The Battle of Bovey Heath took place on 9 January 1646 at
Bovey Tracey
Bovey Tracey () is a small town and civil parish in Devon, England, on the edge of Dartmoor, its proximity to which gives rise to the "slogan" used on the town's boundary signs, "The Gateway to the Moor". It is often known locally as "Bovey". ...
and
Bovey Heath
Bovey Heath is a 32 hectare (50 acre) area of heathland between Bovey Tracey and Heathfield in south Devon, England.
Although primarily heathland habitat, the site has some wet mature oak woodland, and is home to rare species such as ...
(about south-west of
Exeter in
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
, England) during 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 ...
. A
Parliamentarian cavalry detachment under the command of
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 K ...
surprised and
rout
A rout is a panicked, disorderly and undisciplined retreat of troops from a battlefield, following a collapse in a given unit's command authority, unit cohesion and combat morale (''esprit de corps'').
History
Historically, lightly-e ...
ed the
Lord Wentworth'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 governm ...
camp.
After a series of losses for the Royalists in the southwest of England, they had retreated to Exeter and beyond. The Parliamentarian
New Model Army besieged Exeter, and when a Royalist army was raised to try to relieve the city, the Parliamentarian commander, Sir
Thomas Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented command ...
launched a preemptive strike. He first sent Cromwell to attack the cavalry lodged at Bovey Heath, where they were able to rout the Royalists who were not prepared for an attack. Wentworth and most of his leading commanders were able to escape, but Wentworth was stripped of command of the Royalist army in the West, which passed to the
Lord Hopton.
Background
In early 1645, the southwest of England was predominantly held by the Royalists. After the Parliamentarians secured victory
at Naseby in
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
in June that year, Sir
Thomas Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented command ...
turned his attention, and the newly formed
New Model Army to the south-west. They defeated the Royalists again
at Langport in July, forcing the King's army in the west country to retreat to
Exeter, though the cavalry were not allowed in the city. After securing Somerset, Fairfax established a siege of Exeter late in 1645.
Prelude
At the start of 1646, rather than maintaining
winter quarters,
Prince Charles, the
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
, began to gather an army in south Devon to
relieve Exeter.
Thomas Wentworth, 5th Baron Wentworth
Thomas Wentworth, KB, PC ( bapt. 2 February 16121 March 1665) was an English landowner and soldier who supported the Royalists during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. At the end of the First English Civil War in 1646, he accompanied the future ...
had been given command of the Royalist army in the southwest by the Prince after
Lord Goring left the war and escaped to France. He was quartered at
Bovey Tracey
Bovey Tracey () is a small town and civil parish in Devon, England, on the edge of Dartmoor, its proximity to which gives rise to the "slogan" used on the town's boundary signs, "The Gateway to the Moor". It is often known locally as "Bovey". ...
(about south-west of Exeter) with three regiments of cavalry which had not been allowed into Exeter.
News reached the Parliamentarian commanders of the enemy forces' approach, and Fairfax split part of his army off from the siege to face the new threat. He sent a small cavalry detachment, under the command of
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 K ...
, to Bovey Tracey.
Battle
Wentworth was viewed poorly by some Royalist contemporaries;
Richard Bulstrode described him as "a very lazy and unactive man", and he had fallen out with one of the other Royalist commanders in the region, the
Lord Hopton. In his history, Amos Miller describes that Wentworth "allowed his officers to keep lax guard", and Cromwell was able to surprise the Royalists with a night attack. The Royalist officers were playing cards when the attack was made, and were only able to escape out of the back door of their inn by "throwing their
stakes of money out of the window", causing the Parliamentarian soldiers to break off their attack to try and gather the money. Wentworth, his principal officers and the majority of their men were able to escape the attack, but Cromwell succeeded in capturing 400 horses and seven colours, including the King's.
Aftermath
Wentworth escaped to
Tavistock
Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13 ...
, where he reported the attack to Prince Charles. The news led the Prince to abandon his plans to relieve Exeter, and Charles retreated further into the southwest, to
Launceston. Sir
Richard Grenville and other Royalist leaders petitioned the Prince for a new commander of the Royalist army, and Lord Hopton was duly appointed the role. Wentworth remained as general of the horse, reporting to Hopton.
Fairfax subsequently led his army into south Devon, but found that the Royalists had abandoned their garrisons in
Ashburton,
Totnes
Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and abo ...
and other villages in the area. Fairfax established his army outside
Dartmouth on 12 January and
captured the port on 19 January, effectively ending Royalist hopes of relieving Exeter. Hopton was defeated
at Torrington in February, and the following month the last remnants of the Royalist army in southwest England surrendered in
Truro
Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...
. Exeter fell to the Parliamentarians in April, and when first
King Charles I and then the Royalist-held
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
surrendered, the
First Civil War was effectively concluded in June 1646.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* {{cite book , last=Wallace , first=David C. , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mkpl2cBZn3gC , title=Twenty two turbulent years 1639–1661 , location=Peterborough , publisher=Fastprint Publishing , year=2013 , isbn=978-178035-660-0
Military history of Devon
Conflicts in 1646
Battles of the English Civil Wars