Siege of Gloucester 1643
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date | 5 September 1643 (Julian calendar) | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Date (year) | 1643 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
| Century | 17th century | derived |
| Period | Civil Wars | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| War / conflict | First English Civil War | Wikidata |
| Participants | Cavalier, Roundhead | Wikidata |
About the battle
The siege of Gloucester took place between 10 August and 5 September 1643 during the First English Civil War. It was part of a Royalist campaign led by King Charles I to take control of the Severn Valley from the Parliamentarians. Following the costly storming of Bristol on 26 July, Charles invested Gloucester in the hope that a show of force would prompt it to surrender quickly and without bloodshed. When the city, under the governorship of Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Massey, refused, the Royalists attempted to bombard it into submission. Massey adopted an aggressive defence, and the Royalist positions outside the city were regularly disrupted by Parliamentarian raids. The Royalist artillery proved inadequate for the task of siege work and, faced with a shortage of ammunition, the besiegers attempted to breach the city walls by mining. With Royalist miners about to reach the city's east gate and the defenders critically low on gunpowder, a Parliamentarian army led by the Earl of Essex arrived and forced Charles to lift the siege.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 51.8640, -2.2438
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Gloucester (revision 1370741522), 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
- Battle of Tewkesbury 1471 · 14 km
- Battle of Ripple Field 1643 · 20 km
- Battle of Upton 1651 · 22 km
- Battle of Cirencester 628 · 25 km
- Battle of Nibley Green 1469 · 25 km
- Battle of Sherston 1016 · 32 km
Other battles of the First English Civil War
- Battle of Aylesbury 1642
- Battle of Babylon Hill 1642
- Battle of Brentford 1642
- Battle of Edgehill 1642
- Battle of Turnham Green 1642
- Siege of Hull 1642
- Siege of Reading 1642
- Battle of Adwalton Moor 1643
- Battle of Aldbourne Chase 1643
- Battle of Braddock Down 1643
All battles of the First English Civil War →
Browse more: battles in Gloucestershire · battles in England · Civil Wars · 17th century battles
Further reading
- Siege of Gloucester on Battlefields of the World (the battle in world context, with others of its war worldwide)
- Wikipedia: Siege of Gloucester
- Wikidata Q7510051