The siege of Lichfield occurred on 8–21 April 1643 during 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 ...

. During the military action, the Royalists under the command of Prince Rupert successfully besieged the

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

garrison of

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

under the command of Colonel Russell.

Prelude

Earlier in the war the Royalists had occupied the Cathedral Close, Lichfield; Lord Brooke, at the head of the Warwickshire and Staffordshire levies for Parliament, had besieged and taken the Close; during the siege Lord Brooke had been killed. King Charles I wanted Lichfield re-taken and turned into a Royal garrison, because the Royalists were in considerable need of ammunition, and their chief supply was drawn from the northern counties. The convoys had, however, to pass through districts sympathetic to Parliament and as: A Royalist party little inferior in strength to an army was necessary to convoy any supply of ammunition from Yorkshire to Oxford. It was, therefore, resolved to establish a Royalist garrison at Lichfield, thereby forming a centre from which escorts could be sent to convoy whatever was required. Among the orders given to Rupert for the Lichfield expedition was that he should teach the population of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

a lesson for their disloyalty to the Crown, both for being a manufacturing arsenal for Parliament, and especially for the insults they had put on the King in October, 1642, before the

Battle of Edgehill The Battle of Edgehill (or Edge Hill) was a pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill, Warwickshire, Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642. All attempts at constitution ...

, in plundering the Royal Coach. Rupert's mission was, therefore, threefold. Punish Birmingham, garrison Lichfield, and clear the country as far as possible. To do this he was given a force of 1,200 horse and dragoons and 600 or 700 foot. He left Oxford on 29 March 1643 via

Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cotswolds in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 201 ...

Shipston-on-Stour Shipston-on-Stour is a town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon District in southern Warwickshire, England. It is located on the banks of the River Stour, Warwickshire, River Stour, points of the compass, south-southeast of Stratford-up ...

, and

Stratford-on-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-west of ...

; and was in Henley-in-Arden on Easter Saturday 31 March. He spent Easter Sunday there and then advanced on the unwalled town of Birmingham on Easter Monday. After the Royalist victory at the Battle of Camp Hill, Rupert stayed in Birmingham overnight and on Easter Tuesday, 4 April, he marched to

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

; and the next day he reached Cannock, where he halted. On Saturday 8 April he marched on to Lichfield.

Siege

Arriving on the 8 April 1643, Rupert at once summoned the city to surrender. Colonel Russell, the governor, sent back the following answer: Rupert accordingly began the siege. After a week's work, on Sunday 16 April, the breaches were considered practicable. Rupert ordered the place be assaulted, but the Royalists were repulsed. The siege was continued until Friday, 21 April, when Rupert again ordered an assaulted the place and this time the Royalists took it with a help of an explosive mine — said to have been one of the earliest used in England — blowing up part of the wall of the Close. On this taking place the garrison surrendered on terms.

Aftermath

The Parliamentary garrison was allowed to march out of Lichfield with bag and baggage, and sent under a convoy to the Parliamentary stronghold of

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

. Rupert had now completed his task, and took steps to return to Oxford. He did not stay long at Lichfield. The day after the surrender, leaving some of his force to garrison the town, he set out for to Oxford, arriving on 24 April 1643.

Prelude

Siege

Aftermath

Citations

References

Further reading