| |
(Early January) Publication at Oxford of the first issue of the Royalist news-sheet Mercurius Aulicus. Source: TKW |
| |
(Early January) Colonel Ruthin bombards Saltash on the Cornish side of the River Tamar but is unable to capture the town. TGCW |
| 2 |
Petition from the Common Council of the City of London presented to the King at Oxford requesting his return to Westminster and assuring him of protection. HGCW1 |
| 3 |
London apprentices petition for peace at Westminster. Peace petitions also in circulation in Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire. HGCW1 |
| |
Covenanter leaders petition for the suppression of the King's letter to the Scottish Privy Council denouncing Parliament. TSR |
| 6 |
The Earl of Stamford arrives at Exeter to take command of Parliament's forces in Devon. ODNB |
| 7 |
Prince Rupert mounts an unsuccessful attack on Cirencester. HGCW1 |
| 9 |
Ending of the first meeting of the Confederate Assembly of Kilkenny. TCK |
| 10 |
The Scottish Privy Council considers the Covenanters' petition and also the "Cross Petition" signed by Royalist nobles and lairds. The Council votes to reverse its decision of 20 December 1642 and to publish a declaration by the English Parliament. Covenanter leaders call for a meeting of the Scottish Parliament. TSR |
| 11 |
King Charles commissions the Marquis of Ormond, the Earl of Clanricarde and others to meet with Irish Catholic leaders in order to report to him on their complaints. HGCW1 |
| 12 |
The King and the Princes Charles and James review Royalist troops at Oxford. DBD |
| 13 |
The King's reply to the petition of the Common Council read in London. King Charles agrees to return to London on condition that the Lord Mayor and several named citizens are first placed under arrest. His terms are rejected. HGCW1 |
| |
General Preston besieges Birr Castle in King's County, Leinster. TCK |
| 15 |
Sir WIlliam Waller receives the public thanks of the House of Commons for his services to the Parliamentarian cause. DBD |
| 17 |
Two Parliamentarian ships laden with weapons, ammunition and money forced into Falmouth and captured by Cornish Royalists, enabling Sir Ralph Hopton to re-equip his army. TGCW |
| 18 |
Hopton appointed commander-in-chief of the Royalist western army. DBD |
| |
Four Scottish commissioners appointed to go to the King and to the English Parliament to work for the abolition of Episcopacy in England and the summoning of a meeting of divines of both kingdoms to discuss religious matters. TSR |
| 19 |
Battle of Braddock Down. Colonel Ruthin defeated by Cornish Royalists commanded by Sir Ralph Hopton. Hopton's victory secures Cornwall for the King. HGCW1 |
| |
General Preston and the Leinster army capture Birr Castle in King's County. Preston advances to Bannagher, which surrenders without a shot being fired. TCW, TCK |
| 22 |
Hopton and Lord Mohun storm and capture Saltash. TGCW |
| 23 |
Sir Thomas Fairfax defeats Sir William Savile and captures Leeds. SOB |
| 25 |
Sir Ralph Hopton resumes the siege of Plymouth. Royalist forces occupy surrounding towns to seal off the city by land. DBD |
| 26 |
General Preston captures Fort Falkland to complete the Confederate conquest of King's County. TCK |
| 27 |
The Earl of Newcastle withdraws to York with most of the Royalist northern army. DBD |
| 28 |
Sir William Brereton defeats the Cheshire Royalists at Nantwich and advances into the Midlands. HGCW1 |
| |
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| |
(Early February) Viscount Ranelagh and Sir Charles Coote flee from Connacht towards Dublin. Source: TCK |
| 1 |
Parliamentary commissioners present peace proposals to the King at Oxford, calling for a disbandment of both armies. HGCW1 |
| 2 |
Prince Rupert storms and captures Cirencester, essential for keeping Royalist lines of communication to the south-west open. HGCW1 |
| |
Queen Henrietta Maria with a large store of weapons and money sets sail for England, accompanied by Admiral Tromp. Her convoy is driven back by storms. HGCW1 |
| 3 |
The King presents his counter-proposals at Oxford, calling for a cessation of hostilities during the peace negotiations rather than disbandment. HGCW1 |
| 5 |
Battle of Rathconnel: Viscount Ranelagh and Sir Charles Coote defeat General Preston when he attempts to prevent their withdrawal from Connacht to Dublin. TCK |
| 7 |
The House of Lords votes for a cessation of hostilities and the disbandment of both armies. HLJ |
| 8-28 |
The House of Commons debates terms and procedures for continuing peace negotiations with the King. New proposals for a cessation forwarded to Oxford on 28 February. HGCW1 |
| 8 |
The poet Sidney Godolphin killed during a skirmish near Okehampton in Devon. TGCW |
| 9 |
Sir John Seaton storms and captures Preston in Lancashire for Parliament. AECW |
| 11 |
Sir William Waller appointed Major-General of the Western Association, consisting of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Somerset. ODNB |
| 14 |
Houghton Tower in Lancashire surrenders to Parliamentarians from Preston, but sixty Parliamentarians are killed when a booby-trapped supply of gunpowder is set off. AECW |
| 16 |
The Royalist Earl of Derby driven back from an attack on Bolton in Lancashire. AECW |
| 19 |
Parliamentarian forces seize Lancaster in Lancashire. AECW |
| 21 |
Major-General James Chudleigh defeats the Royalists at Modbury in Devon to relieve the blockade of Plymouth. TGCW |
| 22 |
Sir Ralph Hopton orders his artillery back into Cornwall and withdraws to Tavistock. TGCW |
| |
The Queen's convoy finally lands at Bridlington Bay, Yorkshire. HGCW1 |
| 23 |
Parliamentarian warships under Vice-Admiral William Batten bombard Bridlington, endangering the Queen. HGCW1 |
| |
The Scottish commissioners meet the King at Oxford and offer to mediate with Parliament, but the King questions their authority to intervene in English affairs. TSR |
| 25 |
Lord Brooke defeats Colonel Wagstaffe at Welcombe Hill to secure Stratford-upon-Avon for Parliament. TCG |
| 24 |
Parliamentary ordinance introduces weekly tax assessments, to be imposed on all counties in England. AOI |
| 27 |
Major-General Thomas Ballard approaches Newark in Nottinghamshire with 6,000 Parliamentarian troops from Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Royalist defenders driven back from outlying garrisons. TGCW, TCG |
| 28 |
Parliamentarian attack on Newark repulsed. Sir John Henderson leads a counterattack from within the town that drives Major-General Ballard's forces away. TGCW |
| |
Sir Ralph Hopton and the Earl of Stamford negotiate a cessation of hostilities in Devon and Cornwall, to allow both sides to reorganise their forces. TGCW |
| |
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| 1 |
Parliamentary Commissioners at Oxford present revised terms for a cessation of arms to the King. Source: HGCW1 |
| 2 |
Lord Brooke killed at the siege of Lichfield. ODNB |
| |
The Marquis of Ormond advances from Dublin with the intention of capturing Ross in County Wexford to disrupt communications between the Confederate capital Kilkenny and the ports of Waterford and Wexford. TCK |
| 3 |
Sir William Waller occupies Winchester. DBD |
| 4 |
Royalist garrison at Lichfield surrenders to Sir John Gell. HGCW1 |
| |
Waller's army at Romsey in Hampshire, where the church is defiled. DBD |
| |
Ormond's advance towards Ross delayed by the stubborn resistance of the defenders of Timolin Castle in County Kildare. TCK |
| 6 |
The King replies to Parliament's terms for a cessation; amongst other measures, he insists that naval commanders and governors of fortified towns be appointed by him. HGCW1 |
| 7 |
Prince Rupert attempts to capture the key port of Bristol, but a plot to open the gates for him fails and he is forced to withdraw to Oxford. HGCW1 |
| |
Parliament issues orders for the fortification of London. HGCW1 |
| |
The Queen arrives in York. TGCW |
| 9 |
Waller arrives at Salisbury in Wiltshire, where he seizes money, weapons and horses. DBD |
| 11 |
Ormond besieges Ross in County Wexford. TCK |
| 14 |
Oliver Cromwell seizes Lowestoft in Suffolk for Parliament. TCG |
| 15 |
Sir William Waller secures Bristol for Parliament. HGCW1 |
| 16 |
Ormond abandons the siege of Ross on hearing news of the approach of Confederate reinforcements. TCK |
| 17 |
Negotiations begin at Trim between representatives of the Confederates and the King's representative the Earl of Clanricarde. The complaints of the Irish Catholics sent to the King in the Remonstrance of Grievances. HGCW1 |
| 18 |
Parliament offers a compromise over the appointment of commanders of forts and ships, suggesting that they be nominated by the King but subject to approval by Parliament. HGCW1 |
| |
Battle of Ross: the Marquis of Ormond defeats General Thomas Preston and the Leinster Confederates when they attempt to block his withdrawal to Dublin. TCW, CCW |
| |
The Earl of Derby storms Lancaster but is unable to capture the castle. His badly-disciplined troops plunder and burn the town. AECW, DBD |
| 19 |
Battle of Hopton Heath, Staffordshire. The Royalist Earl of Northampton defeats Sir William Brereton and Sir John Gell, but Northampton is killed in action. Prince Rupert ordered to take command of Royalist forces in the Midlands. HGCW1 |
| 20 |
The Earl of Derby captures Preston, Lancashire. Blackburn also surrenders to the Royalists. AECW |
| 21 |
Sir William Waller takes Malmesbury, Wiltshire. HGCW1 |
| |
Oliver Cromwell occupies King's Lynn in Norfolk to investigate rumours of the governor Sir Hammond L'Estrange's disloyalty to Parliament. TCG |
| 23 |
The King objects to Parliament's terms for a cessation and proposes that commanders of forts and ships should be restored as they were before the outbreak of the war. HGCW1 |
| |
Charles Cavendish and Sir John Henderson with a force from Newark capture Grantham in Lincolnshire in a surprise attack. TGCW |
| 24 |
Waller surprises Lord Herbert's Welsh Royalists at Highnam near Gloucester. The Royalist cavalry flee and the infantry surrender without a fight. HGCW1 |
| |
Waller secures Gloucester for Parliament and pushes west. HGCW1 |
| 25 |
Sir Hugh Cholmley, Parliamentarian governor of Scarborough in Yorkshire, defects to the King, delivering Scarborough Castle to the Royalists. HGCW1 |
| 27 |
Parliament establishes the Committee for Sequestration to confiscate the estates of all who gave assistance to the King. HGCW1, AOI |
| 28 |
John Pym's proposal to impose an Excise Tax on "superfluous commodities" rejected by the House of Commons. HGCW1 |
| |
The Earl of Derby attacks Bolton in Lancashire for the second time, but is repulsed. AECW |
| 29 |
Prince Rupert marches from Oxford for the Midlands, intending to open a route south for the Queen's convoy at York. DBD |
| 30 |
Battle of Seacroft Moor, Yorkshire. Lieutenant-General George Goring routs Sir Thomas Fairfax as he withdraws from Tadcaster. TGCW |
| |
The House of Commons orders the arrest of the Capuchins at the Queen's Chapel in Somerset House and the destruction of religious images in the chapel, including an altar-piece by Rubens which is thrown into the Thames. HGCW1 |
| 31 |
Sir William Parsons, Lord-Justice of Ireland, dismissed from office for his opposition to an alliance between the Royalists and the "Old English" gentry of Ireland. The King appoints Sir Henry Tichborne to replace Parsons and work alongside Sir John Borlase. HGCW1 |
| |
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| |
(Early April) Sir William Waller advances into Monmouthshire; Prince Maurice sent from Oxford to counter his advance towards Wales. Source: TGCW |
| 1 |
The Royalist town of Wigan in Lancashire sacked by Colonel Holland's Parliamentarians. AECW, DBD |
| 2 |
The Earl of Newcastle recaptures Wakefield in Yorkshire. DBD |
| 3 |
Prince Rupert storms Birmingham. HGCW1 |
| |
Action at Stockton Heath: Sir William Brereton attacks the Earl of Derby's headquarters at Warrington. Brereton is driven off, but Derby remains hemmed in at Warrington. AECW |
| 4 |
As Sir William Waller approaches Monmouth, the Royalist garrison withdraws to Raglan Castle, enabling the Parliamentarians to occupy the town. DBD |
| 5 |
Sir William Brereton's second attack on Warrington repulsed. AECW |
| 8 |
Parliament rejects the King's terms for a cessation and renews the original proposal for disbandment. HGCW1 |
| 10 |
Rupert besieges Lichfield. HGCW1 |
| 11 |
Threatened by Prince Maurice, Waller withdraws to Gloucester. HGCW1 |
| |
Battle of Ancaster Heath, Lincolnshire. Lord Willoughby's Parliamentarians defeated by Charles Cavendish. TGCW |
| 12 |
The King offers his final peace terms, which are wholly unacceptable to Parliament. HGCW1 |
| |
The Marquis of Hamilton granted a dukedom. ODNB |
| |
Colonel Massey captures Tewkesbury where he is joined by Sir William Waller. AECW |
| 13 |
Prince Maurice blocks Waller's advance towards Worcester and defeats him at the battle of Ripple Field. Waller forced to withdraw to Gloucester. TGCW |
| |
The Earl of Essex marches from Windsor with an army of 19,000 men to besiege Reading. HGCW1 |
| |
At Athy in Leinster, the Earl of Castlehaven defeats a British detachment under Colonel Crawford marching to raise the siege of Ballynekill. TCK |
| 14 |
Parliament rejects the King's terms. Parliamentary commissioners at Oxford instructed to abandon peace negotiations and return to London. HGCW1 |
| 15 |
Sir Arthur Aston defies the Earl of Essex's summons to surrender Reading. SGCW |
| 16 |
Bombardment of Reading begins. SGCW |
| 19 |
The King gives his final rejection of the Scottish commissioners' offer to mediate with Parliament. He refuses to allow them to go to London and rejects their request that a Parliament should be summoned in Scotland. TSR |
| 20 |
Prince Rupert's engineers detonate the first explosive mine used in England to breach the defences at Lichfield Close. TCG, DBD |
| |
The Earl of Derby defeated at Whalley Abbey in Lancashire by Colonel Shuttleworth. Derby withdraws to the Isle of Man. Parliamentarians control most of Lancashire. AECW, DBD |
| 21 |
Lichfield surrenders to Prince Rupert. He is immediately recalled south by the King to counter the threat from the Earl of Essex. HGCW1 |
| |
The King appoints the Earl of Lanark head of a delegation of Scottish Royalist nobles to go to Edinburgh and work against an alliance between the Covenanters and the English Parliament. TSR |
| 22 |
Colonel Oliver Cromwell occupies Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. TGCW |
| |
Expiration of the truce between the Royalists and Parliamentarians in the West. Major-General Chudleigh marches into Cornwall to attack Sir Ralph Hopton at Launceston. TGCW |
| 23 |
Sir Ralph Hopton drives back Chudleigh's advance at Beacon Hill near Launceston and pursues him back into Devon. TGCW |
| |
King Charles officially authorises the Marquis of Ormond to begin negotiations for a cessation of hostilities with the Irish Confederates. TCW |
| 24 |
The House of Commons orders the destruction of religious monuments and stained glass windows in Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's. HGCW1 |
| 25 |
Sir William Waller takes Hereford for Parliament. HGCW1 |
| |
Action at Caversham Bridge. A Royalist relief force fails to relieve the siege of Reading. SGCW |
| |
Sir Ralph Hopton surprised and routed at Sourton Down near Okehampton. The Earl of Stamford sends a detachment to hold Bodmin for Parliament and concentrates his main force at Stratton. TGCW |
| |
Colonel Oliver Cromwell joins forces with Sir Miles Hobart and Sir Anthony Irby in besieging Croyland in Lincolnshire, defended by a Royalist cousin Captain Cromwell. TGCW |
| 26 |
Reading surrenders to the Earl of Essex. SGCW |
| 28 |
Surrender of Croyland to Cromwell, Hobart and Irby. TGCW |
| |
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| 2 |
Sir Edward Hungerford summons Wardour Castle in Wiltshire. In the absence of Lord Arundel, who is on campaign with Sir Ralph Hopton, Lady Arundel refuses to surrender. Source: DBD |
| |
The Common Council of London orders the destruction of Cheapside Cross as an idolatrous monument. HGCW1 |
| 4 |
The Earl of Newcastle storms and captures Rotherham in Yorkshire. ATKA |
| 5 |
Court-martial at Oxford of Colonel Fielding for surrendering Reading. He is condemned to death, but later reprieved. DBD |
| 6 |
The Earl of Newcastle storms and captures Sheffield in Yorkshire. ATKA |
| 8 |
Lady Arundel surrenders Wardour Castle to Sir Edward Hungerford. DBD |
| 9 |
Lord Willoughby, Sir John Hotham and Colonel Cromwell rendezvous at Sleaford in Lincolnshire in preparation for an attack on Newark. TGCW |
| 11 |
Lord Willoughby's forces arrive at Grantham but make no further progress towards Newark. TGCW |
| 12 |
The Scottish Privy Council votes to summon a Convention of Estates as the King will not allow a full Parliament. TSR |
| 13 |
Royalists out of Newark attack Lord Willoughby at Grantham. In his first successful action as a cavalry commander, Oliver Cromwell routs a Royalist force. TGCW |
| |
Large convoy of arms and ammunition sent by the Queen from the north reaches Oxford. HGCW1 |
| 16 |
Battle of Stratton, Cornwall. Sir Ralph Hopton defeats Parliament's western army under the Earl of Stamford. The victory enables Hopton to secure Devon for the Royalists, with the exception of the garrison towns of Plymouth, Exeter, Dartmouth, Bideford and Barnstaple. TGCW |
| |
The Earl of Lanark arrives in Edinburgh too late to prevent the decision to call a Convention. TSR |
| 18 |
Captain Ludlow appointed commander of the garrison at Wardour Castle. DBD |
| |
Short of men to garrison the town, Sir William Waller abandons Hereford and returns to Gloucester. ATKA |
| 20 |
Parliamentarians from Manchester besiege Warrington in Cheshire. They are later joined by Sir William Brereton and a large force from Cheshire. DBD |
| |
The second Confederate Assembly meets at Kilkenny. TCK |
| 21 |
Sir Thomas Fairfax storms and captures Wakefield against heavy odds. Lieutenant-General Goring taken prisoner. Lacking forces to garrison the town, Fairfax withdraws to Leeds. TGCW |
| 22 |
The King writes to the Duke of Hamilton authorising him to forbid the meeting of the Convention of Estates. TSR |
| 23 |
The House of Commons impeaches Queen Henrietta Maria for high treason, on the grounds that she has brought arms and ammunition into the country in order to prosecute war against Parliament. HGCW1 |
| 27 |
Colonel Norris surrenders Warrington in Cheshire to Brereton's Parliamentarians. Sir George Booth installed as governor of Warrington. DBD |
| 28 |
Sir William Waller's attack on Worcester repulsed by Colonel Samuel Sandys. ATKA |
| 31 |
Arrest of Edmund Waller and others involved in a plot to instigate a Royalist uprising in London. HGCW1 |
| |
Sir Ralph Hopton advances to Honiton in Devon. DBD |
| |
William Prynne authorised to seize Archbishop Laud's papers to search for evidence against him. DNB |
| |
(End of May) The Earl of Antrim taken prisoner by Covenanter forces in Ulster. His captured correspondence reveals details of a plan for a Royalist uprising in Scotland supported by an Irish Catholic army. HGCW1 |
| |
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| 1 |
The Scottish Privy Council meets in Edinburgh. The Duke of Hamilton does not enforce the command forbidding the meeting of the Convention of Estates in case the order is disobeyed and the King's authority weakened. Source: TSR |
| 2 |
Gathering of Parliamentarian commanders at Nottingham: Lord Grey of Groby, Lord Willoughby, Colonel Cromwell, Sir John Gell and Captain Hotham. Cromwell's plan to advance into Yorkshire to support the Fairfaxes rejected. HGCW1 |
| 4 |
Sir Ralph Hopton's army joins forces with Prince Maurice and the Marquis of Hertford at Chard, Somerset. Royalist garrisons established at Taunton, Bridgwater, Dunster Castle then the main army moves towards Wells and Bath, where Waller's forces are established. TGCW |
| |
Queen Henrietta Maria sets out from York for Oxford with a force of around 3,000 men and an ammunition convoy. ATKA |
| |
The Earl of Castlehaven defeats Lord Inchiquin's lieutenant Sir Charles Vavasour at Cloghlea in County Cork, inflicting heavy losses and capturing Vavasour himself. TCK |
| 5 |
Letters read in the House of Commons detailing the King's dealings with the Confederates in Ireland. HGCW1 |
| 6 |
John Pym reports on the discovery of Edmund Waller's plot. The House of Commons resolves to implement an oath of loyalty in support of Parliament's war against the Papists and Royalists. The "Peace Party" undermined. HGCW1 |
| |
The House of Lords authorises the meeting of an Assembly of Divines to discuss reform the Church of England (without the assent of the King). HGCW1 |
| 9 |
The Privy Council of Scotland agrees to consider an alliance with the English Parliament in view of the discovery of Lord Antrim's plans for a Royalist uprising supported by Catholic troops from Ireland. Elections for the Convention of Estates begin. TSR |
| 10 |
King Charles gives permission for the Convention of Estates to meet in Edinburgh but forbids it from raising an army or recalling Scottish troops from Ulster. TSR |
| |
The Earl of Essex occupies Thame in Oxfordshire. TGCW |
| 12 |
Advance guard of the combined Royalist western army attacks Waller's outposts at Chewton Mendip. Prince Maurice wounded and briefly captured. HGCW1, ODNB |
| 13 |
The Earl of Essex's advance guard occupies Wheatley in Oxfordshire. HGCW1 |
| |
Sir Robert Stewart and the Laggan Army ambush and defeat Owen Roe O'Neill's Ulster army at Clones in County Monaghan. TCW |
| 14 |
Parliament passes an ordinance authorising a body of censors, without whose license nothing may be published. AOI |
| 16 |
The Queen's convoy arrives at Newark to complete the first stage of the march to Oxford. DBD |
| 17 |
A detachment from Essex's army advances on Islip near Oxford but withdraws without attacking. TGCW |
| |
Prince Rupert leads a raid out of Oxford on Essex's garrisons. TGCW |
| 18 |
Rupert's force attacks Postcombe and Chinnor. Action at Chalgrove Field in Buckinghamshire. John Hampden mortally wounded. TGCW |
| |
Captain Hotham arrested at Nottingham. HGCW1 |
| 21 |
The House of Commons passes articles for the Queen's impeachment on charges of high treason. HCJ |
| |
The Queen's convoy sets out from Newark for Oxford with Lieutenant-General Charles Cavendish in command of the military escort. ATKA |
| 22 |
First meeting of the Convention of Estates in Edinburgh. TSR |
| |
The Earl of Newcastle resumes operations in Yorkshire. His forces storm and capture Howley Hall, the residence of Lord Savile. HGCW1 |
| 24 |
Truce negotiations between the Marquis of Ormond and the Irish Confederates begin. TCW |
| |
Captain Hotham escapes to Lincoln then joins his father at Hull. HGCW1 |
| |
Death of John Hampden. HGCW1 |
| |
A committee selected to define the powers of the Convention of Estates. TSR |
| 25 |
Detachment of Royalist cavalry under Colonel Hurry sweeps around the rear of Essex's army and plunders Wycombe, causing great alarm in London. HGCW1 |
| 26 |
The Convention of Estates votes to ignore the limitations on its powers imposed by the King. The Duke of Hamilton and Earl of Lanark withdraw in protest. TSR |
| 28 |
The Earl of Essex tenders his resignation after his leadership is sharply criticised; Parliament is unable to accept it. HGCW1 |
| |
The Convention of Estates orders that the documents captured from the Earl of Antrim should be forwarded to the Westminster Parliament. TSR |
| |
The Earl of Newcastle marches on Bradford. HGCW1 |
| 29 |
Colonel John Hutchinson appointed governor of Nottingham. DBD |
| |
Arrest of Sir John Hotham and his son for plotting to betray Hull to the Royalists. HGCW1 |
| 30 |
Battle of Adwalton Moor, Yorkshire. The Earl of Newcastle defeats Ferdinando Lord Fairfax. All of Yorkshire under Royalist control except the port of Hull. The Fairfaxes trapped in Bradford. HGCW1 |
| |
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| 1 |
First meeting of the Westminster Assembly of Divines, established by Parliament to reform the English Church. HGCW1 |
| |
Lord Fairfax breaks out of Bradford with most of the Parliamentarian army and marches for Hull via Leeds. Sir Thomas Fairfax stays behind to cover the withdrawal. SOB |
| 2 |
Royalist attacks on Bradford repulsed. SOB |
| |
Sir Ralph Hopton and the combined Royalist army arrives at Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire. DBD |
| |
Lieutenant-General Cavendish forces a crossing of the River Trent at Burton-upon-Trent to allow the Queen's convoy to cross. ATKA |
| 3 |
Sir Thomas Fairfax escapes from Bradford with a small force. Lady Ann Fairfax taken prisoner. The Earl of Newcastle occupies Bradford. SOB |
| 4 |
Lord Fairfax arrives in Hull; Sir Thomas joins him that evening after a gallant fighting retreat from Bradford. SOB |
| |
Sir William Waller takes up his position on Lansdown Hill near Bath. TGCW |
| 5 |
Battle of Lansdown, Somerset. Sir William Waller narrowly defeated by Sir Ralph Hopton. Death in action of Sir Bevil Grenville. TGCW |
| 6 |
Hopton temporarily blinded and paralysed in an ammunition explosion. TGCW |
| 7 |
Waller reinforces his army with troops from Bristol, then sets out in pursuit of Hopton's Royalists making their way towards Oxford. TGCW |
| 9 |
Prince Maurice fights a rearguard action against Waller's advance guard, enabling Hopton's army to retreat into Devizes. TGCW |
| 10 |
Waller takes up a position on Roundway Down, overlooking Devizes. Prince Maurice and the Royalist cavalry break out of Devizes and ride for Oxford. TGCW |
| 11 |
Prince Maurice, Lord Hertford and Lord Carnarvon break out of Devizes and ride to Oxford to secure reinforcements for Hopton's beleaguered army. The Parliamentarians besiege Devizes. TGCW |
| |
Prince Rupert meets the Queen's convoy at Stratford-on-Avon. ATKA |
| 13 |
Battle of Roundway Down. Prince Maurice, Lord Wilmot and Sir John Byron reinforce Hopton and inflict a heavy defeat on Waller (his "dismal defeat"). Waller retreats to Gloucester with the remnants of his army. TGCW |
| |
King Charles and Queen Henrietta Maria re-united, making their rendezvous on the battlefield of Edgehill. HGCW1 |
| |
(Mid-July) Father Peter Scarampi arrives in Ireland as envoy to the Confederates from the Vatican. Scarampi brings supplies of money, weapons and ammunition from the Pope. TCK |
| 17 |
The King orders all loyal naval officers and seamen to sail to Falmouth in Cornwall, where a new Royal Navy is to be formed under the command of Sir John Penington. TCW |
| 18 |
Prince Rupert marches from Oxford to join with the Western Army and complete the Royalist conquest of the west. TGCW |
| |
Sir William Brereton probes the outer defences of Chester but withdraws after two days. DBD |
| |
Pro-Royalist uprising in Kent; houses of rich Parliamentarians plundered in Tonbridge and Sevenoaks. TKW |
| 19 |
Parliament issues Instructions to four commissioners to go to Edinburgh and negotiate an alliance with the Scots. TSR |
| 20 |
Lord Willoughby captures Gainsborough in Lincolnshire for Parliament. HGCW1 |
| 22 |
The Excise Ordinance passed by both Houses of Parliament, imposing a purchase tax on many common goods to raise war funds. AOI |
| 23 |
Prince Rupert joins with Hopton's western army before Bristol. TGCW |
| |
Parliamentarian troops in Kent suppress riots over taxation and religious changes. HGCW1 |
| 24 |
Prince Rupert summons Bristol. Governor Nathaniel Fiennes refuses to surrender. Bombardment of Bristol begins. TGCW |
| 25 |
Sir William Waller returns to London to a hero's welcome. The defeat at Roundway Down is blamed upon the failure of the Earl of Essex to support Waller. DBD |
| |
Parliament orders Oliver Cromwell and Sir John Meldrum to support Lord Willoughby at Gainsborough, who is threatened by Lieutenant-General Charles Cavendish's Royalists. HGCW1 |
| 26 |
Storming of Bristol. After a day of fierce fighting, Fiennes surrenders the city to Prince Rupert. TGCW |
| 27 |
Colonel Cromwell and Sir John Meldrum rendezvous with troops from Lincolnshire at North Scarle. DBD |
| 28 |
Cromwell and Sir John Meldrum defeat Lieutenant-General Cavendish at Gainsborough but are unable to hold the town in the face of the approach of the Earl of Newcastle's main army. HGCW1 |
| |
The House of Commons appoints Colonel Cromwell governor of Ely. HCJ |
| 30 |
Lord Willoughby surrenders Gainsborough to the Earl of Newcastle. HGCW1 |
| 31 |
Colonel Richard Norton's attack on Basing House in Hampshire beaten off by the timely arrival of Lieutenant-Colonel Peake's musketeers sent from Oxford supported by Sir Henry Bard's cavalry. SGCW |
| |
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| 1 |
The King enters Bristol, to the popular acclaim of the citizens. HGCW1 |
| 2 |
Dorchester in Dorset surrenders to Lord Carnarvon without a fight. ODNB |
| 5 |
Weymouth and Portland surrender to Lord Carnarvon. ODNB |
| 7 |
Parliament's commissioners arrive in Edinburgh to negotiate the Solemn League and Covenant between Parliament and the Scots. TSR |
| |
By a narrow margin, the House of Commons votes against a peace treaty with the King. HGCW1 |
| |
Sir William Waller commissioned major-general of a new Parliamentarian army of 11,000 men to oppose Lord Carnarvon and Prince Maurice and to prevent their armies approaching London from the west. HGCW1 |
| |
Owen Roe O'Neill defeats Lord Moore and government troops from Drogheda and Dublin at Portlester in County Meath (this battle is sometimes dated 11 September). TCK |
| 7-9 |
Violent demonstrations at Westminster against the continuation of the war. A peace demonstration by London women is suppressed by Waller's regiment of horse. HGCW1, ODNB |
| 10 |
The King besieges Gloucester. Colonel Edward Massey's resolute defence inspires the citizens of London to rally to the help of the beleaguered city. HGCW1 |
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The Earl of Manchester appointed commander of Parliament's Eastern Association army, with orders to block the Earl of Newcastle's advance towards London from the north. HGCW1 |
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Parliament passes an ordinance authorising the impressment of men to serve in its armies. HGCW1 |
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Parliament's commissioners in Edinburgh invite Scottish ministers to attend the Westminster Assembly to discuss reform of the English church. TSR |
| 13 |
Sir Hamon Lestrange at King's Lynn in Norfolk declares for the King after refusing to pay Parliament's tax assessment. The Earl of Manchester and the Eastern Association army march to besiege Lynn. TCG |
| 16 |
Henry Marten imprisoned in the Tower of London and expelled from Parliament for making a speech openly hostile towards the Monarchy. HGCW1 |
| 17 |
The Solemn League and Covenant ratified by the Convention of Estates. TSR |
| 19 |
The General Assembly of the Kirk appoints commissioners to attend the Westminster Assembly. TSR |
| 22 |
The Earl of Essex reviews the London regiments on Hounslow Heath. HGCW1 |
| 23 |
The Earl of Manchester besieges King's Lynn. TCG |
| 25 |
Sir Thomas Fairfax abandons his base at Beverley in Yorkshire as the Earl of Newcastle's main army marches to besiege Hull. ATKA |
| 26 |
Essex's army marches for the relief of Gloucester. HGCW1 |
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A copy of the Solemn League and Covenant received at Westminster and forwarded to the Assembly of Divines. HGCW1 |
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The Convention of Estates authorises the formation of an army to be sent to England and commissions the Earl of Leven its commander. The Convention then adjourns until January 1644, leaving the Committee of Estates to govern Scotland in the interim. TSR |
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The Solemn League and Covenant discussed in the House of Commons. HGCW1 |
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Five regiments of London Trained Bands rendezvous with the Earl of Essex's main army at Brackley in Northamptonshire. DBD |
| 2 |
The Earl of Newcastle besieges Hull. SGCW |
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Surrender of Barnstaple in Devon to Prince Maurice. TCG |
| 4 |
The Earl of Stamford surrenders Exeter to Prince Maurice. HGCW1 |
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Sir Ralph Hopton raised to the peerage as Baron Hopton of Stratton. ODNB |
| 5 |
Essex's army arrives at Prestbury Hill on the outskirts of Gloucester. The King's army lifts the siege and withdraws to Sudely Castle. HGCW1 |
| 7 |
The Solemn League and Covenant before the House of Lords. Scottish commissioners arrive in Westminster to finalise the alliance between Parliament and the Scots. HGCW1 |
| 8 |
The Earl of Essex occupies Gloucester. HGCW1 |
| 13 |
The defenders of Hull open the sluices and cut the banks of the River Humber to flood the surrounding land. SGCW |
| 15 |
The Cessation of Arms signed by the Marquis of Ormond and Lord Mountgarret of the Confederates: a one-year cease fire which allows English troops in Irish garrisons to return to England to fight for the Royalists. TCW |
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The Earl of Essex makes a feint towards Worcester then unexpectedly turns south, hoping to return his army to London and avoid a confrontation with the King's army. TKW |
| 16 |
King's Lynn in Norfolk surrenders to the Earl of Manchester. HGCW1 |
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After a night march from Tewkesbury, the Earl of Essex scatters the Royalist garrison at Cirencester and captures supplies and ammunition. HGCW1 |
| 17 |
The Earl of Essex's army at Swindon, the King's army ten miles to the north-east at Alvescot. The Parliamentarian army is eight miles closer to Newbury than the Royalists. DBD |
| 18 |
Action at Aldbourne Chase. Prince Rupert hinders the Earl of Essex's return to London, enabling the main Royalist army to block his route home at Newbury. HGCW1 |
| 20 |
First battle of Newbury. After a day of fierce fighting during which Viscount Falkland, Lord Carnarvon and Lord Sunderland are killed, the King decides to withdraw his army, leaving Essex's route home open. HGCW1 |
| 22 |
Oliver Cromwell crosses the River Humber and brings a store of muskets and gunpowder to the defenders of Hull. HGCW1 |
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Accused of cowardice and treachery by his political enemies, Nathaniel Fiennes requests a public enquiry into the circumstances of his surrender of Bristol. DBD |
| 25 |
The Solemn League and Covenant signed by members of the House of Commons and the Assembly of Divines. They swear to preserve the Church of Scotland and to reform the churches of England and Ireland. The signing of the Covenant secures a military alliance between the English Parliament and the Scottish Covenanters. HGCW1 |
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The Earl of Essex warmly received by Parliament on his arrival back in London. HGCW1 |
| 26 |
Sir Thomas Fairfax with twenty-one troops of horse crosses from Hull to the Lincolnshire side of the Humber estuary to join forces with the Eastern Association. SOH |
| 28 |
The London regiments return home from the Gloucester campaign to a jubilant welcome. HGCW1 |
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The Committee of Estates orders a general muster of all men aged between 16 and 60 from whom shire colonels are to select troops for the Army of the Covenant. TSR |
| 29 |
The King's Council of War at Oxford resolves to form two new armies. Lord Hopton is appointed commander of a new western army to advance on London through Wiltshire and Hampshire; Lord Byron is appointed commander of a new army in Cheshire to regain Lancashire and assist the Earl of Newcastle in Yorkshire. Both armies to be reinforced by troops returning from Ireland. TGCW |
| 30 |
Colonel James Wardlaw arrives to take command at Plymouth with 500 men to reinforce the garrison. SGCW |
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(End of September) Scottish troops occupy Berwick-on-Tweed. TSR |
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| 3 |
The Royalists re-occupy Reading, where Sir Jacob Astley is appointed governor. HGCW1 |
| 5 |
Sir John Meldrum arrives with 500 foot from the Eastern Association to reinforce the defence of Hull. HGCW1 |
| 6 |
Prince Maurice captures Dartmouth in a surprise attack. He then marches to reinforce the siege of Plymouth. ATKA |
| 7 |
The Earl of Essex threatens to resign his commission unless the House of Commons agrees to ratify his seniority over Waller. The proposal is carried the following day. HLJ, HCJ |
| 9 |
The Earl of Manchester joins Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell at the siege of Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire. HGCW1 |
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Royalist assault on the defences of Hull driven back. SGCW |
| 11 |
Battle of Winceby, Lincolnshire. First co-operative action between Oliver Cromwell and Sir Thomas Fairfax who rout Sir John Henderson's Royalist cavalry and open the way for the recovery of Lincolnshire for Parliament. HGCW1 |
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Sir John Meldrum attacks the Earl of Newcastle's siege-works at Hull. The Parliamentarians overrun the forts and haul off several siege cannon. SGCW |
| 12 |
The Earl of Newcastle abandons the siege of Hull. SGCW |
| 13 |
The commissioners of the Kirk, the Committee of Estates and the English commissioners in Scotland sign the Solemn League and Covenant. TSR |
| 15 |
A Royalist force under Sir Lewis Dyve captures Newport Pagnell in Bedfordshire, commanding the main road from London to East Anglia and the north. A proposed march on Reading by the Earl of Essex and the London regiments is diverted to Newport Pagnell. HGCW1 |
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Remaining members of the House of Lords take the Solemn League and Covenant. HGCW1 |
| 17 |
Prince Maurice falls ill with typhus. DBD |
| 19 |
The King names the Marquis of Ormond Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. HGCW1 |
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Parliament resolves to proceed with the impeachment of Archibishop Laud. HGCW1 |
| 20 |
Lincoln surrenders to the Earl of Manchester. HGCW1 |
| 23 |
The first English regiments to be released from service in Ireland by the Cessation land at Minehead in Somerset. HGCW1 |
| 24 |
Sir John Byron raised to the peerage as Baron Byron of Rochdale. Prince Rupert subsequently recommends him as commander of Royalist forces in Cheshire, Lancashire and north Wales. ODNB |
| 27 |
The Earl of Newcastle created a Marquis. ODNB |
| 28 |
As the Earl of Essex approaches, Sir Lewis Dyve abandons the Royalist garrison at Newport Pagnell because of inadequate supplies, despite Prince Rupert's urgent requests to strengthen the garrison. HGCW1 |
| 30 |
Detachments of the Earl of Essex's army occupy Newport Pagnell and St. Albans. HGCW1 |
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(November) Alasdair MacColla raids the Western Isles of Scotland and captures Colonsay. TCW |
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(Early November) Lord Hopton takes the field in the south with his new army, including troops recently arrived from Munster. TGCW |
| 1 |
Parliamentarian commissioners appointed to accompany the Scottish army. HGCW1 |
| 2 |
Members of the Scottish Privy Council sign the Solemn League and Covenant; the names of councillors who refuse to sign sent to the Committee of Estates. TSR |
| 4 |
Sir William Waller appointed commander of the South-Eastern Association army (Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire). The army musters at Farnham, Surrey. HGCW1 |
| 6 |
Waller marches on the Royalist stronghold of Basing House in Hampshire which commands the road from London to the south-west. SGCW |
| 7 |
Waller's first attack on Basing House frustrated by bad weather. SGCW |
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Sir William Brereton forces the crossing of the River Dee at Farndon near Chester and advances into north Wales, despite fierce resistance from the Royalist garrison of nearby Holt Castle. AECW, ODNB |
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Third Confederate General Assembly begins (continues until 1 December). TCW |
| 9 |
Brereton captures Wrexham, threatening the route of the King's reinforcements from Ireland. TKW |
| 11 |
Parliament introduces a Great Seal of its own and annuls all commissions made under the Seal held by the King. HGCW1 |
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Brereton captures Hawarden Castle in Flintshire, increasing the blockade on Chester. DBD |
| 12 |
Waller's second attempt to storm Basing House driven back. The London regiments refuse to obey orders. HGCW1 |
| 13 |
King Charles appoints the Marquis of Ormond Lord-Lieutenant in Ireland. TCW |
| 14 |
Waller abandons his attack on Basing House and withdraws to Farnham when his Trained Band regiments insist on returning to London. HGCW1 |
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(Mid November) Lord Hopton occupies Winchester in Hampshire. HGCW1 |
| 16 |
Royalist assault on the northern defences of Plymouth driven back. SGCW |
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The Scottish Lords Hamilton, Morton, Roxburgh, Kinnoull and Lanark declared "enemies of religion" for refusing to sign the Covenant. TSR |
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Four regiments of foot and one of cavalry arrive from Leinster at Mostyn in Flintshire and Anglesey under the command of Major-General Sir Michael Earnley. The Royalist garrison at Chester reinforced; Sir WIlliam Brereton withdraws to Nantwich in Cheshire. ATKA |
| 19 |
The Confederates nominate seven delegates to negotiate a permanent treaty with the King at Oxford. TCW |
| 27 |
Hopton moves against Waller, but Waller is unwilling to leave Farnham Castle. The Royalists withdraw. ATKA |
| 28 |
Final military arrangements of the alliance between Parliament and the Scots are agreed: the Scots are to raise an army of 18,000 foot, 2,000 horse and artillery at Parliament's expense. Parliament promises not to make any peace treaty without consulting the Scots. TSR |
| 30 |
Despite previous objections, the House of Lords agrees with the Commons that Parliament should have its own Great Seal. DBD |
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(Early December) Lord Byron at Chester to take command of the troops returning from Ireland. Source: ATKA |
| 4 |
The Committee of Estates divides itself into two parts. The Marquis of Argyll leads the part designated to accompany the Army of the Covenant. TSR |
| 6 |
Parliament's new Great Seal used for the first time to seal the patent of the Earl of Warwick as Lord High Admiral of England. DBD |
| 8 |
John Pym dies of cancer. ODNB |
| 9 |
Arundel Castle in Sussex surrenders to Lord Hopton. HGCW1 |
| 11 |
Colonel Richard Norton, governor of Southampton, attacks the Royalist garrison at Romsey. ATKA |
| 12 |
Lord Byron marches from Chester against the Parliamentarians of Cheshire. ODNB |
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The Royalist advance into Sussex halted at Bramber Castle, defended by Captain Temple. The Royalists retreat to Arundel. |
| 13 |
In a surprise attack, Sir William Waller storms the Royalist outpost at Alton in Hampshire, inflicting severe losses. HGCW1 |
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Captain Steele surrenders Beeston Castle in Cheshire to Lord Byron's forces; Steele subsequently condemned and shot at Nantwich for surrendering the castle. ATKA, TCG |
| 15 |
State funeral of John Pym at Westminster Abbey. HGCW1 |
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(Mid-December) Waller advances into Sussex; Hopton withdraws to Winchester. TGCW |
| 16 |
The Duke of Hamilton arrested upon his arrival at Oxford. ODNB |
| 18 |
The Royalist besiegers of Plymouth begin a heavy bombardment of the northern defences, to no avail. SGCW |
| 20 |
Gainsborough surrenders to Sir John Meldrum. DBD |
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Waller besieges Arundel Castle. HGCW1 |
| 22 |
King Charles denounces the alliance between Parliament and the Scots and summons all members of the Lords and Commons to attend a new parliament to be convened at Oxford. HGCW1 |
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The Royalists abandon the siege of Plymouth. SGCW |
| 24 |
A company of Parliamentarians massacred at Barthomley Church in Cheshire by Lord Byron's forces. ATKA |
| 26 |
Lord Byron defeats Sir WIlliam Brereton at Middlewich in Cheshire. Brereton retreats to Manchester. ATKA |
| 27 |
Chichester surrenders to Sir William Waller. DBD |
| 28 |
A court martial finds Nathaniel Fiennes guilty of "improperly surrendering" at Bristol. He is sentenced to death, but the sentence is later revoked by the Earl of Essex. DBD |
| 29 |
Sir Thomas Fairfax ordered to reinforce Sir William Brereton and the Cheshire Parliamentarians. TGCW, HGCW1 |
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