Battle of Powick Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Powick Bridge, fought on 23 September 1642, was the first major cavalry
engagement of the English Civil War
and it was a victory for the Royalists
who overthrew the Parliamentary
cavalry. According to Hugh Peters
it was "where England's sorrows began".
had left London and raised his standard in Nottingham
on 22 August 1642. Although some skirmishing had occurred throughout the country, it was on 13 September, that the main campaign of the First English Civil War
opened. King Charles, in order to reach the armouries
of Derbyshire
and Staffordshire
, and find recruits amongst his sympathisers and trained bands, and also to be in touch with his disciplined regiments in Ireland by way of Chester
, moved westward from Nottingham
through Cheshire to Shrewsbury
. The Earl of Essex
with an army of about 20,000 men followed suit by marching his army from Northampton
to Worcester
.
, a sharp cavalry engagement, now known as the Battle of Powick
Bridge, took place on 23 September between the advanced cavalry of Essex's army, and a force under Prince Rupert, which was engaged in protecting a small Royalist supply train bringing "plate" donated by the University of Oxford
to the King's mint for smelting into coin, and which was sheltering in Worcester.
The "battle" was closer to a skirmish, but nonetheless important. It started almost farcically, the two opposing cavalry units having set up camp in almost adjacent fields, it was only by luck that the Royalists stumbled across the enemy first and did not give the game away.
In the ensuing excitement Prince Rupert showed the leadership that earned him his reputation as a dashing officer. Instructing his men to mount up and attack before the Parliamentarians could organise themselves, he led his force into the enemy camp, with some of them not having had time to do up their breast plates, their armour flapping as they rode. His men surprised and routed the opposition. Casualties were minimal on both sides but the University silverware had been saved and would serve to bankroll the King for start of the war, while Essex was put on the back foot.
The result of the fight was the immediate overthrow of the Parliamentary cavalry, and this gave the Royalist troopers a confidence in themselves and in their brilliant leader, which was not shaken until they met Oliver Cromwell's
Ironsides
.
words: "it was considered more counsellable to march towards London, it being morally sure that Essex would put himself in their way". Accordingly, the army left Shrewsbury on 12 October, gaining two days' start on the enemy, and moved south-east. This had the desired effect.
Parliament, alarmed for its own safety, sent repeated orders to Essex to find the King and bring him to battle. Alarm gave way to determination, when it was discovered that Charles was enlisting papist
s and seeking foreign aid. The militia of the home counties was called out. A second army under Earl of Warwick
was formed round the nucleus of the London trained bands, and Essex, straining every nerve to regain touch with the enemy, reached Kineton
, where he was only seven miles (eleven kilometres) from the King's headquarters at Edgecote, on 22 October. The inconclusive Battle of Edge Hill was fought the next day.
By coincidence the English Civil Wars ended with another clash at Powick Bridge almost exactly 9 years later at the Battle of Worcester
on the 3rd September 1651. The Royalists broke the bridge, but Major-General Richard Deane
forced his way over the River Teme and pursued them into Worcester. After the battle the New England preacher Hugh Peters
gave the Parliamentarian militia a rousing farewell sermon "when their wives and children should ask them where they had been and what news, they should say they had been at Worcester, where England's sorrows began, and where they were happily ended".
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
engagement of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
and it was a victory for the Royalists
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
who overthrew the Parliamentary
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
cavalry. According to Hugh Peters
Hugh Peters
Hugh Peters [or Peter] was an English preacher.-Early life:He was baptized on 29 June 1598 in Fowey, and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge....
it was "where England's sorrows began".
Prelude
King Charles I of EnglandCharles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
had left London and raised his standard in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
on 22 August 1642. Although some skirmishing had occurred throughout the country, it was on 13 September, that the main campaign of the First English Civil War
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War began the series of three wars known as the English Civil War . "The English Civil War" was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651, and includes the Second English Civil War and...
opened. King Charles, in order to reach the armouries
Armory (military)
An armory or armoury is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
of Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
and Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, and find recruits amongst his sympathisers and trained bands, and also to be in touch with his disciplined regiments in Ireland by way of Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, moved westward from Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
through Cheshire to Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
. The Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the seventeenth century. With the start of the English Civil War in 1642 he became the first Captain-General and Chief Commander of the Parliamentarian army, also known as the Roundheads...
with an army of about 20,000 men followed suit by marching his army from Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
to Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
.
Battle
Near WorcesterWorcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
, a sharp cavalry engagement, now known as the Battle of Powick
Powick
Powick is a Worcestershire village two miles south of the city of Worcester and four miles north of Great Malvern, close to the River Teme. It is a civil parish of the Malvern Hills District, and it includes the village of Callow End and the hamlets of Bastonford, Clevelode, Colletts Green, and...
Bridge, took place on 23 September between the advanced cavalry of Essex's army, and a force under Prince Rupert, which was engaged in protecting a small Royalist supply train bringing "plate" donated by the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
to the King's mint for smelting into coin, and which was sheltering in Worcester.
The "battle" was closer to a skirmish, but nonetheless important. It started almost farcically, the two opposing cavalry units having set up camp in almost adjacent fields, it was only by luck that the Royalists stumbled across the enemy first and did not give the game away.
In the ensuing excitement Prince Rupert showed the leadership that earned him his reputation as a dashing officer. Instructing his men to mount up and attack before the Parliamentarians could organise themselves, he led his force into the enemy camp, with some of them not having had time to do up their breast plates, their armour flapping as they rode. His men surprised and routed the opposition. Casualties were minimal on both sides but the University silverware had been saved and would serve to bankroll the King for start of the war, while Essex was put on the back foot.
The result of the fight was the immediate overthrow of the Parliamentary cavalry, and this gave the Royalist troopers a confidence in themselves and in their brilliant leader, which was not shaken until they met Oliver Cromwell's
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
Ironsides
Ironside (cavalry)
The Ironsides were troopers in the Parliamentarian cavalry formed by English political leader Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century, during the English Civil War. The name came from "Old Ironsides", one of Cromwell's nicknames...
.
Aftermath
Rupert soon withdrew north to Shrewsbury, where he found many Royalist officers eager to attack Essex's new position at Worcester. But the road to London now lay open and it was decided to take it. The intention was not to avoid a battle, for the Royalist generals wanted to fight Essex before he grew too strong, and the temper of both sides made it impossible to postpone the decision. In the Earl of Clarendon'sEdward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...
words: "it was considered more counsellable to march towards London, it being morally sure that Essex would put himself in their way". Accordingly, the army left Shrewsbury on 12 October, gaining two days' start on the enemy, and moved south-east. This had the desired effect.
Parliament, alarmed for its own safety, sent repeated orders to Essex to find the King and bring him to battle. Alarm gave way to determination, when it was discovered that Charles was enlisting papist
Papist
Papist is a term or an anti-Catholic slur, referring to the Roman Catholic Church, its teachings, practices, or adherents. The term was coined during the English Reformation to denote a person whose loyalties were to the Pope, rather than to the Church of England...
s and seeking foreign aid. The militia of the home counties was called out. A second army under Earl of Warwick
Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick
Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick was an English colonial administrator, admiral, and puritan.Rich was the eldest son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and his wife Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and succeeded to his father's title in 1619...
was formed round the nucleus of the London trained bands, and Essex, straining every nerve to regain touch with the enemy, reached Kineton
Kineton
Kineton is a village and civil parish on the River Dene in south-eastern Warwickshire, England. The village is part of Stratford-on-Avon district, and in the 2001 census it had a population of 2,278....
, where he was only seven miles (eleven kilometres) from the King's headquarters at Edgecote, on 22 October. The inconclusive Battle of Edge Hill was fought the next day.
By coincidence the English Civil Wars ended with another clash at Powick Bridge almost exactly 9 years later at the Battle of Worcester
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...
on the 3rd September 1651. The Royalists broke the bridge, but Major-General Richard Deane
Richard Deane
Richard Deane , English general-at-sea, major-general and regicide, was a younger son of Edward Deane of Temple Guiting or Guyting in Gloucestershire, where he was born, his baptism taking place on 8 July 1610...
forced his way over the River Teme and pursued them into Worcester. After the battle the New England preacher Hugh Peters
Hugh Peters
Hugh Peters [or Peter] was an English preacher.-Early life:He was baptized on 29 June 1598 in Fowey, and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge....
gave the Parliamentarian militia a rousing farewell sermon "when their wives and children should ask them where they had been and what news, they should say they had been at Worcester, where England's sorrows began, and where they were happily ended".