Siege of Lincoln
Encyclopedia
During the First English Civil War
Lincoln was besieged between 3 May and 6 May, 1644 by Parliamentarian
forces of the Eastern Association
of counties under the command of the Earl of Manchester
. On the first day, the Parliamentarians took the lower town. The Royalist
defenders retreated into the stronger fortifications of the upper town, which encompassed and incorporated Lincoln Castle
and Lincoln Cathedral
. The siege ended four days later when the Parliamentarian soldiers stormed the castle, taking prison the Royalist governor, Sir Francis Fane
, and what remained of his garrison.
. The commander of the besiegers, Francis, Lord Willoughby
, also had command of the Parliamentarian forces in Lincolnshire and had ordered the all of the garrison of Lincoln to come to his aid.
King Charles
dispatched his nephew Prince Rupert
to relieve Newark, ordering him to collect all the troops he could in Shropshire, Cheshire, and Wales, march into Lancashire, reinforce his troops from James, Earl of Derby's
Royalist tenantry, and then march into Yorkshire.
The command of the Parliamentarian forces investing Newark had passed to veteran Scottish soldier Sir John Meldrum
, who chose to oppose Rupert rather than retreat. Rupert defeated him on the banks of the Trent on 22 March 1644 and relieved Newark
. With the defeat of the Parliamentarians' Lincolnshire forces at Newark, the county lay open to Royalist occupation. Lincoln was occupied on 23 March, where the Royliasts found and requisitioned 2,000 muskets. The Parliamentarians abandoned Sleaford
and on orders from Meldrum, Gainsborough
was slighted so that it could not be garrisoned by the Royalists.
However, Rupert decided that he could not consolidate the gains he had made, and after garrisoning Lincoln and placing it under the command of Sir Francis Fane
, he retreated into the West Midlands. By 23 March, he was back in Oxford to report to the king. A month earlier however, Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax
and Scottish Covenanter
s under the Earl of Leven
had laid siege to York
, which was defended by the Marquess of Newcastle. Early in the siege, Newcastle decided that his cavalry would be of little use within the besieged city. Commanded by Newcastle's Lieutenant General of Horse, George, Lord Goring
, they broke out of the city, and escaped pursuit. They made their way to Newark, plundering as they marched.
The Parliamentarian Army of the Eastern Association
under the Earl of Manchester counter attacked. In the last week of April Manchester was at Stamford
. He ordered his cavalry under the command of Oliver Cromwell
to advance. They cleared Lincolnshire of marauding parties of Cavaliers from Newark and drove them across the Trent, where they joined Goring at Mansfield
. Manchester then marched to Lincoln, arriving on 3 May 1644.
Manchester's army consisted of about 6,000 infantry and cavalry. The garrison of the town was about 2,000 strong. On 3 May the Parliamentarians managed to capture parts of the lower town and the Royalists retreated in their upper works which surrounded Lincoln Castle
and Lincoln Cathedral
.
On 4 May the Roundheads were unable to press their attack because it rained heavily making the mound under the castle very slippery.
Cromwell posted his horse so as to cover the siege from any interruption from Goring. He made his dispositions so well that, hearing on 5 May that Goring had crossed the Trent, Cromwell's troopers were assembled and drawn up in little over an hour from the news being received. Goring, finding the outposts on the alert, fell back again. A contemporary Royalist report states that that night the Parliamentarians attempted to storm Lincoln Close but were repulsed with about 60 killed.
, the former Recorder of Lincoln, and Sir Francis Fane.
The Parliamentarians also captured eight cannons, and much other useful materiel
.
in London sent him their congratulations. Shortly after the capture of Lincoln, Manchester ordered a bridge of boats
to be built over the Trent at Gainsborough, and Cromwell crossed with 3,000 horse, while two regiments of foot (infantry) held the bridge. Goring would appear to have had at least as many troopers as Cromwell, but the latter drove him up the Trent towards Newark, and headed him off at Mascomb Bridge, forcing him to swim the river in order to escape.
Cromwell then returned to Bawtry
and Tuxford
(both on the Great North Road), where David Leslie
joined him with a strong party of Scottish horse and placed himself under his command. Goring crossed from Newark into Leicestershire, where he commenced plundering the country up and down. The allied generals, however, refused to allow their horse to follow him, being convinced by this time that Rupert intended to relieve York. They therefore kept their horse in hand in south Yorkshire and waited for Manchester to advance with his foot. Goring subsequently moved via Derbyshire
to Bury
in Lancashire, where he joined Prince Rupert.
Manchester himself remained in Lincoln until around 22 May when he sent a report on his preparations for his advance to link up with the besiegers of York. He joined them on 3 June. Manchester, Fairfax and the Scots ultimately won a major victory over Prince Rupert at the Battle of Marston Moor
on 2 July.
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...
Lincoln was besieged between 3 May and 6 May, 1644 by Parliamentarian
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...
forces of the Eastern Association
Eastern Association
The Eastern Association of counties was a Parliamentarian or 'Roundhead' army during the English Civil War. It was formed from a number of pro-Parliamentary militias in the east of England in 1642, including a troop of cavalry led by Oliver Cromwell...
of counties under the command of the Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester KG, KB, FRS was an important commander of Parliamentary forces in the First English Civil War, and for a time Oliver Cromwell's superior.-Life:...
. On the first day, the Parliamentarians took the lower town. The Royalist
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...
defenders retreated into the stronger fortifications of the upper town, which encompassed and incorporated Lincoln Castle
Lincoln Castle
Lincoln Castle is a major castle constructed in Lincoln, England during the late 11th century by William the Conqueror on the site of a pre-existing Roman fortress. The castle is unusual in that it has two mottes. It is only one of two such castles in the country, the other being at Lewes in Sussex...
and Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral is a historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 249 years . The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt...
. The siege ended four days later when the Parliamentarian soldiers stormed the castle, taking prison the Royalist governor, Sir Francis Fane
Francis Fane (royalist)
Sir Francis Fane of Fulbeck K.B. supported the Royalist cause During the English Civil War.-Biography:Fane was the third, but second surviving, son of Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland....
, and what remained of his garrison.
Prelude
Early in 1644, Parliamentarian forces besieged the Royalist stronghold of Newark-on-TrentNewark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. It stands on the River Trent, the A1 , and the East Coast Main Line railway. The origins of the town are possibly Roman as it lies on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way...
. The commander of the besiegers, Francis, Lord Willoughby
Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby of Parham
Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby of Parham was an English peer of the House of Lords.He succeeded to the title 14 October 1617 on the death in infancy of his elder brother Henry Willoughby, 4th Lord Willoughby of Parham...
, also had command of the Parliamentarian forces in Lincolnshire and had ordered the all of the garrison of Lincoln to come to his aid.
King Charles
Charles 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...
dispatched his nephew Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, 1st Duke of Cumberland, 1st Earl of Holderness , commonly called Prince Rupert of the Rhine, KG, FRS was a noted soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman, colonial governor and amateur artist during the 17th century...
to relieve Newark, ordering him to collect all the troops he could in Shropshire, Cheshire, and Wales, march into Lancashire, reinforce his troops from James, Earl of Derby's
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby KG was a supporter of the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.Born at Knowsley, he is sometimes styled the Great Earl of Derby, eldest son of William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby and Lady Elizabeth de Vere. During his father's life he was known as Lord Strange...
Royalist tenantry, and then march into Yorkshire.
The command of the Parliamentarian forces investing Newark had passed to veteran Scottish soldier Sir John Meldrum
John Meldrum
Sir John Meldrum was a soldier of Scottish origin who spent 36 years in the service of the Stuart kings of Scotland and England, James VI and I and Charles I. In 1636, Meldrum was granted by letters-patent from the king licence to continue and renew the lighthouses erected by Charles I on the...
, who chose to oppose Rupert rather than retreat. Rupert defeated him on the banks of the Trent on 22 March 1644 and relieved Newark
Relief of Newark
The Relief of Newark was a Royalist victory during the First English Civil War. It was a personal victory for Prince Rupert of the Rhine, and it resulted in the Royalists holding Newark-on-Trent until very near the end of the War.-Background:...
. With the defeat of the Parliamentarians' Lincolnshire forces at Newark, the county lay open to Royalist occupation. Lincoln was occupied on 23 March, where the Royliasts found and requisitioned 2,000 muskets. The Parliamentarians abandoned Sleaford
Sleaford
Sleaford is a town in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is located thirteen miles northeast of Grantham, seventeen miles west of Boston, and nineteen miles south of Lincoln, and had a total resident population of around 14,500 in 6,167 households at the time...
and on orders from Meldrum, Gainsborough
Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Gainsborough is a town 15 miles north-west of Lincoln on the River Trent within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. At one time it served as an important port with trade downstream to Hull, and was the most inland in England, being more than 55 miles from the North...
was slighted so that it could not be garrisoned by the Royalists.
However, Rupert decided that he could not consolidate the gains he had made, and after garrisoning Lincoln and placing it under the command of Sir Francis Fane
Francis Fane (royalist)
Sir Francis Fane of Fulbeck K.B. supported the Royalist cause During the English Civil War.-Biography:Fane was the third, but second surviving, son of Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland....
, he retreated into the West Midlands. By 23 March, he was back in Oxford to report to the king. A month earlier however, Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax
Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron , English parliamentary general.-Early life:He was born in Yorkshire the eldest son of Thomas Fairfax, whom Charles I in 1627 created Lord Fairfax of Cameron in the Peerage of Scotland and received a military education in the Netherlands. Two of his...
and Scottish Covenanter
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...
s under the Earl of Leven
Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven
Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven was a Scottish soldier in Dutch, Swedish and Scottish service. Born illegitimate and raised as a foster child, he subsequently advanced to the rank of a Dutch captain, a Swedish Field Marshal, and in Scotland became lord general in command of the Covenanters,...
had laid siege to York
Siege of York
The Siege of York in 1644 was a prolonged contest for York during the English Civil War, between the Scottish Covenanter Army and the Parliamentarian Armies of the Northern Association and Eastern Association on the one hand, and the Royalist Army under the Marquess of Newcastle on the other...
, which was defended by the Marquess of Newcastle. Early in the siege, Newcastle decided that his cavalry would be of little use within the besieged city. Commanded by Newcastle's Lieutenant General of Horse, George, Lord Goring
George Goring, Lord Goring
George Goring, Lord Goring was an English Royalist soldier. He was known by the courtesy title Lord Goring as the eldest son of the 1st Earl of Norwich.- The Goring family :...
, they broke out of the city, and escaped pursuit. They made their way to Newark, plundering as they marched.
The Parliamentarian Army of the Eastern Association
Eastern Association
The Eastern Association of counties was a Parliamentarian or 'Roundhead' army during the English Civil War. It was formed from a number of pro-Parliamentary militias in the east of England in 1642, including a troop of cavalry led by Oliver Cromwell...
under the Earl of Manchester counter attacked. In the last week of April Manchester was at Stamford
Stamford, Lincolnshire
Stamford is a town and civil parish within the South Kesteven district of the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately to the north of London, on the east side of the A1 road to York and Edinburgh and on the River Welland...
. He ordered his cavalry under the command of Oliver Cromwell
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....
to advance. They cleared Lincolnshire of marauding parties of Cavaliers from Newark and drove them across the Trent, where they joined Goring at Mansfield
Mansfield
Mansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district. Mansfield is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area....
. Manchester then marched to Lincoln, arriving on 3 May 1644.
Siege
Lincoln Castle
Lincoln Castle is a major castle constructed in Lincoln, England during the late 11th century by William the Conqueror on the site of a pre-existing Roman fortress. The castle is unusual in that it has two mottes. It is only one of two such castles in the country, the other being at Lewes in Sussex...
and Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral is a historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 249 years . The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt...
.
On 4 May the Roundheads were unable to press their attack because it rained heavily making the mound under the castle very slippery.
Cromwell posted his horse so as to cover the siege from any interruption from Goring. He made his dispositions so well that, hearing on 5 May that Goring had crossed the Trent, Cromwell's troopers were assembled and drawn up in little over an hour from the news being received. Goring, finding the outposts on the alert, fell back again. A contemporary Royalist report states that that night the Parliamentarians attempted to storm Lincoln Close but were repulsed with about 60 killed.
Storming of the castle and the end of the siege
The next night (6 May) the Castle was stormed with the aid of scaling ladders. The Roundheads took about a quarter of an hour to reach the walls of the castle. The scaling ladders proved to be too short, but despite the defenders throwing boulders down upon the attackers (doing more injury than their gunfire had caused) the Parliamentarians managed to scale the walls and enter the castle. The Royalists fled from the parapets, begging for quarter, which was granted. Parliamentarian casualties were eight killed and about 40 wounded. The Royalists suffered about 50 killed with 100 officers and between 650 and 800 soldiers taken prisoner. Among the officers captured were Sir Charles DallisonCharles Dallison
Sir Charles Dallison was a gentleman from Lincolnshire who served as an officer in the Royalist army during the English Civil War. He was also a serjeant-at-law, and in 1648 he published an often cited pamphlet justifying his reasons for supporting the Royalist cause.-Biography:Charles Dallison...
, the former Recorder of Lincoln, and Sir Francis Fane.
The Parliamentarians also captured eight cannons, and much other useful materiel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
.
Aftermath
The victorious Parliamentarian troops pillaged the upper town. On receipt of Manchester's report the Committee of Both KingdomsCommittee of Both Kingdoms
The Committee of Both Kingdoms, , was a committee set up during the English Civil War by the Parliamentarian faction in association with representatives from the Scottish Covenanters, to oversee the conduct of the War and Foreign Policy...
in London sent him their congratulations. Shortly after the capture of Lincoln, Manchester ordered a bridge of boats
Bridge of boats
A "bridge of boats" istype of bridge which floats on water instead of having permanent pillars. It is built by linking boats and the first and last being anchored to the shores. It was used as a military technique since ancient times, being the fastest method for an army to construct a water crossing...
to be built over the Trent at Gainsborough, and Cromwell crossed with 3,000 horse, while two regiments of foot (infantry) held the bridge. Goring would appear to have had at least as many troopers as Cromwell, but the latter drove him up the Trent towards Newark, and headed him off at Mascomb Bridge, forcing him to swim the river in order to escape.
Cromwell then returned to Bawtry
Bawtry
Bawtry is a small market town and civil parish which lies at the point where the Great North Road crosses the River Idle in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. Nearby towns include Gainsborough to the east, Retford south southeast, Worksop to the southwest and...
and Tuxford
Tuxford
-Geography:Tuxford is a village and a civil parish on the southern edge of the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England. It may also be considered a small town as it was historically a market town. Nearby larger towns are Retford and Newark-on-Trent. From Harvest Cottage, near the ECML, the...
(both on the Great North Road), where David Leslie
David Leslie
David Leslie, Lord Newark was a cavalry officer and General in the English Civil War and Scottish Civil Wars. A son of Patrick Leslie, 1st Lord Lindores, he fought for the Swedish army of Gustavus Adolphus as a professional soldier during the Thirty Years' War.-Civil war:On the outbreak of the...
joined him with a strong party of Scottish horse and placed himself under his command. Goring crossed from Newark into Leicestershire, where he commenced plundering the country up and down. The allied generals, however, refused to allow their horse to follow him, being convinced by this time that Rupert intended to relieve York. They therefore kept their horse in hand in south Yorkshire and waited for Manchester to advance with his foot. Goring subsequently moved via 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...
to Bury
Bury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
in Lancashire, where he joined Prince Rupert.
Manchester himself remained in Lincoln until around 22 May when he sent a report on his preparations for his advance to link up with the besiegers of York. He joined them on 3 June. Manchester, Fairfax and the Scots ultimately won a major victory over Prince Rupert at the Battle of Marston Moor
Battle of Marston Moor
The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the First English Civil War of 1642–1646. The combined forces of the Scottish Covenanters under the Earl of Leven and the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester defeated the Royalists commanded by Prince...
on 2 July.