Battle of Nantwich 1644
Who Fought
Royalists: approximately 1,800 cavalry and 2,000 infantry under Lord Byron; Parliamentarians: approximately 1,800 cavalry, 500 dragoons, 2,500+ infantry under Sir Thomas Fairfax and Sir William Brereton
History & Significance
The Battle of Nantwich was fought on 25 January 1644 in Cheshire during the First English Civil War. In the battle, Sir Thomas Fairfax in command of a Parliamentarian relief force defeated Lord Byron and the Royalists.
The Parliamentarian victory halted a series of Royalist successes in the area and was a major setback to King Charles' planned military campaign for 1644.
In 1643, King Charles had signed a "cessation" with the Irish Confederates. This allowed him to recall several English regiments which had been sent to Ireland after the Irish Rebellion of 1641, to reinforce his armies. In November 1643, several of these regiments were sent to Cheshire where a new field army was being formed, commanded at first by Lord Capell. Capell was replaced in December by Lord Byron, who had been a successful cavalry brigade commander in the King's main "Oxford Army".
Byron launched an offensive from the south with 5,000 men against the Parliamentarian garrisons in Cheshire, most of which were quickly captured. The troops recently returned from Ireland behaved with a degree of ruthlessness not previously displayed in the English Civil War. At Barthomley Church on 26 December, the Parliamentarian garrison surrendered after the Royalists lit a fire against the doors to smoke them out. At least twelve of the prisoners, mostly local militia, were executed with Byron's approval.
On 27 December, Sir William Brereton, the Parliamentarian commander in Cheshire and Lancashire, attempted to concentrate his forces to confront Byron, but was defeated by a sudden Royalist attack at the Second Battle of Middlewich. He retreated with the remnants of his force to Manchester in Lancashire.
Nantwich was the only town in Cheshire still held by the Parliamentarians. Its garrison numbered 2,000 men under Colonel George Booth and was well supplied. Byron besieged the town on 18 January 1644 and launched an attack but was defeated, suffering 500 casualties. Together with losses from sickness and desertions and casualties from the earlier fighting in Cheshire, Byron's forces shrunk to a total size of about 3,800 men. Byron nevertheless continued the siege of Nantwich.
Sir Thomas Fairfax and his father Lord Fairfax had been besieged in Hull in the second half of 1643. As Thomas's cavalry were of little use in a siege, they were ferried across the River Humber to reinforce Parliamentarian cavalry from the Eastern Association of counties, commanded by Oliver Cromwell. Together, they had won several victories, culminating in the Battle of Winceby, which secured most of Lincolnshire for Parliament.
In response to Brereton's urgent appeal for reinforcements, the Committee of Both Kingdoms (the Parliamentarian body with Scottish Covenanter representation which was responsible for the conduct of the war) ordered Thomas Fairfax to proceed to Manchester. On 29 December 1643, Thomas set out to cross the Pennines in harsh winter weather with 1,800 cavalry. On arriving at Manchester, he found the infantry of the Parliamentarian garrison to be so ragged that he reportedly burst into tears. Nevertheless, Fairfax set out from Manchester on 21 January 1644 to relieve Nantwich. He was accompanied by Brereton, and their force eventually numbered 1,800 cavalry, 500 dragoons, 2,500 infantry and a few hundred poorly-equipped "cudgellers".
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Nantwich 1644 lies on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.
- Royalists: approximately 1,500 taken prisoner (including Colonel George Monck), around 200 killed; Parliamentarian losses not specified in sources consulted
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 1000022.
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- Battle of Nantwich 1644 · Historic England
- Battle of Nantwich · Wikidata
- Battle_of_Nantwich · Wikipedia
- Battle of Nantwich · Battlefields Trust