Battlefields›Siege of Wallingford Castle (Civil War)
English Civil War

Siege of Wallingford Castle (Civil War)

1646
Berkshire, England
Era
English Civil War
Battle Type
Siege
Location
Berkshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Royalists
VS
Victor
Parliamentary forces
Outcome
After a roughly 16-week siege (an all-out siege of about 65 days) begun 4 May 1646, the Royalist garrison under Colonel Thomas Blagge surrendered on generous, honourable terms on 27 July 1646, marching out with full honours; the castle was later slighted (demolished) by order of Parliament in 1652.
The Battle

History & Significance

Siege of Wallingford Castle (Civil War) was a Civil War siege, the investment of a fortified position, fought at Berkshire, England in 1646. Parliamentary forces prevailed over Royalists. After a roughly 16-week siege (an all-out siege of about 65 days) begun 4 May 1646, the Royalist garrison under Colonel Thomas Blagge surrendered on generous, honourable terms on 27 July 1646, marching out with full honours; the castle was later slighted (demolished) by order of Parliament in 1652.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Siege of Wallingford Castle (Civil War) lies on Grey Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Cenomanian. The rock here is chalk.

Casualties & Losses
  • One source (Earl Rivers Regiment of Foote / Castellogy-derived account) states only five men were lost during the siege; other sources (Wikipedia, Wallingford Museum) do not give a casualty figure, so this should be treated as a single, less formally sourced estimate rather than firmly established.
Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Siege of Wallingford Castle (Civil War)

This page covers Siege of Wallingford Castle (Civil War). 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 Siege of Wallingford Castle (Civil War)

Wallingford Bridge
Wallingford Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 mi

Wallingford Bridge is a medieval structure spanning the River Thames at Wallingford in Berkshire. The bridge dates from the twelfth century and represents an important crossing point on the Thames, serving both local traffic and the wider road network connecting London with the west. The survivin…

Sciencebloke at English Wikipedia / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 mi

Wallingford Castle is a Norman fortification founded shortly after 1066 by Robert d'Oilly, one of William the Conqueror's principal supporters. The castle occupies a commanding position on the Thames and comprises a substantial motte-and-bailey earthwork with multiple baileys, representing one of…

Pitou250 / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
Brightwell Barrow
Brightwell Barrow
Scheduled monument · ~2.5 mi

Brightwell Barrow is a Neolithic burial mound located in Berkshire, England. The barrow survives as an earthwork monument consisting of a prominent mound, indicative of early prehistoric funerary practice in the region. As a scheduled ancient monument, it represents an important example of Neolit…

Bill Nicholls / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Sinodun Hill camp
Sinodun Hill camp
Scheduled monument · ~3.1 mi

Sinodun Hill camp is an Iron Age hillfort located near Wallingbury in Berkshire, England. The site comprises two concentric ramparts with intervening ditches that enclose an area of approximately four hectares on the summit of the chalk hill. Archaeological evidence and topographical analysis ind…

Simon Burchell / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church
Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church
Scheduled monument · ~3.2 mi

Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church is a Norman fortification situated in Berkshire, England. The monument consists of a substantial earthwork motte, characteristic of early medieval military architecture of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Its proximity to the parish…

Simon Burchell / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Dike Hills
Dike Hills
Scheduled monument · ~3.4 mi

Dike Hills is a late Iron Age and Romano-British settlement site located near Dorchester-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. The monument comprises a series of linear defensive ditches and banks that enclose an area of approximately eight hectares, representing a significant territorial boundary or settlem…

Rod Allday / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Saxon town
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 miles
Wallingford Town Walls
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 miles
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