Battle of Weymouth
Who Fought
History & Significance
The Battle of Weymouth and the associated Crabchurch Conspiracy occurred in 1645, during the First English Civil War, when several royalist plotters within the twin towns of Weymouth and Melcombe on the Dorset coast conspired to deliver the ports back into the control of King Charles I.
At the outbreak of the First English Civil War in 1642, Dorset was divided in its loyalties; broadly speaking, the south of the county and the larger towns favoured the Parliamentarians, while those in the countryside and the north of the county were more likely to support the Royalist cause. Sir Walter Erle, a local Member of Parliament with strong Calvinist views, secured the ports of Weymouth, Lyme Regis and Wareham, along with Portland Castle, for the Parliamentarians during the build-up to the fighting. Dorset was a relatively inconsequential county of itself; it had no large cities, did not have significant industry, and though it had the aforementioned ports, none were major naval or trading bases. The fighting in the West Country was described as having "disproportionate significance", and armies on both sides travelled through Dorset to reach the main areas of fighting around Devon, fighting and plundering as they did so.
Control of the West Country fluctuated. By the end of 1643, most of the area was under Royalist control; only Plymouth, Poole and Lyme Regis held out against them, but the Earl of Essex swept through the region in the summer of 1644, claiming most of Somerset and Devon for parliament. He then over-stretched himself and was trapped in Cornwall, isolated from reinforcements. His army suffered a heavy defeat at the Battle of Lostwithiel in September, and scattered back into Dorset, leaving only Plymouth and Taunton as significant Parliamentarian controlled towns in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. Within Dorset, Lyme Regis, Poole and Weymouth remained under parliamentary command.
Weymouth, although protected by earthworks and ditches, was generally undefendable against any serious effort to take it. The harbour was well-protected by Sandsfoot Castle, but the town itself had little in the way of serious fortifications. The town had previously been taken by the Royalists in August 1643, before being forced to surrender by the Earl of Essex in 1644. William Sydenham was appointed governor, and took his Regiment of Foot to garrison the town. By the autumn, Nothe Fort and Chapel Fort had been constructed, along with more earthworks around the town.
The regimental preacher, Peter Ince, said of the defences that "we were in as sweet a quiet and security as any garrison in the Kingdom; no enemy near us but one at Portland, and that not very considerable, being but about 300 or 400 men". Matters were so peaceful that a meeting of the town council at the end of January 1645 was primarily concerned with the cleanliness of the town, and resolved that all the dirt in the streets should be piled up and removed.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Weymouth lies on Corallian Group, bedrock that formed in the Oxfordian. The rock here is limestone, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.
Frequently Asked Questions
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- Battle of Weymouth · Wikidata
- Battle_of_Weymouth · Wikipedia