Battle of Piercebridge 1642
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1642 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 17th century | derived |
| Period | Civil Wars | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
About the battle
The battle of Piercebridge was fought on 1 December 1642 in County Durham, England, during the First English Civil War. The Earl of Newcastle was advancing with an army of 6,000 from Newcastle upon Tyne to York to reinforce the local Royalists. Aware of his approach, the Parliamentarians defended the main crossing over the River Tees, at Piercebridge. Under the command of Captain John Hotham, around 580 troops had barricaded the bridge.
Newcastle sent an advance guard under the command of Sir Thomas Howard to take the crossing. The Royalists placed their ten artillery pieces on a hill to the north east of the bridge, allowing them to soften up the Parliamentarian defences. Howard, who was killed during the engagement, led his dragoons in an assault on the bridge, and after three hours of heavy fighting, Hotham and his men retreated, allowing the Royalists to continue on to York. The introduction of Newcastle's army into Yorkshire gave the Royalists a numerical advantage in the county, and led the Parliamentarians to rely on Fabian tactics for the next eighteen months.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 54.5348, -1.6758
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Piercebridge (revision 1380951916), 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).
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Browse more: battles in England · Civil Wars · 17th century battles