The action at Alton on 13 December 1643 was one of the most celebrated small actions of the Civil War. A Royalist force under Colonel Richard Boles was intercepted by a much larger parliamentary force. The Royalist cavalry escaped but Boles and his dragoons made a last stand in the church of St Lawrence, fighting from the pews and galleries until nearly all were killed. Boles died at the altar. The marks of musket fire can still be seen in the church door. The action became a Royalist martyrdom narrative.
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