Battle of Roundway Down
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Roundway Down was fought on 13 July 1643, during the First English Civil War
. A Royalist
cavalry force under Lord Wilmot
won a crushing victory over the Parliamentarians
under Sir William Waller
who were besieging Devizes
in central Wiltshire
, which was defended by Lord Hopton. Roundway Down and Oliver's Castle are about 1.5 km (0.93205910497471 mi) north of Devizes and now form part of the North Wessex Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
.
. In doing so they suffered many casualties and desertions. Sir Bevil Grenville
, the popular commander of Hopton's Cornish
troops, was killed in the battle. Hopton himself was temporarily blinded the next day by an exploding ammunition cart. The explosion also left the army very short of gunpowder
. The Royalist army was forced to withdraw towards Oxford
, the Royalist capital, so that they could receive reinforcements and supplies.
Although Waller's army had been forced to withdraw, it remained intact, and Waller soon obtained reinforcements from the Parliamentarian garrison of Bristol
. He followed up Hopton's army closely, and on the night of 8 July he occupied Roundway Down, the high ground north of Devizes, barring the Royalists' further retreat. The Royalists fell back into the town, and their commanders held a hasty council of war
. It was agreed that Prince Maurice
would break out and make for Oxford with the 300 cavalry remaining with the Royalist army. While Hopton's Cornish infantry defended Devizes, Maurice was to collect a relieving force from Oxford.
Prince Maurice and his 300 horse escaped just before Waller surrounded Devizes. Unaware of Prince Maurice's escape to Oxford, Waller set up his guns and began a siege of the vulnerable unfortified town the next day. On 12 July he captured a convoy bringing ammunition to Hopton, and demanded a surrender. This was refused, and the next morning, the Royalist relief force appeared on Roundway Down.
Prince Maurice had reached Oxford late on 10 July. Lord Wilmot
, Lieutenant General of Horse for King Charles
, set out almost at once for Devizes with 1,500 cavalry and two light "galloper guns", an early form of horse artillery, collecting Prince Maurice's 300 horse on the way.
, and a weaker one under Lord Crawford
.
Waller had been informed of their arrival, and he abandoned the siege and marched to Roundway Down, hoping to defeat Wilmot before Hopton could sally from Devizes against his rear. He deployed his infantry and artillery in the centre of his line, with cavalry on each flank. Recent findings of cannon balls and musket and pistol shot have suggested that the site of the battle was not in fact on the highest point of the down, but close to Oliver's castle in front of what is today the Roundway Covert.
Although Waller held the higher ground, the Royalists attacked first. Wilmot's brigade attacked the Parliamentarian left. The leading troops of this Parliamentarian wing were a fully armoured regiment of cuirassiers, the London lobsters
under Sir Arthur Haselrig
. They appeared to have met Wilmot's charge at the halt, and were thrown into confusion and driven back into their second line. After a brief contest, they retreated in disorder.
Byron attacked the Parliamentarian right, commanded by Waller, under fire from the guns and musketeers of their centre. Once again, the Parliamentarians halted to receive the charge, and were shaken by the clash. They too gave way and fled, pursued by Byron. Some of the fleeing Parliamentarians died when they were forced to gallop over an unseen 300 feet (91.4 m) precipice which is now called Oliver's Castle and is near Roundway village. Wilmot's and Byron's troopers rallied and turned on the Parliamentarian centre. They captured at least four of the Parliamentarians' cannon and turned them on the infantry. The 2000 Roundhead foot held out for a while, until Hopton's infantry who had marched up from Devizes castle deployed to attack. The Roundheads then tried to retreat northwards, but failed and the survivors threw down their arms. About 600 Parliamentarian troops were killed and about 1,000 were captured.
Waller had previously been favoured to replace the Earl of Essex
as Lord General of the Parliamentarian armies. His defeat at Roundway Down made this impossible. Waller and his supporters criticised Essex for his perceived inactivity, which had allowed the royalists to detach Wilmot's cavalry from Oxford.
The Parliamentarian field army in south-west England was destroyed, allowing the Royalists to capture the port and major city of Bristol
a few weeks later; this period of Royalist successes was referred to as the "Royalist summer".
The "village" of Roundway is today a small hamlet 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of central Devizes, with a population of around 25 residents. There is a discussion of possible burial sites for the battle on the Devizes heritage website with an outline of the research evidence.
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. A Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
cavalry force under Lord Wilmot
Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester
Lieutenant-General Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester , known as The Lord Wilmot between 1643 and 1644 and as The Viscount Wilmot between 1644 and 1652, was an English Cavalier who fought for the Royalist cause during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.-Early life:Wilmot's family was descended from...
won a crushing victory over the Parliamentarians
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
under Sir William Waller
William Waller
Sir William Waller was an English soldier during the English Civil War. He received his education at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, and served in the Venetian army and in the Thirty Years' War...
who were besieging Devizes
Devizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The town is about southeast of Chippenham and about east of Trowbridge.Devizes serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops, with a large open market place where a market is held once a week...
in central Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, which was defended by Lord Hopton. Roundway Down and Oliver's Castle are about 1.5 km (0.93205910497471 mi) north of Devizes and now form part of the North Wessex Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
.
Campaign
On 5 July, Hopton's army had driven Waller from his position at the indecisive Battle of LansdowneBattle of Lansdowne
The English Civil War battle of Lansdowne was fought on 5 July 1643, near Bath, southwest England. Although the Royalists under Lord Hopton forced the Parliamentarians under Sir William Waller to retreat from their hilltop position, they suffered so many casualties themselves and were left so...
. In doing so they suffered many casualties and desertions. Sir Bevil Grenville
Bevil Grenville
Sir Bevil Grenville was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England between 1621 and 1642. He was a Royalist soldier in the English Civil War and was killed in action at the Battle of Lansdowne.-Backgound:...
, the popular commander of Hopton's Cornish
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
troops, was killed in the battle. Hopton himself was temporarily blinded the next day by an exploding ammunition cart. The explosion also left the army very short of gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
. The Royalist army was forced to withdraw towards Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, the Royalist capital, so that they could receive reinforcements and supplies.
Although Waller's army had been forced to withdraw, it remained intact, and Waller soon obtained reinforcements from the Parliamentarian garrison of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. He followed up Hopton's army closely, and on the night of 8 July he occupied Roundway Down, the high ground north of Devizes, barring the Royalists' further retreat. The Royalists fell back into the town, and their commanders held a hasty council of war
Council of war
A council of war is a term in military science that describes a meeting held to decide on a course of action, usually in the midst of a battle. Under normal circumstances, decisions are made by a commanding officer, optionally communicated and coordinated by staff officers, and then implemented by...
. It was agreed that Prince Maurice
Prince Maurice von Simmern
Prince Maurice of the Palatinate KG , Count Palatine of the Rhine, was the fourth son of Frederick V, Elector Palatine and Princess Elizabeth, only daughter of James I, King of England and Scotland and Anne of Denmark....
would break out and make for Oxford with the 300 cavalry remaining with the Royalist army. While Hopton's Cornish infantry defended Devizes, Maurice was to collect a relieving force from Oxford.
Prince Maurice and his 300 horse escaped just before Waller surrounded Devizes. Unaware of Prince Maurice's escape to Oxford, Waller set up his guns and began a siege of the vulnerable unfortified town the next day. On 12 July he captured a convoy bringing ammunition to Hopton, and demanded a surrender. This was refused, and the next morning, the Royalist relief force appeared on Roundway Down.
Prince Maurice had reached Oxford late on 10 July. Lord Wilmot
Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester
Lieutenant-General Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester , known as The Lord Wilmot between 1643 and 1644 and as The Viscount Wilmot between 1644 and 1652, was an English Cavalier who fought for the Royalist cause during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.-Early life:Wilmot's family was descended from...
, Lieutenant General of Horse for King Charles
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, set out almost at once for Devizes with 1,500 cavalry and two light "galloper guns", an early form of horse artillery, collecting Prince Maurice's 300 horse on the way.
The battle
Early on the morning of 13 July, Wilmot's relieving force reached Roughridge Hill, 5 miles (8 km) north east of Devizes, and fired two rounds from their guns as a signal to the besieged. They were organised as two strong brigades under Wilmot himself and Sir John ByronJohn Byron, 1st Baron Byron
John Byron, 1st Baron Byron was an English Royalist and supporter of Charles I during the English Civil War.-Life:...
, and a weaker one under Lord Crawford
Ludovic Lindsay, 16th Earl of Crawford
Ludovic Lindsay, 16th Earl of Crawford took part in the strange plot of 1641 called The Incident. Having joined King Charles I at Nottingham in 1642, he fought at the Battle of Edgehill, at the Battle of Newbury and elsewhere during the English Civil War; in 1644, just after the Battle of Marston...
.
Waller had been informed of their arrival, and he abandoned the siege and marched to Roundway Down, hoping to defeat Wilmot before Hopton could sally from Devizes against his rear. He deployed his infantry and artillery in the centre of his line, with cavalry on each flank. Recent findings of cannon balls and musket and pistol shot have suggested that the site of the battle was not in fact on the highest point of the down, but close to Oliver's castle in front of what is today the Roundway Covert.
Although Waller held the higher ground, the Royalists attacked first. Wilmot's brigade attacked the Parliamentarian left. The leading troops of this Parliamentarian wing were a fully armoured regiment of cuirassiers, the London lobsters
London lobsters
The London lobsters, Haselrig's Lobsters or just "Lobsters" were the name given to the cavalry unit of Sir Arthur Haselrig, a Parliamentarian who fought in the English Civil War.-Background:...
under Sir Arthur Haselrig
Arthur Haselrig
Sir Arthur Haselrig, 2nd Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1659. He was one of the five members of Parliament whom King Charles I tried to arrest in 1642, an event which led to the start of the English Civil War...
. They appeared to have met Wilmot's charge at the halt, and were thrown into confusion and driven back into their second line. After a brief contest, they retreated in disorder.
Byron attacked the Parliamentarian right, commanded by Waller, under fire from the guns and musketeers of their centre. Once again, the Parliamentarians halted to receive the charge, and were shaken by the clash. They too gave way and fled, pursued by Byron. Some of the fleeing Parliamentarians died when they were forced to gallop over an unseen 300 feet (91.4 m) precipice which is now called Oliver's Castle and is near Roundway village. Wilmot's and Byron's troopers rallied and turned on the Parliamentarian centre. They captured at least four of the Parliamentarians' cannon and turned them on the infantry. The 2000 Roundhead foot held out for a while, until Hopton's infantry who had marched up from Devizes castle deployed to attack. The Roundheads then tried to retreat northwards, but failed and the survivors threw down their arms. About 600 Parliamentarian troops were killed and about 1,000 were captured.
Aftermath
Roundway Down was the greatest cavalry victory of the English Civil War. The Royalists christened the battle "Runaway Down". The defeat of an army arrayed in proper battle order on high ground by a column of cavalry that had just ridden down from Oxford was regarded as remarkable.Waller had previously been favoured to replace the Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the seventeenth century. With the start of the English Civil War in 1642 he became the first Captain-General and Chief Commander of the Parliamentarian army, also known as the Roundheads...
as Lord General of the Parliamentarian armies. His defeat at Roundway Down made this impossible. Waller and his supporters criticised Essex for his perceived inactivity, which had allowed the royalists to detach Wilmot's cavalry from Oxford.
The Parliamentarian field army in south-west England was destroyed, allowing the Royalists to capture the port and major city of Bristol
Storming of Bristol
The Storming of Bristol took place on 26 July 1643, during the First English Civil War. The Cavalier army under Prince Rupert of the Rhine, King Charles's nephew and Lieutenant General, captured the important city and port of Bristol from its weakened Roundhead garrison...
a few weeks later; this period of Royalist successes was referred to as the "Royalist summer".
The "village" of Roundway is today a small hamlet 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of central Devizes, with a population of around 25 residents. There is a discussion of possible burial sites for the battle on the Devizes heritage website with an outline of the research evidence.
External links
- 1643: Lansdown, Roundway Down and Bristol
- Devizes Heritage website with map of the area Retrieved 2009-11-02