Newbury in the first of the 
Civil Wars in England
1642 – 1646

ALL wars are nasty and brutal but not always short. But perhaps the cruellest and most destructive kind of war is the Civil War. It was this form of conflict that raged throughout Britain and Ireland between 1637 and 1653. Berkshire, and therefore Newbury as well, was involved in the first of the civil wars in England. This took place between 1642 and 1646. During that time Newbury witnessed two battles and the siege of Donnington Castle.

            In order to understand why Newbury became involved in the struggle between King and Parliament I propose to look at the following issues in turn:

• Was there anything about the town of Newbury and its population that caused it and them to become involved in Civil War?
• Why were two battles fought at Newbury? What happened during them? And what were the consequences of the outcomes of these two events?
• What happened at the siege of Donnington Castle and what was the impact on Newbury and its immediate environments?

 Why did Newbury become involved in the first Civil War in England?

THE town of Newbury lies in the vale of the River Kennet and it evolved from a settlement that grew up at a point where it was possible to cross the river. By the beginning of the 17^th century Newbury was well known as a centre of cloth manufacture and as a market town.

            At the time of the beginning of the first of the civil wars in England Newbury acquired a strategic importance owing to the fact that firstly during the course of the war Charles I’s Headquarter was at Oxford and secondly that the town dominated two major roads, one going from Oxford to Southampton, while the other went from London, the centre of Parliament’s power, via Reading to the South and West.

            Newbury was also known as a centre of religious radicalism. It held a tradition of non-conformity, which stretched back to Lollard times in the 14th century, and, indeed, in 1646 it was referred to as “the very Colchester of Berkshire”, which apparently was not intended to be a compliment. Moreover, in the 1630’s, the Rector of Newbury, William Twisse and the Church Wardens of St Nicolas Church were opponents of the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud. So there are religious reasons for believing that a majority of the citizens of Newbury were more sympathetic to the Parliamentary cause than to the Royalist one.

            The Royalists certainly regarded Newbury as being a “rebellious town”. This impression is confirmed by a number of incidents. In May 1643 Newbury’s Mayor sent a secret letter to Charles I offering to use his position to advance the Royalist cause. Charles is reported to have commented on receiving it that he was glad there was “one righteous man left in Sodom”. In September of the same year Newbury was in the process of preparing a great welcome for the Parliamentary general, the Earl of Essex and his army, which was marching back to London after it had raised the siege of Gloucester, when the market town received an unpleasant surprise in the form of the unexpected arrival of the King’s soldiers.

            In addition the economy of Newbury was in trouble in the 1640’s for by then the cloth trade was in the midst of a slow decline, which was made worse by the fighting and general instability of the period.

            Probably as a result of very good economic and pragmatic reasons a majority of the merchants and tradesmen in Newbury were sympathetic to the Parliamentary cause.

            So for a variety of reasons Newbury became involved in the fighting that took place in Berkshire between 1642 and 1646: geographical, strategic, religious, political, social and economic.

The Two Battles of Newbury
 (Background, Battle and Consequence)

The First Battle of Newbury – 20^th September 1643

 Background

BY the late summer of 1643 the Royalists had good cause to be pleased with themselves. After three months of continuous victories, the King’s forces had gained control of much of the North and West of England. By late July the Royalists had captured Bristol, England’s second largest port, and in order to speed up the defeat of the Parliamentary cause the King decide to besiege Gloucester. A Parliamentary Army, commanded by the Earl of Essex, was sent from London to raise the siege. Essex succeeded in doing this but he and his forces now faced the prospect of toiling homeward through the autumn mud. Prince Rupert, the King’s nephew, and a force of cavalry pursued the Earl and managed to make contact at Aldbourne Chase, five miles north of Hungerford. The Royalist force was driven off.

In order to avoid a further attack, the Earl decided to take the route from Hungerford to Newbury, which lay to the south of the River Kennet. Consequently the Royalists were able to occupy Newbury on 19^th September just before Essex was to have arrived. The road to London was now blocked and the battle, which Essex had tried so hard to avoid fighting, would now have to be fought.

The Battle

DURING the late afternoon the Royalists took up positions facing west from the River Kennet in the north to the steep slopes that were to be found at the southern end of Wash Common. The Earl of Essex arranged his forces across Crookham Heath so that about a mile and a half separated the foes. Both armies had about 14,000 men but the King had more cavalry. Before dawn on 20^th September 1643 Essex’s men moved forward and as a result of incompetence on the part of the Royalists the Parliamentarians were able to occupy a feature referred to as “round Hill”. Here Essex’s men placed guns and fired into the King’s troops below. The crucial task of taking the hill fell to the foot regiments of Sir Nicholas Byron’s brigade that was supported by cavalry commanded by his nephew, Sir John. South of the hill, Enborne Heath was hotly contested throughout the day. Here most of the Royalist Cavalry under Prince Rupert faced a combination of foot soldiers, cavalry and cannon. However, a large-scale charge led by Prince Rupert drove the Parliamentarians from Wash Common. He now took his cavalry down the slopes in attempt to break down Essex’s right wing and to break into his baggage train. Essex reacted by bringing up infantry reserves, who were able to bring Rupert’s advance to a halt.

            Meanwhile on Round Hill the Royalists found themselves faced by a determined enemy infantry that was ensconced behind hedges. By a heroic effort Sir John Byron’s cavalry briefly gained the crest of the “Hill”, thus capturing one of the enemy’s guns, but they were unable to hold it. The Parliamentarians fighting there were reinforced by two regiments of the London Trained Bands who fought with courage and determination. Lord Falkland, the King’s Secretary of State, rode as a volunteer in Sir John Byron’s regiment and in what must be thought of as being suicidal act he charged a gap in the hedges on Round Hill and was cut down by a musket ball in “the lower part of the belly”.

            The battle raged until darkness finally brought an end to the fighting. During the course of twelve hours something in the region of 3,500 men lost their lives.

            The King was concerned to hear that this forces had used 80 barrels of gunpowder and had only ten left. In addition the King was probably dismayed by the extent of the losses he had endured. So he ordered his forces to withdraw, which they did around midnight. The Royalists made their way north back to Oxford. The next morning, 21^st September, Essex discovered that Wash Common was empty and the way to London open. Essex, nevertheless, found himself harried as before by Prince Rupert, but he managed to successfully return via Reading to London.

Consequence

THE outcome of the battle has been variously described as being indecisive, a Royalist failure or a narrow victory for the Parliamentarians under the Earl of Essex. However, if the battle’s outcome is in dispute the significance of it is not. The King lost an opportunity to inflict a crushing defeat on Parliament and thereby secure a negotiated peace. The Earl of Essex saved his army and breathed decisive new life into the Parliamentary cause.

The Second Battle of Newbury 
27^th October 1644

Background

IN July 1644 Prince Rupert suffered a severe defeat at Marston Moor near York. However, in the following autumn Charles I was able to inflict a humiliating defeat on the Earl of Essex’s forces at Lostwithiel in Cornwall. After this success the King decided he would relieve some of his garrisons that were under attack. One of his garrisons was Donnington Castle, 14^th century fortress that was to be found north of Newbury and which was being besieged by the Earl of Manchester. In a somewhat leisurely fashion the King proceeded eastwards thus enabling three Parliamentarian armies, commanded respectively by the Earl of Manchester, Sir William Waller and the Earl of Essex, with a reconstituted force of 3,000 infantry, to concentrate and impede his return to his base at Oxford. The Parliamentary force numbered about 18,000, very nearly twice as many as the King had but his enemies lacked a commander-in-chief since it was being left to a Council of War to conduct operations. However, Waller was the driving force in the Council, the Earl of Manchester was not a brilliant general and the Earl of Essex, who had caught a cold since his defeat at Lostwithiel, did no join the Council at all.

            The Royalist army enjoyed a strong position just north of Newbury but it was the Parliamentarians who now had an opportunity to inflict a crippling blow on it. Battle was to commence on 27^th October.

The Battle

THE King’s position at Newbury was founded on three strong points: Shaw House, Donnington Castle and Speen village. So the Parliamentarians came up with a strategy that various historians have characterised as being either “bold” or “overambitious”. The plan involved a thirteen-mile circuitous march by night and a simultaneous attack on the Royalists’ front and rear. The night march was conducted by two-thirds of their combined armies – Essex’s army, the London trained bands and Waller’s and Cromwell’s Horse – and it was a success. The move, however, was spotted and so when the attack went in on the afternoon of 27^th October the Royalists were ready. The Parliamentary cavalry found itself fighting in what was largely enclosed country and coming under cannon fire from Donnington Castle. Yet Peter Young and Richard Holmes argue that this is not a convincing explanation for Cromwell’s poor performance during the battle. Nevertheless, the Parliamentarians took Speen but the Royalists rallied and drove the enemy back. They were able to do this because the Earl of Manchester did not assault Shaw House until four o’clock, one hour after the time he should have done. By five o’clock it was dark and both sides stopped fighting. Later the King’s army made good its retreat to Oxford. Whilst this was happening the Parliamentarians held a very angry Council of War. Manchester was against them taking any further action and had to be persuaded to let Waller, Hasebig and Cromwell take their cavalry off in pursuit. However, by the time this decision was made it was too late for them to do anything effective.

            On 9^th November Charles accompanied by Prince Rupert and by his army returned to Newbury. The King had come to retrieve, the Crown, the Great Seal, and the Cannon and Supplies he had left behind in Donnington Castle. However, he now took up battle positions just outside Newbury but the third battle of Newbury did not take place because the Parliamentarian Council of War declined to take up the challenge. So the Royalist army moved off the field and once more returned to Oxford.

            So who won the Battle of Newbury? This is not an easy question to answer. The Parliamentarians could claim a victory because the King was forced to withdraw his army. The King, however, could take satisfaction from the fact that he had conducted a successful through difficult defensive action against a superior enemy force and the Parliamentarians had failed to prevent the return of the King’s army to Oxford.

Consequence

THE King, when he was marching into Oxford after the Newbury campaign was over, was seen for once to smile. For well he might. Waller, Manchester and Essex had failed to take advantage of the victory gained at Marston Moor and to prevent the return of the King’s army to Oxford, following the second Battle of Newbury. At least the King still had a force that he could call upon.

            On the Parliamentary side, however, there was acrimony and great anger. They could not ignore the fact that in the battle fought on 27^th October they had had any opportunity to inflict a crippling blow on the King’s army at Newbury and they had bungled it. This anger and recrimination manifested itself in a quarrel between Cromwell and Manchester, which was fought out on the floor of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The outcome in early 1645 was the “Self-Denying Ordinance” which made membership of either House of Parliament incompatible with the holding of Military command and the formation of the “New Model” Army which later in the year imposed a crushing defeat on the King at Naseby and thereby helped Parliament to win the war. Without the debacle at Newbury this might well not happened.

The Siege of Donnington Castle
31^st July – 9^th November 1644 and November 1645 – 1^st April 164

Donnington Castle, a late 14^th century structure, lies north-west of Newbury and from its geographical position troops could control transport and movement on the roads between London and the West and Southampton and Oxford and the North. So far geographical, strategic and military factors Donnington Castle found itself caught up in the first of the 17^th century Civil wars in England.

            In 1640 Mr John Packer became the owner of Donnington Castle. He was a Member of Parliament and he was sympathetic to the Puritan outlook. But between 1643 and 1646 the Castle was occupied by Royalist forces.

            Soon after the first Battle of Newbury, 20^th September 1643, the King ordered Colonel John Boys to command the garrison that his Majesty had left at the castle. Boys quickly realised that its tall impressive walls were not robust enough to withstand bombardment from artillery so he began to build on outer defence which took the form of a “Star Fort” of four large diamond shaped earth works connected by stretches of curtain wall. This was constructed in 1643 – 44. These defences cost approximately £1,000 and according to Richard Symonds’ “Diary of the Marches of the Royal Army during the Civil War” this sum was raised by a weekly contribution levied on the citizens of Newbury and the people living in the hundreds of Kintbury-Eagle, Compton and Faircross.

            In 1644 the Parliamentarians made three attempts to take the Castle:

• The first was made on 31^st July when Lieutenant General John Middleton attempted to take the Castle by assault. He was forced to do this because his lack of artillery but the assault was successfully repulsed and the Parliamentarians incurred considerable losses. Middleton then withdrew since he had orders to join the Earl of Essex in the West of England.
• The second came on 29^th September when Colonel Jeremy Horton began a blockade and having raised a battery at the front of the hill near Newbury he bombarded the Castle for 12 days. This resulted in three of the towers and a portion of the wall being shattered. Horton now received reinforcements and so he sent a summons to the governor demanding surrender but Boys refused to consider doing so.
• The third attempt came on 4^th October when the Earl of Manchester arrived to take charge of the Siege. Again he ineffectively bombarded the Castle for two or three days and after nineteen days of further futile activity the Parliamentary Commanders heard that the King’s army was on its way to Newbury. On 22^nd October Charles reached Newbury and he knighted Boys for his service to the Royal cause. On 27^th October the Second Battle of Newbury was fought and Donnington Castle played an important part in it. Following Parliament’s failure to inflict a decisive defeat on the King, Charles and his army made good their escape. Indeed, the King left his treasure, the Crown, the great seal and the cannon in Boys’ safe keeping at Donnington. The next day Sir William Waller encircled the Castle with his whole army. Once again Boys was summoned to surrender and once again he refused. This time Boys was saved by dissension of the Parliamentary Commander, the death of the officer responsible for attacking the Castle and arrival on 9^th November of a relief force commanded by the King and Prince Rupert. The relief force successfully collected what had been left behind in the Castle and made good its escape back to Oxford. The Parliamentarians once again broke off the siege.

             However, a year later in November 1645 Colonel John Dalbier arrived to deal with Donnington. The Royalists hearing that Dalbier was on his way fired the village of Donnington and other local villages in order to deprive the Parliamentary army of any accommodation.

       The siege lasted until April 1446. During the Spring Dalbier had subjected the Castle to a tremendous battering from guns. Consequently the Castle was now in a terrible state, so Sir John now held a parley with Dalbier and gained permission to consult the King as to what he should do. The King ordered him to surrender and to try to gain the best terms possible. So on the 1^st April 1646 Boys’ troops marched out with flags flying, drums beating, their matches lighted, bullets in their mouths and bandoliers filled with powder. But as Stephen Porter in his “Destruction in the English Civil War” notes, Sir John Boys was arrested following the surrender of Donnington Castle and held “until he gave satisfaction for the Damage to the Neighbour inhabitants whose buildings had been down on his orders”.

            After the siege was over the Castle was slighted. So when after the war was over that the loyal Parliamentary supporter, Mr Packer, returned to reclaim his home, all he found standing was a ruined gatehouse. As you can imagine he was not a happy man.

            The decade between 1640 and 1650 was the most disastrous ever in the history of the County of Berkshire so probably Newbury suffered greatly because of its involvement in the war. Newbury experienced two major and significant battles, a siege of its local cattle and the consequences of several large numbers of both Royalists and Parliamentarian soldiers in the towns.

            The result of all this was that the two main sources of employment in the town, cloth trade and manufacture and agriculture were hit very badly by the fighting. Indeed food was appropriated by both sides so in November 1644 a report in the “Parliament Scout” stated that “the poor County of Berkshire and in particular the town of Newbury” is in a bad way.

            By the summer of 1645 the “ordinary villagers” and “town’s” people of the County had become desperate to see an end to the fighting. Several thousands of them held a large protest meeting on the Berkshire Downs near Compton where they drew up a petition. This effort proved to be abortive. So the attitude of the “political elite” and the ordinary people of Newbury evolved as the war goes on. A feeling of commitment leads to one of awareness of the social ruin and economic disruption, which has been brought about, by the war and the town’s involvement in it.

    Bernard J. Eggleton ã 2005