Hereford's defences. While Hereford remained a bastion of Royalist power, increasing war weariness had led 15,000

clubmen Clubmen were bands of local defence vigilantes during the English Civil War (1642–1651) who tried to protect their localities against the excesses of the armies of both sides in the war. They sought to join together to prevent their wives and ...

to march to the gates of Hereford in the spring of 1645 before they were dispersed by

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...

. In 1645 the tide of the war turned decisively against

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

and on 14 June he lost the

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

to the English

New Model Army The New Model Army or New Modelled Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 t ...

. Charles retreated to Hereford and then into

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

, hoping to rebuild his shattered army with Welsh recruits and Irish allies. Meanwhile, Scottish

forces under Leven captured

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

on 28 June and were then ordered by the

Committee of Both Kingdoms The Committee of Both Kingdoms (known as the Derby House Committee from late 1647) was a committee set up during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms by the Parliamentarian faction in association with representatives from the Scottish Covenanters, aft ...

to proceed via

Alcester Alcester ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England. It is west of Stratford-upon-Avon, and 7 miles south of Redditch. The town dates back to the times of Roman ...

to attack Hereford and disrupt Royalist attempts to assemble a fresh army. After arriving at Hereford, Charles sent Rupert to take command at

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and retreated himself towards

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

via

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

to begin recruiting.

Siege

Leven's advance into

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

brought him into conflict with the fortified

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

at Canon Frome near

Ledbury Ledbury is a market town and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and west of the Malvern Hills. It has a significant number of Tudor style timber-framed structures, in particular along Church Lane a ...

, commanded by Colonel Sir John Barnard. After the Scottish forces stormed the place they massacred many of the defenders and executed Barnard. On reaching Hereford, Leven had around 14,000 troops under his command while Scudamore had 1,500 defenders. After an initial fight around the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

over the

River Wye The River Wye (; ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn Estuary. The lower reaches of the river forms part of Wales-England bor ...

, Leven offered terms to Scudamore but he rejected them as he could not surrender without the king's permission. Scudamore still hoped to receive relief from Charles in Wales. Leven kept very strict discipline amongst his men regarding

looting Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

. Several major assaults were attempted on the city and in one of them, the Scottish Major General Lawrence Crawford was killed by a Royalist

sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

. One of the city's churches, the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

St Martin's, was severely damaged by the besiegers, and was not fully rebuilt until the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

. Leven's conduct of the siege has been described as "overcautious". Charles had gathered some fresh troops and was advancing slowly to assist the garrison at Hereford. More alarmingly for Leven came news of the victory for the Scottish Royalists and their allied Irish Brigade under the Marquis of Montrose at the

Battle of Kilsyth The Battle of Kilsyth, fought on 15 August 1645 near Kilsyth, was an engagement of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The largest battle of the conflict in Scotland, it resulted in victory for the Royalist general Montrose over the forces of ...

. Leven abandoned the siege between 1–2 September and began to withdraw northwards intending to march to Scotland to aid his government against the Royalist threat. The King entered the city on 4 September, fully ending the siege. He knighted Scudamore for his successful defence of the city and then marched north to

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

hoping to link up with Montrose's forces.

Aftermath

Within less than two weeks the Covenanters had won a striking victory over Montrose at the

Battle of Philiphaugh The Battle of Philiphaugh was fought on 13 September 1645 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. The Royalist army of the Marquis of Montrose was destroyed by the Covenanter army of Sir David Leslie, ...

in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

ending any chance that he could intervene in the English war. Prince Rupert had meanwhile surrendered Bristol and the Royalists ultimately gained little long-term benefit from the victory at Hereford. Leven's forces abandoned their return to Scotland and instead moved to attack Newark in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

which they eventually took after a lengthy siege. The events of the siege were portrayed in

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...

's 1720 novel '' Memoirs of a Cavalier'' which was written from the point of view of one of the Royalist participants.

Fall of Hereford

In December Parliamentary forces under John Birch and Thomas Morgan advanced rapidly on Hereford. On 18 December Birch launched a night attack on Hereford and carried it with surprise, capturing many of the garrison. After the fall of the city Scudamore was accused of having accepted a

bribe Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrar ...

to turn Hereford over to the king's enemies and was imprisoned for several months without trial in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

. Birch was appointed as the new Governor of the city.Manganiello p. 58 Hereford remained in Parliament's hands for the remainder of the First English Civil War, and also in the two subsequent conflicts in which the Scottish Covenanters invaded England in opposition to their former Parliamentarian allies.

References

Bibliography

* Bennett, Martyn. ''Historical Dictionary of the British and Irish Civil Wars 1637–1660''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2016. *Grosjean, Alexia & Murdoch, Steve. ''Alexander Leslie and the Scottish Generals of the Thirty Years' War, 1618–1648''. Routledge, 2015. * Hopper, Andre. ''Turncoats and Renegadoes: Changing Sides During the English Civil Wars''. Oxford University Press, 2012. * Hutton, Ronald. ''The Royalist War Effort: 1642–1646''. Routledge, 2003. Scarecrow Press, 2004. *McRae, Alisdair. '' How the Scots Won the English Civil War: The Triumph of Fraser's Dragoons''. The History Press, 2013. * Manganiello, Stephen C. '' The Concise Encyclopedia of the Revolutions and Wars of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1639–1660''. * Newman, P.R. ''Atlas of the English Civil War''. Routledge, 2005. * Reese, Peter. ''Cromwell's Masterstroke: Dunbar 1650''. Pen and Sword, 2006. * Rogers, Pat. ''The Life and Times of Thomas, Lord Coningsby: The Whig Hangman and His Victims''. A&C Black, 2011. * Stoyle, Mark. ''Soldiers and Strangers: An Ethnic History of the English Civil War''. Yale University Press, 2005. * Wilcher, Robert. ''Keeping the Ancient Way: Aspects of the Life and Work of Henry Vaughan (1621–1695)''. Oxford University Press, 2021. {{coord, 52.056, -2.716, region:GB-HEF_type:event, display=title History of Herefordshire First English Civil War Wars of the Three Kingdoms 1645 in England

Military history of Herefordshire

17th century in Herefordshire