Battle of Turnham Green
Who Fought
Royalists: approximately 13,000; Parliamentarians: approximately 24,000
History & Significance
The Battle of Turnham Green took place on 13 November 1642 near the village of Turnham Green, at the end of the first campaigning season of the First English Civil War. The battle resulted in a standoff between the forces of King Charles I and the much larger Parliamentarian army under the command of the Earl of Essex. In blocking the Royalist army's way to London immediately, however, the Parliamentarians gained an important strategic victory as the standoff forced Charles and his army to retreat to Oxford for secure winter quarters.
After the Battle of Edgehill, King Charles captured Banbury and was greeted by cheering crowds as he arrived in Oxford on 29 October. Charles' nephew and cavalry commander, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, swept down the Thames Valley, capturing Abingdon, Aylesbury and Maidenhead, from where he attempted, unsuccessfully, to capture Windsor from strong Parliamentary forces. After this, many officers wanted to open peace negotiations, contrary to Rupert's desire to carry on to London; the King agreed with the officers, and the Earl of Essex was able to ready the defence of London with the Parliamentarian army.
On 12 November, Rupert, with a large cavalry detachment, stormed Brentford and then proceeded to sack the town. This action encouraged those Londoners who feared for their property to side with the Parliamentarians. On 13 November, Essex's army, with the six regiments of London Trained Bands under Philip Skippon, and other London citizenry, assembled as an army of about 24,000 on Chelsea Field. They advanced to Turnham Green, in the vicinity of the main body of the Royalist army.
The Royalist army of about 13,000 was commanded by Patrick Ruthven, 1st Earl of Forth, with King Charles also present during the battle. The Parliamentarian army was commanded by Essex and was 24,000 strong, including many poorly trained Londoners. The two armies formed lines running roughly north–south, with the Parliamentary line slightly longer than the Royalist one.
The Royalist army was significantly outnumbered and short of ammunition, so was reluctant to attack. The King was also advised that to engage such an oddly assorted army containing what was obviously a large contingent of armed civilians (namely the trained bands under Philip Skippon), would not endear him to London, and it was too early in the war for the Royalists to contemplate taking London without the support of a sizeable part of its population.
With the end of the campaigning season close at hand, Charles decided not to press the issue and withdrew after a slight cannonade. Casualties on both sides were light, with fewer than 50 killed in total.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Turnham Green lies on Thames Group, bedrock that formed in the Eocene. The rock here is clay, silt, sand and gravel.
- Light on both sides, fewer than 50 killed in total; Parliamentarian losses under twenty killed, with Royalist losses unlikely to have been higher. A Parliamentarian report of over 800 Royalist dead and 120 of Essex's men killed is considered implausible and un; supported by other evidence.
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- Battle of Turnham Green · Wikidata
- Battle_of_Turnham_Green · Wikipedia
- Battle of Turnham Green · Battlefields Trust