Events from the year
1644 in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. This is the third year of the
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...
, fought between
Roundhead
Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...
s (
Parliamentarians) and
Cavalier
The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...
s (
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
supporters of
King Charles I).
Incumbents
*
Monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
–
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
*
Parliaments
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
–
Revolutionary Long,
Oxford of 1644 (starting 22 January)
Events
* January –
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
and his soldiers impose a Puritanical regime of worship at
Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.
The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The presen ...
.
* 22 January – King
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
opens the Royalist '
Oxford Parliament'.
* 26 January –
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...
: at the
Battle of Nantwich
The Battle of Nantwich was fought on 25 January 1644 in Cheshire during the First English Civil War. In the battle, Sir Thomas Fairfax in command of a Parliamentarian relief force defeated Lord Byron and the Royalists.
The Parliamentari ...
the
Parliamentarians defeat the
Royalists
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...
.
* March –
Matthew Hopkins
Matthew Hopkins ( 1620 – 12 August 1647) was an English witch-hunter whose career flourished during the English Civil War. He claimed to hold the office of Witchfinder General, although that title was never bestowed by Parliament, a ...
begins his career as a
witch-hunt
A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The Witch trials in the early modern period, classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and European Colon ...
er in the eastern counties.
* 21 March – First English Civil War:
Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
effects the
Relief of Newark
The Relief of Newark (21 March 1644) was a Royalist victory during the First English Civil War. It was a personal victory for Prince Rupert and it resulted in the Royalists holding Newark-on-Trent until very near the end of the war.
Back ...
.
* 29 March – First English Civil War: Parliamentary victory at the
Battle of Cheriton
The Battle of Cheriton of 29 March 1644 was an important Parliamentarian victory during the First English Civil War. Sir William Waller's "Army of the Southern Association" defeated a Royalist force jointly commanded by the Earl of Forth and ...
.
* 20 April–14 June – First English Civil War: Royalists besiege
Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Herita ...
. They do not take the town, but destroy twenty ships.
* 25 May – First English Civil War: Royalist forces under Prince Rupert storm and take
Stockport
Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here.
Most of the town is within ...
and cross the
Mersey
The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...
.
* 28 May – First English Civil War:
Bolton Massacre
The Storming of Bolton, sometimes referred to as the "Bolton massacre", was an event in the First English Civil War which happened on 28 May 1644. The strongly Parliamentarian town was stormed and captured by Royalist forces under Prince R ...
: Royalist forces under Prince Rupert kill several hundreds of the town's defenders.
[
* 29 June – First English Civil War: Royalist victory at the ]Battle of Cropredy Bridge
The Battle of Cropredy Bridge was fought on 29 June 1644 near Banbury, Oxfordshire during the First English Civil War. In the engagement, Sir William Waller and the Parliamentarian army failed to capture King Charles.
The site was placed ...
.
* 2 July – the Battle of Marston Moor
The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639 – 1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters und ...
, the largest battle of the English Civil War, produces a crushing victory for the Parliamentary side, ending Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
's hold on the north of England.
* 14 July – Queen Henrietta Maria
Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She wa ...
leaves the country for France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.[
* 16 July – First English Civil War: Parliamentary forces capture ]York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
.[
* 2 September – Second ]Battle of Lostwithiel
The Battle of Lostwithiel took place over a 13-day period from 21 August to 2 September 1644, around the town of Lostwithiel and along the River Fowey valley in Cornwall during the First English Civil War. A Royalist army led by Charles I of E ...
, the last major victory for Charles I and the Royalist side in the English Civil War.
* 22 October – Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
captured by a Scottish army led by Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven.
* 27 October – First English Civil War: Parliamentary victory at the Second Battle of Newbury
The Second Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War fought on 27 October 1644, in Speen, adjoining Newbury in Berkshire. The battle was fought close to the site of the First Battle of Newbury, which took place in la ...
.
* 23 November – John Milton
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...
's ''Areopagitica
''Areopagitica; A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc'd Printing, to the Parlament of England'' is a 1644 prose polemic by the English poet, scholar, and polemical author John Milton opposing licensing and censorship. ''Are ...
'' is published.
* 19 December – The House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
passes the Self-denying Ordinance
The Self-denying Ordinance was passed by the English Parliament on 3 April 1645. All members of the House of Commons or Lords who were also officers in the Parliamentary army or navy were required to resign one or the other, within 40 days fro ...
.
* 25 December – Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
falls on a date set aside for fasting by Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, whose supporters are enjoined to observe the fast.
* 1644 Baptist Confession of Faith
The Confession of Faith, also called the First London Baptist Confession, is Particular Baptist confession of faith.
Origin
In 1644, seven Particular Baptist (Reformed Baptist or Calvinistic Baptist) churches met in London to write a confession ...
drawn up in London.
Births
* 14 January – Thomas Britton
Thomas Britton (14 January 1644 – 27 September 1714) was an English charcoal merchant best known as a concert promoter.
Biography
Born in Rushden, Northamptonshire, Britton moved to London at a young age and apprenticed himself to a small co ...
, concert promoter (died 1714)
* 18 January – John Partridge, astrologer (died 1708)
* 21 March – Sir Walter Bagot, 3rd Baronet
Sir Walter Bagot, 3rd Baronet (21 March 1644 – 15 February 1704), a barrister and landowner, succeeded to the title 3rd Baronet of Blithfield Hall, Staffordshire, on the death of his father Sir Edward Bagot in 1673.
He was educated at Chris ...
, Member of Parliament (died 1704)
* 22 March – Sir James Rushout, 1st Baronet
Sir James Rushout, 1st Baronet (22 March 1644 – 16 February 1698), of Northwick Park, Worcestershire, was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1670 and 1698.
Rushout was the fifth but only surviving son of ...
, Member of Parliament (died 1698)
* 31 March – Henry Winstanley
Henry Winstanley (31 March 1644 – 27 November 1703) was an English painter, engineer and merchant, who constructed the first Eddystone lighthouse after losing two of his ships on the Eddystone rocks. He died while working on the project duri ...
, engineer (died 1703)
* 16 June – Henrietta Anne Stuart
Henrietta Anne of England (16 June 1644 O.S. N.S.">New_Style.html" ;"title="6 June 1644 New Style">N.S.– 30 June 1670) was the youngest daughter of King Charles I of England and Queen Henrietta Maria.
Fleeing England with her mother and go ...
, Princess of England, Ireland and Scotland (died 1670)
* 30 August – Thomas Tufton, 6th Earl of Thanet
Thomas Tufton, 6th Earl of Thanet, 18th Baron de Clifford PC (30 August 1644 – 30 July 1729)G. E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors. The Complete Peerage of England, ...
, nobleman and politician (died 1729)
* 14 October – William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
, Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania (died 1718)
* Thomas Guy
Thomas Guy (1644 – 27 December 1724) was a British bookseller, investor in the South Sea Company, member of Parliament, and the founder of Guy's Hospital, London.
Early life
Thomas Guy was born in Horselydown in Southwark, in south London, th ...
, speculator and philanthropist (died 1724)
* Approximate date – Elizabeth Haselwood
Elisabeth Haselwood (c. 1644 – 1715) was an English silversmith. She is the only woman silversmith recorded as having worked in Norwich.
A member of a prominent silversmithing family from Norwich, Haselwood learned the art from her husband, Art ...
English silversmith (died 1715)
Deaths
* 30 January – William Chillingworth
William Chillingworth (12 October 160230 January 1644) was a controversial English churchman.
Early life
He was born in Oxford, where his father served as mayor; William Laud was his godfather. In June 1618 he became a scholar of Trinity Coll ...
, theologian (born 1602)
* 22 June – Sir Edward Dering, 1st Baronet
Sir Edward Dering, 1st Baronet (1598–1644) of Surrenden Dering, Pluckley, Kent was an English antiquary and politician.
Ancestry and childhood
Dering was the eldest son of Sir Anthony Dering (d. 1636) of Surrenden Dering. His mother, Sir Antho ...
, antiquary and politician (born 1598)
* 2 July – William Gascoigne, scientist (born c. 1610)
* 20 July – Peter Hausted, poet and playwright (year of birth unknown)
* July – William Crabtree
William Crabtree (1610–1644) was an astronomer, mathematician, and merchant from Broughton, then in the Hundred of Salford, Lancashire, England. He was one of only two people to observe and record the first predicted transit of Venus in 16 ...
, astronomer and mathematician (born 1610)
* September – Sir Thomas Barrington, 2nd Baronet
Sir Thomas Barrington, 2nd Baronet, 1585 to 18 September 1644, was an English politician and Puritan activist who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1644. In the early stages of the First English Civil War, he helped es ...
, Member of Parliament (year of birth unknown)
* 8 September
** John Coke
Sir John Coke (5 March 1563 – 8 September 1644) was an English civil servant and naval administrator, described by one commentator as "the Samuel Pepys of his day". He was MP for various constituencies in the House of Commons between 1621 an ...
, politician (born 1563)
** Francis Quarles
Francis Quarles (about 8 May 1592 – 8 September 1644) was an English poet most notable for his emblem book entitled ''Emblems''.
Early life
Francis Quarles was born in Romford, Essex, and baptised there on 8 May 1592. His family had a long hist ...
, poet (born 1592)
* 6 November – Thomas Roe
Sir Thomas Roe ( 1581 – 6 November 1644) was an English diplomat of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Roe's voyages ranged from Central America to India; as ambassador, he represented England in the Mughal Empire, the Ottoman Empire ...
, diplomat (born c. 1581)
* 28 December – John Bankes
Sir John Bankes (1589 – 28 December 1644) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1624 and 1629. He was Attorney General and Chief Justice to Charles I during the English Civil War. Corfe Castle, his famil ...
, judge (born 1589)
References
{{Year in Europe, 1644
Years of the 17th century in England