BattlefieldsBattle of Olney Bridge
English Civil War

Battle of Olney Bridge

1643
England
Era
English Civil War
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Royalists
VS
Victor
Parliamentarians
Outcome
Parliamentarian victory.
The Battle

History & Significance

The Battle of Olney Bridge was a skirmish that occurred on 4 November 1643 during the First English Civil War just outside the town of Olney, Buckinghamshire. In the engagement, Royalist forces attacked Parliamentarian forces holding the Olney bridge, but were driven off by a counter-attack.

The Olney bridge where the battle took place remains in place, along with a memorial to the dead.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Olney Bridge lies on Great Oolite Group, bedrock that formed in the Bathonian. The rock here is sandstone, limestone and argillaceous rocks.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Battle of Olney Bridge

This page covers Battle of Olney Bridge. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Olney Bridge

Lavendon Castle: a motte and bailey and associated enclosures at Castle Farm
Lavendon Castle: a motte and bailey and associated enclosures at Castle Farm
Scheduled monument · ~2.8 mi

Lavendon Castle is a motte and bailey castle situated at Castle Farm near Lavendon in Buckinghamshire, England. The monument comprises a substantial mound with associated bailey enclosures, representing a typical example of Norman fortification dating from the eleventh or twelfth century. The ear…

Nigel Stickells / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Turvey Bridge
Turvey Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~3.2 mi

Turvey Bridge is a medieval bridge crossing the River Great Ouse at Turvey in Bedfordshire. The structure dates from the 14th century and represents an important example of medieval bridge engineering in the region. The bridge is constructed of stone and retains its characteristic narrow arches t…

Tiger / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Tyringham Bridge
Tyringham Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~3.3 mi

Tyringham Bridge is a medieval bridge located in Tyringham, Buckinghamshire. The structure dates from the medieval period and crosses the River Great Ouse, serving as an important crossing point in the local landscape. The bridge exhibits characteristic medieval stonework and represents a signifi…

Philip Jeffrey / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Tickford Bridge
Tickford Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~4.4 mi

Tickford Bridge is a medieval bridge crossing the River Ouzel near Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire. The structure dates from the late twelfth or early thirteenth century and represents an important example of Norman or Early English masonry bridge construction. The bridge comprises multiple st…

Alan Simkins / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Great Linford Brickworks
Great Linford Brickworks
Scheduled monument · ~6.1 mi

Great Linford Brickworks is a post-medieval industrial site in Buckinghamshire, England, representing the clay extraction and brick manufacturing industry that developed in the region during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The site comprises evidence of clay pits, kilns, and associated…

FHL2 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Stevington village cross
Stevington village cross
Scheduled monument · ~6.4 mi

Stevington village cross is a medieval monument located in the village of Stevington in Bedfordshire. The structure dates from the fourteenth century and stands as a substantial stone cross of the type commonly erected in English villages during this period, typically serving as a focal point for…

David Kemp / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Olney Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~0 miles
Roman site at Olney
Scheduled monument · ~1.1 miles
Aubrey Research

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Sources