Sieges of Bradford 1642
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1642 | Wikidata P580 start time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 17th century | derived |
| Period | Civil Wars | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
About the battle
The sieges of Bradford (also known as the Battle of the Steeple), were two very short-lived sieges that took place separately in the town of Bradford, Yorkshire, in December 1642 and early July 1643, just after the Royalist victories in Pontefract (1642), and the Battle of Adwalton Moor (1643) respectively. In the second siege, with the Parliamentarian forces dispersed to the west in and around Halifax, the Earl of Newcastle subjected Bradford to a brief siege to enforce rule and allegiance to the king.
The first siege gave rise to the term "Bradford Quarter", apparently a misinterpretation by the defenders of Bradford who, on hearing a Royalist officer asking for quarter, assured him that they would "quarter him". The term "give them Bradford Quarter", was used by the Royalists against the defenders of the Bradford during the second siege. The second siege was noted for its apparent salvation from slaughter after the Earl of Newcastle was visited by a wraith-like figure imploring him to "pity poor Bradford...".
The sieges were also notable in that to protect the church and steeple, bales of wool were hung from the tower in an effort to deflect, or deaden the impact of cannon-fire from the Royalists.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 53.7950, -1.7470
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Sieges of Bradford (revision 1370746801), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby battlefields
- Battle of Adwalton Moor 1643 · 7 km
- Battle of Leeds 1643 · 13 km
- Battle of Heptonstall 1643 · 18 km
- Capture of Wakefield 1643 · 21 km
- Battle of Wakefield 1460 · 21 km
- Battle of Seacroft Moor 1643 · 24 km
Browse more: battles in Yorkshire · battles in England · Civil Wars · 17th century battles
Further reading
- Sieges of Bradford on Battlefields of the World (the battle in world context, with others of its war worldwide)
- Wikipedia: Sieges of Bradford
- Wikidata Q111954497