The Second Siege of Bristol 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 ...

lasted from 23 August 1645 until 10 September 1645, when the

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 ...

commander

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 ...

surrendered the city that he had captured from the Parliamentarians on 26 July 1643. The commander of the Parliamentarian

New Model Army The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...

forces besieging Bristol was

Lord Fairfax Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron Lord Fairfax of Cameron is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Despite holding a Scottish peerage, the Lords Fairfax of Cameron are members of an ancient Yorkshire family, of which the Fairfax baron ...

Prelude

After reducing

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

Fairfax and the New Model Army turned back to clear away the

Dorsetshire Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , Do ...

Clubmen Clubmen were bands of local defence vigilantes during the English Civil War (1642–1651) who tried to protect their localities against the excesses of the armies of both sides in the war. They sought to join together to prevent their wives and d ...

and besiege Sherborne Castle. On the completion of this task, it was decided to besiege Bristol.

Siege

On 23 August 1645 the New Model Army invested Bristol. On the night of 9/10 September, Fairfax's army stormed Bristol. Prince Rupert had long realised the hopelessness of further fighting. The lines of defence around the place were too extensive for Prince Rupert's small force and on 10 September he surrendered Bristol on terms. Prince Rupert was escorted to Oxford with his men, conversing as he rode with the officers of the escort about peace and the future of his adopted country.

Aftermath

King Charles, almost stunned by the suddenness of the catastrophic loss of Bristol, dismissed Rupert from all his offices and ordered him to leave England. The fall of Bristol meant that Chester was the only important seaport remaining to connect the English Royalists with Ireland.

Citations

References

;Attribution *{{EB1911, first=Charles Francis , last=Atkinson , wstitle=Great Rebellion , volume=12 , pages=403–421 1645 in England

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Military history of Bristol Conflicts in 1645 17th century in Bristol