Battle of Bovey Heath 1646
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1646 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 17th century | derived |
| Period | Civil Wars | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
About the battle
The battle of Bovey Heath took place on 9 January 1646 at Bovey Tracey and Bovey Heath (about 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Exeter in Devon, England) during the First English Civil War. A Parliamentarian cavalry detachment under the command of Oliver Cromwell surprised and routed the Lord Wentworth's Royalist camp.
After a series of losses for the Royalists in the southwest of England, they had retreated to Exeter and beyond. The Parliamentarian New Model Army besieged Exeter, and when a Royalist army was raised to try to relieve the city, the Parliamentarian commander, Sir Thomas Fairfax launched a preemptive strike. He first sent Cromwell to attack the cavalry lodged at Bovey Heath, where they were able to rout the Royalists who were not prepared for an attack. Wentworth and most of his leading commanders were able to escape, but Wentworth was stripped of command of the Royalist army in the West, which passed to the Lord Hopton.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 50.5756, -3.6667
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Bovey Heath (revision 1370108101), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby battlefields
- Siege of Exeter 1068 · 19 km
- Battle of Pinhoe 1001 · 23 km
- Battle of Sourton Down 1643 · 31 km
- Battle of Hingston Down 838 · 41 km
- Battle of Torrington 1646 · 54 km
- Battle of Braddock Down 1643 · 66 km
Browse more: battles in England · Civil Wars · 17th century battles