Battle of Langport 1645
Who Fought
History & Significance
The Battle of Langport took place on 10 July 1645 during the First English Civil War, near Langport in Somerset.
Following its previous success at Naseby in June, in the Battle of Langport, the New Model Army under Sir Thomas Fairfax destroyed the last Royalist field army, led by Lord Goring. This Parliamentarian victory allowed them to besiege the Royalist port of Bristol, which surrendered in September.
Taunton had been captured by the Parliamentarian army under the Earl of Essex in June 1644. After Essex's army was forced to surrender at Lostwithiel in Cornwall in September, the Royalists maintained a siege of Taunton, although the town was briefly relieved by Sir William Waller in late November.
When determining strategy for 1645, King Charles I had despatched George, Lord Goring, the lieutenant general of horse (cavalry), to the West Country with orders to retake Taunton and other Parliamentarian outposts in the area. Although Goring briefly rejoined the King's main "Oxford Army", tensions between him and Prince Rupert, the King's captain general, nephew and chief adviser, resulted in Goring's force returning to the west.
Parliament had meanwhile sent a substantial detachment commanded by Colonel Ralph Weldon, consisting of one cavalry regiment and four infantry regiments from their New Model Army, to relieve Taunton. They raised the siege on 11 May, but were themselves besieged by Goring's returning army (although there was no longer any danger of the Royalists storming the town).
On 14 June, the main body of the New Model Army under Sir Thomas Fairfax, with Oliver Cromwell as lieutenant general of horse, won the decisive Battle of Naseby, destroying Charles's main army. After the Royalist garrison of Leicester surrendered four days later, the New Model Army was free to march to the relief of Taunton.
The army marched first south and then west, keeping near the coast so as to keep in touch with Parliament's navy. On 4 July it reached Beaminster, where Fairfax learned that Goring had raised the siege and was retreating towards the Royalist stronghold at Bridgwater. To cover the retreat of the baggage, Goring's army was spread over a front of 12 miles (19 km) along the north bank of the River Yeo, from Langport to Yeovil. The Royalists were outnumbered by Fairfax's army, and their discipline was poor, mainly because a succession of lax Royalist commanders had allowed their men too much license to pillage (which also alienated many of the local people).
Fairfax was joined by Weldon's detachment from Taunton and advanced north towards Goring's army. On 8 July, the Parliamentarians captured Yeovil at the western end of the Royalists' line. The Royalists abandoned the line of the river, and Fairfax crossed to the north side of the Yeo. He sent another Parliamentarian force (part of the army of the "Western Association" under Major General Edward Massie) to deal with an attempted diversion in the direction of Taunton by some of Goring's cavalry under George Porter, a notoriously unreliable officer. Porter's men had neglected to post proper sentries and outposts, and were taken by surprise by Massie and destroyed at Isle Abbots in the early hours of 9 July.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Langport 1645 lies on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.
- Royalists: 300 killed; 500 captured
- Parliamentarians: * 20–50 soldiers killed * 2 captains killed (incl. 1 Dutch) * 1 captain-lieutenant killed * Wounded: Major Bethell, Col. Butler, and Col. Cooke
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 1000016.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything a full report reveals about Battle of Langport 1645
This page covers Battle of Langport 1645. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Langport 1645
Other English Civil War Battles
Battles near Battle of Langport 1645
Explore the landscape around this battlefield
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in the UK — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.
- Battle of Langport 1645 · Historic England
- Battle of Langport · Wikidata
- Battle_of_Langport · Wikipedia
- Battle of Langport · Battlefields Trust