Battle of Edgehill 1642

Details

BATTLE OF EDGEHILL
1642

The Civil Wars of the mid seventeenth century were a reflection of profound political, constitutional, religious and social conflict which was expressed in a struggle for control between King and Parliament.

In the late summer of 1642, as the King made to move against London, the Earl of Essex in command of Parliament's army sought to block his advance. The two armies blundered into each other near Edgehill on 23 October.

The Royalists occupied the ridge of Edgehill with some 14,000 men, while the Parliamentarians, almost equal in numbers, deployed south-east of Kineton. It was the
Royalists who were the first to attack, but despite gaining some ground their raw troops failed to press home their advantage. The battle drifted into confusion as a result of poor leadership, panic and exhaustion. As dusk fell, the fighting subsided and the armies parted.

The Battle of Edgehill presented the King with the opportunity to advance to London and perhaps to bring the War to an end at a stroke. Having taken Oxford, however, the city which was to remain his headquarters for the remainder of the war, Charles I failed to pursue his strategic objective with vigour, and both armies looked instead to their winter quarters.

AMENITY FEATURES
The Edgehill Battle Museum is situated (September 1994) in a range of farm buildings at Farnborough Hall, a National Trust property several miles south of the battlefield. Access to the battlefield by public footpath is currently limited. Nevertheless, below the Castle Inn next to the footpath is an old stone seat, which gives a fine view of the battlefield, especially the Royalist position. Other features such as the medieval grange landscape and the ridge and furrow can also be appreciated from here.

OTHER DESIGNATIONS
The Edgehill scarp forms part of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is designated a Special Landscape Area in the Development Plan. Radway is a Conservation Area and there are a number of Listed Buildings in the battlefield area. Several areas of woodland are subject to Tree Preservation Orders.

KEY SOURCES

Young, P, 1967, Edgehill 1642: the campaign and the battle

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment to the Selected Sources on 10/04/2019

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

10

Legacy System:

Battlefields

Sources

Websites
English Heritage Battlefield Report: Battle of Edgehill 1642 (Published 1995), accessed 10th April 2019 from https://historicengland.org.uk/content/docs/listing/battlefields/edgehill/

End of official list entry

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