Skirmish at Newmarket 1643

History & Significance

1643 was the second year of the First English Civil War. Politically, the latter months of the year were the turning-point of the war. The King made a truce with the Irish rebels on 15 September which united against him nearly every class in Protestant England. Only ten days after the "Irish Cessation," Parliament at Westminster swore to the Solemn League and Covenant, and the die was cast.

In the winter, while Essex's army lay inactive at Windsor, Charles by degrees consolidated his position in the region of Oxford. The city was fortified as a redoubt for the whole area, and Reading, Wallingford, Abingdon, Brill, Banbury and Marlborough constituted a complete defensive ring which was developed by the creation of smaller posts from time to time.

In the North and West, winter campaigns were actively carried on: "It is summer in Yorkshire, summer in Devon, and cold winter at Windsor", said one of Essex's critics. At the beginning of December 1642, Newcastle crossed the River Tees, defeated Sir John Hotham, the Parliamentary commander in the North Riding. He then joined hands with the hard-pressed Royalists at York, establishing himself between that city and Pontefract. Lord Fairfax of Cameron and his son Sir Thomas Fairfax, who commanded for the Parliament in Yorkshire, had to retire to the district between Hull and Selby, and Newcastle was now free to turn his attention to the Puritan "clothing towns" of the West Riding, Leeds, Halifax and Bradford. The townsmen, however, showed a determined front. Sir Thomas Fairfax with a picked body of cavalry rode through Newcastle's lines into the West Riding to help them, and about the end of January 1643, Newcastle gave up the attempt to reduce the towns.

Newcastle continued his march southward, however, and gained ground for the King as far as Newark-on-Trent, so as to be in touch with the Royalists of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire (who, especially about Newark and Ashby-de-la-Zouch, were strong enough to neutralise the local forces of Parliament), and to prepare the way for the further advance of the army of the north, when the Queen's convoy should arrive from overseas.

In the west, Hopton and his friends, having obtained a true bill from the grand jury against the Parliamentary disturbers of the peace, placed themselves at the head of the county militia. They drove the rebels from Cornwall, after which they raised a small force for general service and invaded Devonshire in November 1642. Subsequently, a Parliamentary army under the Earl of Stamford was withdrawn from South Wales to engage Hopton, who had to retire into Cornwall. There, however, the Royalist general was free to employ the militia again, and thus reinforced, he won a victory over a part of Stamford's forces at the Battle of Bradock Down near Liskeard on 19 January 1643 and resumed the offensive.

The ground they fought on

The site of Skirmish at Newmarket 1643 lies on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Skirmish at Newmarket 1643

Moated site E of church

Scheduled monument · ~3.2 mi

Moated site E of church is a medieval moated enclosure located in Cambridgeshire. The site consists of a substantial water-filled or formerly water-filled ditch forming a defensive or status-signifying perimeter around a residential complex, typical of the medieval period when such moated homeste…

Bob Jones / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Packhorse bridge

Scheduled monument · ~3.4 mi

Packhorse bridge is a medieval stone bridge located in Suffolk, England, crossing a small watercourse. The bridge dates to the medieval period and exemplifies the functional architecture built to facilitate trade routes across the English countryside, particularly the movement of goods by packhor…

Keith Evans / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Burwell Castle

Scheduled monument · ~3.9 mi

Burwell Castle is a Norman motte-and-bailey fortification located in Cambridgeshire, dating to the early twelfth century. The castle comprises a substantial earthen mound surrounded by a ditch, with a bailey enclosure adjacent to the motte, representing a typical example of post-Conquest military…

Ajay Tegala / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

All Saints' Church, remains of

Scheduled monument · ~4.2 mi

All Saints' Church, remains of, is a medieval ecclesiastical structure located in Cambridgeshire. The surviving fragments represent a parish church whose origins likely extend to the medieval period, though precise dating requires archaeological assessment. The remains indicate a building of mode…

Bob Jones / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

St Mary's Church

Scheduled monument · ~4.3 mi

St Mary's Church, Cambridgeshire, is a medieval parish church whose origins likely date to the twelfth century or earlier, reflecting the ecclesiastical development of the region during the Norman period. The church retains significant medieval fabric in its structure, including architectural ele…

Lidgate Castle and C16 Fortified Manorial Complex

Scheduled monument · ~5.8 mi

Lidgate Castle is a sixteenth-century fortified manorial complex located in Suffolk, England. The site represents a phase of domestic architecture in which wealthy landowners reinforced their residences with defensive features, reflecting both practical security concerns and the social status con…

Bob Jones / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Other English Civil War Battles

Battles near Skirmish at Newmarket 1643

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• First English Civil War, 1643 · Wikipedia
• Civil War in Lincolnshire, 1643 (Eastern Association context) · BCW Project
• Newmarket, Suffolk · Wikipedia
• Oliver Cromwell - Newmarket · olivercromwell.org (Cromwell Association)