Siege of Chester
Who Fought
Parliamentarians under Sir William Brereton and Colonel Michael Jones (including a New Model Army contingent of over 700 infantry and equal cavalry); Royalist garrison under Lord Byron, reduced at one point to around 600 regular soldiers plus armed citizens
History & Significance
The siege of Chester occurred over a 16-month period between September 1644 and February 1646 during the First English Civil War. In the engagement, Sir William Brereton and the Parliamentarians were ultimately successful in taking possession of the city and Royalist garrison commanded by Lord Byron.
Although the siege spanned nearly one and a half years, the degree to which the city was confined varied in intensity. Throughout the 16-month time period, conflicts continued to occur between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians in Cheshire and during the spring and summer of 1645, the Royalists were successful in causing the Parliamentarians to temporarily lift the siege. Ultimately, however, the Parliamentarians enforced a total blockade and captured the city.
At the outset of the English Civil War, Chester was held by forces loyal to King Charles. The city was especially important to the Royalists as its location on the River Dee and proximity to the Irish Sea made it an important gateway to both Ireland and North Wales. The central city was surrounded partially by the river and protected by strong city walls dating back to the times of the Romans. When the civil war broke out, the Royalists further strengthened the city walls and added a ring of earthwork defences extending out and around portions of the city to the north and east.
In March 1643, Sir William Brereton was put in command of the Parliamentarian forces in Cheshire, an area where most of the gentry supported King Charles. Over the next year, Brereton took control over most of Cheshire. Chester, however, remained a Royalist strongpoint under the command of Lord Byron.
On 20 September 1644, Brereton advanced upon Chester and took possession of portions of the city's outworks. After Lord Byron rejected Brereton's summons for the city to surrender, a loose or partial siege of the city began. During this time, Brereton did what he could to stop the flow of provisions and munitions into the city, however, his force was not large enough to put a total blockade into effect. As a result, warfare continued outside the city as Royalists sallied out to attack Brereton's garrisons in Cheshire. In late October, Brereton responded by attempting to mount a concerted attack on the fortifications and overtake the city. When the attack failed, Brereton ended the assaults but continued the loose siege of the city.
The siege of Chester continued through the autumn and into the winter of 1645 until Brereton raised the siege on 19 February when Prince Maurice approached. The respite, however, lasted only for approximately 30 days as in mid-March Prince Rupert departed taking 1,200 seasoned troopers with him. This left Byron and Chester with only six hundred regular soldiers along with the citizens who took to arms to defend their city. Immediately thereafter, Brereton re-surrounded Chester and resumed the loose siege. Once again, however, the siege was interrupted approximately three weeks later when Brereton was ordered to withdraw his forces back to the River Mersey because of the reported approach of a Royalist army. This would then be the end of the Chester siege for many months over the spring and summer as in June Parliament scaled back their operations in Cheshire.
The ground they fought on
The site of Siege of Chester lies on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.
On 20 September 1645, just before daylight, Colonel Michael Jones led a New Model Army force of more than 700 infantry and an equal number of cavalry in a fresh assault on Chester, breaking through the outer Royalist earthworks in the eastern suburbs. Jones then ordered the burning of urban areas in front of the east gate before moving his artillery up to St John the Baptist's Church to bombard the city wall. By 22 September, when King Charles arrived at nearby Chirk Castle having marched north in hopes of relief, Jones's guns had already created a breach in Chester's walls.
- Not specified in sources
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