Battle of Cropredy Bridge 1644
Who Fought
Royalists: 5,000 horse and 4,000 foot (only part engaged); Parliamentarians: 5,000 horse and 4,000 foot (only part engaged)
History & Significance
The Battle of Cropredy Bridge was fought on Saturday 29 June 1644 (9 July 1644 Gregorian) near Banbury, Oxfordshire during the First English Civil War. In the engagement, Sir William Waller and the Parliamentarian army failed to capture King Charles.
The site was placed on the Register of Historic Battlefields maintained by Historic England in 1995.
In the early part of 1644, the Royalists suffered several setbacks. Two field armies were defeated at Nantwich and Cheriton, and a Scottish Covenanter army invaded the north of England, driving the Royalists to York, where they were besieged.
King Charles held a council of war in Oxford, his wartime capital, between 25 April and 5 May. It was agreed that while the King remained on the defensive in Oxford, protected by several outlying fortified towns, his nephew Prince Rupert of the Rhine (the famous Royalist field commander) would proceed to retrieve the situation in the north. The military command of the forces that remained with King Charles fell to Lord General Patrick Ruthven, 1st Earl of Forth.
After Rupert departed, the King's council changed this policy. To find reinforcements for the West Country where Rupert's brother Prince Maurice was besieging Lyme Regis, they ordered the fortress of Reading, in Berkshire, to be abandoned. This released 2,500 foot soldiers for service elsewhere, but it also allowed the Parliamentarian armies of the Earl of Essex and Sir William Waller to concentrate against Oxford. On 19 May, they began advancing toward Oxford from Reading. On 25 May, the Royalists abandoned Abingdon in the face of Essex's advance. Essex occupied the town and then crossed the Thames to capture bridges over the River Cherwell north of Oxford, while Waller passed south of Oxford to capture a crossing over the Thames to the west at Newbridge.
Charles was in imminent danger of being surrounded and besieged in Oxford. As the city was short of provisions, he would soon be forced to surrender. On 3 June, Charles made a feint towards Abingdon to induce Waller to draw back, and then marched westward at night towards Worcester with a force mainly composed of cavalry. With Essex and Waller in pursuit, he was still in danger, but on 7 June, the two Parliamentarian generals (who disliked each other) conferred at Stow on the Wold, and agreed that Essex would march westward to relieve the siege of Lyme Regis, while Waller shadowed the King.
This allowed the King to make another feint, which convinced Waller he was about to march northward, and then move back south by carrying his foot soldiers down the Avon in commandeered boats, so as to return to Oxford and collect reinforcements. Waller, having failed to intercept the King, went to Gloucester for provisions. On 24 June, he marched from Gloucester to Stow on the Wold, where he received intelligence that the King was marching eastward from Oxford into the Parliamentarian-held eastern counties, and soon received orders from the Parliamentarian Committee of Both Kingdoms to pursue him. By 27 June, Waller had reached Hanwell Castle on high ground to the west of the Cherwell, the King being just 5 miles (8.0 km) away in Edgecote. On 28 June, the King moved to Banbury. He was resolved to offer battle, but Waller held the advantageous position.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Cropredy Bridge 1644 lies on Lias Group, bedrock that formed in the Aalenian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, limestone and sandstone.
- Parliamentarians: approximately 700 casualties and 11 guns captured; Royalists: unknown
This battlefield is listed on the Register of Historic Battlefields — a national designation identifying Britain's most significant battle sites for protection and further research. Reference: NHLE 1000008.
Frequently Asked Questions
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- Battle of Cropredy Bridge 1644 · Historic England
- Battle of Cropredy Bridge · Wikidata
- Battle_of_Cropredy_Bridge · Wikipedia
- Battle of Cropredy Bridge · BritishBattles.com
- Battle of Cropredy Bridge · Battlefields Trust