BattlefieldsSkirmish at Alresford
English Civil War

Skirmish at Alresford

1644
Hampshire, England
Era
English Civil War
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Hampshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Parliamentarians
VS
Victor
Royalists
Outcome
On 27 March 1644 a Royalist force under Lord Hopton raced Sir William Waller's advancing Parliamentarian cavalry (under Sir William Balfour) to New Alresford, occupying the town just ahead of them after two days of skirmishing between outriding units; this positioned the two armies for the decisive Battle of Cheriton two days later on 29 March 1644.
The Battle

History & Significance

Skirmish at Alresford was a Civil War skirmish, fought at Hampshire, England in 1644. Royalists prevailed over Parliamentarians. On 27 March 1644 a Royalist force under Lord Hopton raced Sir William Waller's advancing Parliamentarian cavalry (under Sir William Balfour) to New Alresford, occupying the town just ahead of them after two days of skirmishing between outriding units; this positioned the two armies for the decisive Battle of Cheriton two days later on 29 March 1644.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Skirmish at Alresford lies on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.

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Everything a full report reveals about Skirmish at Alresford

This page covers Skirmish at Alresford. 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 Skirmish at Alresford

The Grange
The Grange
Scheduled monument · ~2.8 mi

The Grange is a Neolithic causewayed enclosure located in Hampshire, England. The monument consists of a series of interrupted ditches forming a roughly circular or oval arrangement, characteristic of causewayed enclosures from the early Neolithic period, dating to approximately 3700–3500 BCE. Su…

Mpntod at English Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 2.5 / Wikimedia Commons
Multi-period site in Micheldever Wood
Multi-period site in Micheldever Wood
Scheduled monument · ~4.6 mi

Micheldever Wood is a multi-period archaeological site located in Hampshire, England, containing evidence of human activity spanning several distinct chronological phases. The site comprises remains from prehistoric, Romano-British, and medieval periods, reflecting long-term occupation and use of…

Photographer Dave Faulkner / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Iron Age settlement
Iron Age settlement
Scheduled monument · ~4.9 mi

I lack specific scholarly documentation about the Iron Age settlement designated as NHLE list entry 1001815 in Hampshire to provide details with the precision your request requires. To write accurately about this particular monument's historical significance, physical character, and dating eviden…

Long barrow 600m south of Preston Grange
Long barrow 600m south of Preston Grange
Scheduled monument · ~5 mi

Long barrow 600m south of Preston Grange is a Neolithic communal burial monument situated in Hampshire. The barrow dates to the Neolithic period and represents a form of monumental architecture characteristic of early agrarian communities in Britain. Such long barrows typically served as collecti…

ad acta / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Lomer, deserted medieval settlement
Lomer, deserted medieval settlement
Scheduled monument · ~5.8 mi

Lomer is a deserted medieval settlement located in Hampshire, England, situated in the parish of Meonstoke. The settlement is evidenced by earthworks and archaeological remains that indicate occupation during the medieval period, with the site showing characteristic features of abandoned habitati…

Trevor Harris / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
King John's House (or St John's House) in Warnford Park
King John's House (or St John's House) in Warnford Park
Scheduled monument · ~6.5 mi

St John's House is a medieval timber-framed building located in Warnford, Hampshire, with origins dating to the thirteenth century. The structure represents an important example of early domestic architecture from the medieval period, constructed with the characteristic timber-frame techniques of…

Basher Eyre / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Alresford Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 miles
Deserted village of Abbotstone
Scheduled monument · ~1.7 miles
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