Battle of Worcester 1651 with Powick Old Bridge 1642
Outline: officially registered battlefield boundary.
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1642 | Historic England NHLE name |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 17th century | derived |
| Period | Civil Wars | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| War / conflict | English Civil War, Wars of the Three Kingdoms | Wikidata |
| Participants | Commonwealth of England, Kingdom of Scotland | Wikidata |
| Registered area | 352.7 ha | Historic England |
| Grid reference | SO 85088 52544 | Historic England |
| Historic England list entry | 1000042 | Historic England |
| Designated | 1995-06-06 | Historic England |
About the battle
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell defeated a largely Scottish Royalist force of 16,000 led by Charles II of England and Scotland.
The Royalists took up defensive positions in and around the city of Worcester. The area of the battle was bisected by the River Severn, with the River Teme forming an additional obstacle to the south-west of Worcester. Cromwell divided his army into two main sections, divided by the Severn, in order to attack from both the east and south-west. There was fierce fighting at river crossing points and two dangerous sorties by the Royalists against the eastern Parliamentary force were beaten back. Following the storming of a major redoubt to the east of the city, the Parliamentarians entered Worcester and organised Royalist resistance collapsed. Charles II was able to escape capture.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- OS grid reference: SO 85088 52544
- Approximate centre of registered area: 52.1721, -2.2195
- Registered area: 352.7 hectares
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Worcester (revision 1374568082), 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
- Battle of Upton 1651 · 12 km
- Battle of Ripple Field 1643 · 15 km
- Battle of Evesham 1265 · 20 km
- Battle of Tewkesbury 1471 · 22 km
- Battle of Stourbridge Heath 1644 · 31 km
- Battle of Kings Norton 1642 · 33 km
Other battles of the English Civil War
- Battle of Kings Norton 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
- Battle of Marston Moor 1644
All battles of the English Civil War →
Browse more: battles in England · Civil Wars · 17th century battles