Battle of Roundway Down 1643
Outline: officially registered battlefield boundary.
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1643 | Historic England NHLE name |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 17th century | derived |
| Period | Civil Wars | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| War / conflict | English Civil War | Wikidata |
| Participants | Cavalier, Roundhead | Wikidata |
| Registered area | 972.3 ha | Historic England |
| Grid reference | SU 02041 64779 | Historic England |
| Historic England list entry | 1000030 | Historic England |
| Designated | 1995-06-06 | Historic England |
About the battle
The Battle of Roundway Down was fought on 13 July 1643 at Roundway Down near Devizes, in Wiltshire during the First English Civil War. Despite being outnumbered and exhausted after riding overnight from Oxford, a Royalist cavalry force under Lord Wilmot won a crushing victory over the Parliamentarian Army of the West under Sir William Waller.
Viewed as their most decisive victory of the war, the Royalists secured control of South West England which they held until late 1645. Two weeks later they captured the port of Bristol, allowing them to establish links with supporters in Ireland.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- OS grid reference: SU 02041 64779
- Approximate centre of registered area: 51.3847, -1.9720
- Registered area: 972.3 hectares
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Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Roundway Down (revision 1371653569), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Battlefield data © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.