Battle of Stow-on-the-Wold 1646
Outline: officially registered battlefield boundary.
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1646 | 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 | 133.9 ha | Historic England |
| Grid reference | SP 18490 28243 | Historic England |
| Historic England list entry | 1000037 | Historic England |
| Designated | 1995-06-06 | Historic England |
About the battle
The Battle of Stow-on-the-Wold (21 March 1646) took place near Stow-on-the-Wold in Gloucestershire during the First English Civil War. It was a Parliamentarian victory by detachments of the New Model Army over the last Royalist field army.
In the spring of 1646, King Charles I of England was getting ever more desperate to hold the Royalist cause together whilst waiting for the long promised relief forces from Ireland, Scotland and France. Sir Jacob Astley took command of the Royalist forces in the west and began to gather up the remnants from the handful of Royalist garrisons still left in the West Midlands to create a new field army. At this point in the war, Royalist morale was low. However, Astley, a stalwart of the Royalist commanders and an experienced soldier, was able to cobble together a force of 3,000. While returning to Oxford he was intercepted and defeated at Stow-on-the-Wold.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- OS grid reference: SP 18490 28243
- Approximate centre of registered area: 51.9523, -1.7324
- Registered area: 133.9 hectares
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Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Stow-on-the-Wold (revision 1370274781), 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.
Nearby battlefields
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- Battle of Tewkesbury 1471 · 30 km
- Battle of Radcot Bridge 1387 · 30 km
- Battle of Cirencester 628 · 31 km
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Other battles of the English Civil War
- Battle of Kings Norton 1642
- Battle of Worcester 1651 with Powick Old Bridge 1642
- Battle of Alton 1643
- Battle of Ripple Field 1643
- Battle of Roundway Down 1643
- Battle of Sourton Down 1643
- First Battle of Middlewich 1643
- Battle of Boldon Hill 1644
- Battle of Cheriton 1644
- Battle of Cropredy Bridge 1644
All battles of the English Civil War →
Browse more: battles in England · Civil Wars · 17th century battles