The Battle of Lostwithiel took place over a thirteen-day period from 21 August to 2 September 1644, around the town of Lostwithiel and along the River Fowey valley in Cornwall during the First English Civil War. A Royalist army led by King Charles I of England defeated a Parliamentarian force commanded by the Earl of Essex. Essex had marched his army into Cornwall intending to relieve the Royalist siege of Plymouth, but found himself trapped when Charles brought his Oxford army southwest and joined forces with Prince Maurice. At Essex's disposal was a force of approximately 6,500 foot and 3,000 horse, while Royalist strength was estimated at around 12,000 foot and 7,000 horse.
The opening engagement on 21 August saw King Charles launch his first attack at 07:00 hours. From the north, Sir Richard Grenville and the Cornish Royalists attacked Restormel Castle, easily dislodging the Parliamentarians who fell back quickly. From the east, the Oxford army captured Beacon Hill with little resistance, while Prince Maurice and his force occupied Druid Hill. Casualties were fairly low and by nightfall the Royalists held the high ground on the north and east sides of Lostwithiel. Over the following days the two forces exchanged fire in a number of small skirmishes before the battle concluded on 2 September.
Although Essex and most of the cavalry managed to escape, between 5,000 and 6,000 Parliamentarian infantry were forced to surrender. Since the Royalists were unable to feed so many prisoners, they were given passes back to their own territory, arriving in Southampton a month later having lost nearly half their number to disease and desertion. Considered one of the worst defeats suffered by Parliament over the course of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the battle secured South West England for the Royalists until early 1646.
At 07:00 on 21 August 1644, King Charles launched his opening assault on the trapped Parliamentarian army at Lostwithiel: Grenville's Cornish Royalists stormed Restormel Castle from the north and quickly dislodged its defenders, while the Oxford army swept onto Beacon Hill to the east with little resistance and Prince Maurice's force occupied Druid Hill, leaving the Royalists in command of all the high ground surrounding the town by nightfall and the Parliamentarian position critically weakened from the very first day of fighting.
Casualties on 21 August reported as fairly low; ultimately nearly half of the surrendered Parliamentarian infantry lost to disease and desertion on the march to Southampton
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 1413619.
Pick any location and Aubrey pulls together everything the record actually holds about it:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
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.