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| Cirencester 1643 | ||
| Rupert had moved from Oxford with 4000 men
and pretended to be marching on Sudeley castle, 15 miles north of
Cirencester.
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| Feb 2 | Instead he swung south, joined up with
Hertford outside the walls of Cirencester. There was plenty of shelter
for the Royalists as there were numerous buildings outside the walls
which they could use as cover.
Wilmot attacked from the north, drawing the defenders to that side of the town, and Rupert would attack from a weakened south-west. The defenders fought fiercely but lost around 300 men and 1200 prisoners. At 4 p.m. after an hour and a half of fighting, the Royalists had captured and occupied the town. Some Parliamentary supporters carried on firing at the Royalists and in retaliation the angry victors burned and looted large areas of the town. . The Royalists stripped the town of everything which might have been useful to them - weapons, ammunition, horses, livestock and wool. They captured 3000 muskets, 5 pieces of artillery and 14 colours. A garrison was established under Sir Ralph Dutton. The prisoners were taken to Oxford 'on foot and roped together' in dirt 'sometimes up to their knees'. There they made submission to the King and were then allowed to return home. |
As a consequence of this Royalist victory, Parliament withdrew its garrisons from many of the neighbouring towns as well as Sudeley and Berkeley Castles. The King now controlled most of Gloucestershire - but not the town of Gloucester itself. |
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A scene depicting Cirencester market place in August 1642. | |