The Battle of Roundway Down 13 July 1643
A Decisive Engagement in the Early Stages of the English Civil War
On 13 July 1643 Roundway Down in central Wiltshire was the scene of one of the most crushing Royalist victories of the English Civil War, beginning a period of unbroken Royalist military success known as the ‘Royalist summer’. Today the tiny hamlet of Roundway and its surrounding area, located just north of Devizes, is one of the most peaceful and picturesque areas of Wiltshire, but in 1643 it echoed to the crackle of musket fire, the clash of steel and the thunder of charging cavalry.
The Battle of Lansdowne
Prior to the battle the Parliamentarian army under Sir William Waller had attempted to besiege Devizes, only to be driven from their position at the Battle of Lansdowne. Though Waller was forced to withdraw, there was no clear victor at Lansdowne as both sides suffered high casualties. The morale of the Royalist army was low, with brawling rife between Hopton’s Cornish infantry and Oxford cavalry, and discipline lax. Low on gunpowder, the Royalists were forced to withdraw towards Oxford for fresh supplies and reinforcements.
Waller decided to try and block the Royalist march towards Oxford, and after gathering reinforcements at Bristol set off in pursuit. On the night of 8 July he occupied the high ground at Roundway Down north of Devizes, directly across the Royalist line of retreat. Faced with the enemy in a superior position, the Royalists hurriedly retreated to Devizes and held a council of war. They agreed to split their forces, Hopton staying behind with the Cornish infantry to garrison Devizes while Prince Maurice broke out to fetch reinforcements from Oxford.
The Escape of Prince Maurice from Devizes
Prince Maurice and his 300 horse galloped out of Devizes just as Waller was marching on the town. Unaware of Maurice’s escape, Waller’s men surrounded the unfortified town and began to pound it with artillery. On the morning of 13th July the skies echoed to the sound of gunfire from the northeast. A Royalist relief force under Lord Wilmot had arrived at Roughridge Hill, five miles northeast of Devizes, and was firing rounds into the air to alert the garrison.
Waller immediately lifted the siege and hurried his troops back to Roundway Down, eager to defeat Wilmot before the Devizes garrison could sally out and catch him between two forces. Waller reached Roundway Down in time and deployed his pikemen, musketeers and artillery in the centre and cavalry on the flanks. The left wing of the Parliamentarian line under the command of Sir Arthur Haselrig was made up of cuirassiers or ‘lobsters’, named so because they wore full body armour.
The Royalist commander Lord Wilmot decided to take the risk of attacking uphill and launched his cavalry against Haselrig’s brigade. The front ranks of the ‘lobsters’ were worsted in the ensuing melee, for they met the Royalist charge at the halt and were pushed back onto their second line. Confusion followed as the ordered ranks of the cuirassiers dissolved, and though Haselrig himself bravely fought on his men scattered and fled.
The Decisive Charge of Sir John Byron
As the left wing of the Parliamentarian army collapsed their right came under attack from a brigade of Royalist horse led by Sir John Byron. Once again instead of counter-charging the Parliamentarian cavalry met the enemy assault at the halt, and like their comrades on the left wing were beaten back and routed. Many of them galloped over the edge of an unseen precipice near the village of Roundway, and were killed as they plunged down the 300 foot drop.
Waller’s musketeers and pikemen were left to fend for themselves. Wilmot and Byron rallied their cavalry and led them against the Parliamentary foot, but could not break their stubborn resistance. However the end came when Hopton led his garrison out of Devizes and attacked Waller’s men in the rear. The Parliamentarians attempted an ordered retreat, but they were now surrounded on all sides. Waller made good his escape but the majority of his infantry threw down their arms and surrendered.
The End of the Hopes of the Earl of Essex
The Battle of Roundway Down was nicknamed ‘Runaway Down’ by the Royalists, in mockery of the headlong flight of the Parliamentarian cavalry. It marked the first and only time in the English Civil War when a force mostly composed of cavalry managed to attack and defeat an enemy drawn up on high ground in battle formation. The battle was also significant in that it ended Waller’s hopes of replacing the Earl of Essex as Lord General of the Parliamentarian armies, and led to the Royalists capturing Bristol. Many years have rolled away since the quiet landscape of Roundway Down echoed to the sound of shot and steel, but this obscure corner of England once witnessed the high water mark of Royalist success in the Civil War.
Sources:
C. V. Wedgwood, The King's Peace, 1637–1641 (1955)
C.V. Wedgwood, The King's War, 1641–1647 (1958)
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