Battlefields›Raid on Penzance
English Civil War

Raid on Penzance

1640
England
Era
English Civil War
Battle Type
Raid
Location
England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Penzance, Cornwall
VS
Victor
Barbary Pirates of Algiers
Forces involved

60 Algerian fleets reported in the English Channel; no English defensive force recorded

Outcome
60 men, women, and children seized and taken captive by Barbary Pirates from Algiers.
The Battle

History & Significance

The Raid on Penzance was a military operation initiated by the Barbary Pirates of Algiers against Britain in Penzance in July of 1640.

The situation continued to worsen at mid-century and the 'British were largely powerless in stopping the corsairs' during the British Civil Wars and the Protectorate.

In 1640, 60 Algerian fleets were spotted traversing the English Channel. In July of that year, they launched a raid on Penzance in Cornwall, seizing 60 men, women, and children. Following this, the number of Christian slaves taken captive in Algiers reached 25,000, with 3,000 of them being English.

The period of the Civil Wars and the Protectorate was a time of vulnerability for England, which was unable to prevent the Barbary raids. It was not until the late 17th century under Charles II (after 1660) that the Royal Navy was able to begin to effectively combat the corsairs.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Raid on Penzance lies on Upper Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Late Devonian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.

Buried history

In July 1640, with 60 Algerian fleets having already been spotted in the English Channel, Barbary Pirates from Algiers descended upon Penzance in Cornwall, seizing 60 men, women, and children in a swift and devastating raid that left England's coastal communities acutely aware of their vulnerability to corsair attack.

Casualties & Losses
  • 60 civilians captured from Penzance
Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Raid on Penzance

This page covers Raid on Penzance. 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 Raid on Penzance

Market cross
Market cross
Scheduled monument · ~0.1 mi

Market Cross in Cornwall is a stone cross of medieval origin that served as a focal point for commercial and civic activity in its community. The structure exemplifies the type of market cross erected in English towns and villages from the medieval period onwards, functioning as a meeting place a…

Simon Cobb / CC0 / Wikimedia Commons
Round called Lescudjack Castle
Round called Lescudjack Castle
Scheduled monument · ~0.6 mi

Lescudjack Castle is a late medieval fortified house situated near Penzance in west Cornwall. The structure dates from the fifteenth or sixteenth century and represents a modest example of a small residential fortress of the period. The castle comprises a round tower, characteristic of Cornish de…

Malcolm Kewn / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Wayside cross in Newlyn churchyard, south of the church
Wayside cross in Newlyn churchyard, south of the church
Scheduled monument · ~0.9 mi

Wayside cross is an ancient stone cross located in Newlyn churchyard in Cornwall, south of the church. The monument dates to the medieval period and represents a characteristic example of the wayside crosses that were common features of the Cornish landscape, often serving religious, commemorativ…

Jowaninpensans / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Early Christian memorial stone beside Bleu Bridge
Early Christian memorial stone beside Bleu Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~1 mi

I do not have reliable scholarly information about an Early Christian memorial stone beside Bleu Bridge in Cornwall with the National Heritage List for England reference 1006727. Rather than provide potentially inaccurate details about this specific monument, I must acknowledge that my training d…

Jowaninpensans / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Round called Lesingey Round
Round called Lesingey Round
Scheduled monument · ~1.1 mi

Lesingey Round is a prehistoric circular earthwork located in Cornwall, England. The monument consists of a roughly circular bank and ditch formation typical of Cornish rounds, which are Iron Age or Romano-British defensive or settlement enclosures. The site is situated within the Cornish landsca…

Rod Allday / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Wayside cross 200m north east of Boscathnoe Farm
Wayside cross 200m north east of Boscathnoe Farm
Scheduled monument · ~1.3 mi

Wayside cross 200m north east of Boscathnoe Farm is a medieval wayside cross located in Cornwall, England. The monument dates to the medieval period and represents the type of stone cross that commonly marked routes and focal points in the Cornish landscape during the Middle Ages. Such crosses ty…

Jowaninpensans / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
An inscribed cross shaft, a lantern cross head and a cross-base in Gulval churchyard
Scheduled monument · ~1.3 miles
Cross-head in Madron churchyard, south of the church
Scheduled monument · ~1.4 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near Raid on Penzance

Battle of Ginnis
1885
~2.8 miles away
French Raid on St Ives Cornwall 1380
1380
~6.9 miles away
Perkin Warbeck Landing at Whitesand Bay
1497
~8.1 miles away
Battle of Montes Claros
1665
~20.8 miles away
Aubrey Research

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Sources
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