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Myths of the English Civil War

So you think you know about the English Civil War (ECW)?

Lets start off with: so… it was only in England then?

No, the war decided who ruled England. As the Act of Union hadn’t taken place, Scotland was still a separate country, and so although battles were fought there and Scottish people were a part of it, it wasn’t their crown under threat. Wales had been absorbed in to England by right of conquest and although the people were still seen as ‘foreign’ the country itself had been called England for three centuries. Ireland, which at the time was still one country, was involved in a similar way to Scotland, but after his victory in England Cromwell took several years to conquer Ireland. The ECW is now also known as the War of Three Kingdoms, despite not all three kingdoms being involved. Another name becoming popular is the British Civil Wars, despite Great Britain not coming in to being until long after the ECW!

This Cromwell: he wanted rid of the monarchy because he was a Puritan, right?

No, he wasn’t. He didn’t join any religious extreme, although he did turn to Puritanism in later life.

But he did lead the Roundheads through the war?

No, he was the commander of the Ironsides, eventually rising through the ranks but he didn’t start out as commanders. And they weren’t Roundheads, they were Parliamentarians in that they fought for a country ruled by a Parliament. Roundheads, and similarly cropheads, was a derogatory term used for an uprising of London apprentices. They favoured Parliament, and had their hair cut short to make it easier to deal with lice.

And the other side was the Cavaliers?

Not exactly. Cavalier was an equally insulting term, for example when you say somebody has “a cavalier attitude.” Shakespeare used cavaleros as an insult, referring to “an overbearing swashbuckler or swaggering gallant,” and so the Parliamentarians used it to refer to supporters of the King Charles I, or Royalists as they were known. However, the Royalists embraced the term, rather than being offended, and so although the term was used it was originally meant as an insult.

They had long hair, big hats and colourful clothes, the other side wore black and white and had straight hair?

Again, another myth: if you look at paintings from the time, although the Royalists were generally more flamboyant in their dress, there were some in plainer clothes. Likewise, there were some Parliamentarians that dressed in bright colours and had their hair dressed.

What about religion? This was the Catholics against Protestants?

No, another myth. Charles I wasn’t a Catholic, although his wife was. He had supporters from all different religions, as did the Parliamentarians, so again, its not a cut and dried way to tell them apart. Also, the 17th century was very much a time of fragmenting religions. Oliver Cromwell welcomed the Jews to this country for reasons of commerce, and there were Muslims and Hindus here amongst other religions, but at this time Christianity was taking some new and diverse directions. The Quakers date back to this time, as do the Levellers, who believed in sharing the land, the Diggers, a more extreme version of the Levellers, and the Adamites, who believed that we should all be as naked as Adam and Eve!

A war of class then?

No, there were members of every class on each side – nor did we cut off the nobles’ heads, it was restricted to just a few of them, including the king himself. To begin with only about 15,000 people were fighting on each side, with Clubmen being formed in many areas. These were bands of vigilantes to protect their womenfolk and children against the soldiers, to find their crops and animals taken or destroyed, and themselves forcibly conscripted to whichever army caught them. Later on in the war local gentry or even men of the cloth organised the Clubmen, who were ‘only’ armed with cudgels, yet became a force to be reckoned with. Although they couldn’t have beaten an army, they had to be accounted for in manoeuvres and choices of places to garrison.

Read on for more about 17th century life:

Life & Times of the 17th Century

As well containing information about the English Civil War, this calendar gives a flavour of the times, and puts some everyday things in a 17th century context. Please note, we have used the New Style dates - i.e. January 1 as the start of the new year.

1600

January 1: Scotland changed their new year's day to January 1, whereas England and Wales continued to start theirs on March 25 (Lady Day). In 1752 the Act of Calendar sees the end of the Julian Calendar in the British Isles, the Gregorian Calendar being brought in - and the loss of eleven days to bring them in to line with the rest of Europe. The tax office refused to lose money over this, hence why the tax year still starts on April 6, eleven days after the old new year started. From now on all parts of the kingdom will start the new year on January 1.

1625

Charles I of England acceded to the English throne, and shortly after married a French Roman Catholic princess, Henrietta Maria.

1626

Parliament dismissed the commander of the English forces in Europe, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. As a result, Charles dismissed Parliament.

1628

Charles recalled Parliament, who drew up a Petition of Right which Charles has to accept. George Villiers is murdered in Portsmouth by John Felton.

1629

Charles dismissed Parliament and did not call it again until 1640.

1633

William Laud appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.

1637

Charles attempted to impose Anglican services on the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, starting with St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. Market trader Jenny Geddes reputedly threw a stool at the minister, starting a riot which was the first of several across Scotland protesting at the Mass being said. Over the next few years, this led to civil war being threatened, the National Covenant gaining popularity, and the bishops and archbishops being expelled from the Church of Scotland. Charles I responded with the Bishops' Wars, a pre-cursor of the English Civil War.

1638

February 28: the Scottish National Covenant is signed by the masses at a gathering in Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh.
April 18: John Lilburne, later known as Freeborn John, was fined, flogged and pilloried in London for distributing unlicensed Puritan books. Born in County Durham or Sunderland, he printed and distributed unlicensed religious books speaking out against Archbishop Laud. He spoke out against the government to the crowd and even managed to distribute literature even whilst in the pillory, resulting in his being gagged, then thrown in prison.
May 8: The King appoints the Marquis of Hamilton his commissioner to resolve the crisis in Scotland. He later informs the King there is no hope of the Covenanters submitting peacefully, although it has been claimed that he was intimidated in to fearing the Covenanters, or that he encouraged them to win their favour.
May 14: King Charles issues a proclamation from Newcastle announcing that he will settle the Scottish grievances once order is restored, and the Covenanter army remains at least ten miles north of the border. If not, he will invade with his own army.
May 21: Sir Thomas Wentworth imposes the "Black Oath" in Ulster: all adults of Scottish descent required to renounce the Covenant and swear an oath of loyalty to the King.

1639

February 4: The Covenanters appeal to all English Christians, denying their intention to invade England. Most English Puritans are sympathetic towards the Covenanters.
February 27: The King denounces the Covenanters, accusing them of attempting to overthrow him.
April 21: Lord Saye and Lord Brooke are imprisoned at York for refusing to take a military oath to fight the Scots.
April 25: King Charles issues a proclamation at York promising to pardon all rebels - providing they submit within eight days.
April 28: The King releases Lord Saye and Lord Brooke, the latter taking all his troops with him when he leaves York.
May: Start of the Bishops' Wars in Scotland. During the First Bishops' War, Charles I marches a force of about 20,000 poorly trained men to Berwick-upon-Tweed, whilst Scottish Royalists fight against Covenantors near Aberdeen.
June: The Pacification of Berwick is reached, and agreement between Charles I and the Covenantors, ending the First Bishops' Wars. Charles I had to agree that all disputes had to referred to a General Assembly or to the Parliament of Scotland.

1640

February 19: A letter signed by seven Covenanter lords requests Louis XIII of France's intercession on Scotland's behalf.
February 20: King Charles receives a delegation of four Scottish commissioners in London.
April 11: The King orders the arrest of Lord Louden and the Scottish commissioners in London.
April 13: Charles I recalls Parliament and demands subsidies to continue the war against Scotland. It becomes known as The Short Parliament, lasting just three weeks. The MPs question the legality of the dissolution of the 1629 Parliament and criticize the King for imprisoning MPs who had opposed him.
April 16: The Covenanters appeal to the English Parliament emphasizing their wish for a closer union between the two kingdoms. Most of the Charles I’s Parliamentary opponents regard the Covenanters as allies.
April 17: John Pym attacks Charles I’s policies in a speech lasting two hours. The House of Commons refuses to grant money for the Scottish war until civil and ecclesiastical grievances in England are addressed.
May 5: The Short Parliament is dissolved as Charles I prepares to attack Scotland.
May 6: The Earl of Warwick, Lord Brooke, Lord Saye, John Pym, John Hampden and Sir Walter Earle arrested and their London lodgings searched for evidence of correspondence with the Covenantors.
May 9: Rioting breaks out in London over the dissolution of Parliament. The mob launch an attack on Lambeth Palace hunting for Archbishop Laud.
August 28: Battle of Newburn Ford (Tyneside). Scottish victory in the Second Bishops' War.
October 26: Charles signed the Treaty of Ripon, the Covenantors gaining Northumberland and County Durham as a pledge against Charles I paying their expenses incurred by going to war.
November 3: Charles I again summons Parliament, this one becoming known as the Long Parliament. He wanted supplies granted to make that payment promised in the Treaty of Ripon, instead they impeached his chief supporters, Thomas Wentworth (Earl of Strafford) and William Laud (Archbishop of Canterbury). They were both eventually beheaded. The Long Parliament sits until after the English Civil War in 1648, when it is purged by the New Model Army of anybody who didn't support them.

1641

February 13: The House of Commons petitions for the disbandment of Strafford's Irish army.
February 16: Charles I gives his assent to the Triennial Bill, which ensures a parliamentary session of at least fifty days every three years.
February 19:Charles I appoints seven opposition leaders from the House of Lords to the Privy Council, hoping to win their support for the Earl of Strafford: Bristol, Bedford, Essex, Hertford, Saye, Mandelville and Savile.
February 24: The House of Commons votes fourteen articles of impeachment against Archbishop Laud.
March 1: Archbishop Laud is imprisoned in the Tower of London.
March 22: The trial of the Earl of Strafford starts at Westminster Hall.
April 5: Sir Henry Vane (the Elder) gives evidence against Strafford claiming that he advised the King to use the Irish army against his opponents in England. Strafford’s defence against the accusations gains him support amongst the Lords.
April 8: The House of Commons resolves to produce private papers copied by Sir Henry Vane (the Younger) as evidence against the Earl of Strafford.
April 19: The House of Commons declares the Earl of Strafford a traitor.
May 2: Captain Billingsley and a force of soldiers attempt to enter the Tower of London with orders from Charles I to release Strafford, but are refused admission by the Constable, Sir William Balfour. The House of Lords orders the strengthening of the Tower garrison by the addition of 500 militiamen.
May 5: John Pym reveals details of the Army Plot, an alleged conspiracy by Royalist officers to bring the northern army to London to use force against Parliament, whilst Colonel Goring seized Portsmouth to receive an army from France.
May 10: After anguished hesitation, Charles I gives his assent to the bill of attainder against the Earl of Strafford, and also agrees to a bill taking from him the right to dissolve Parliament without its own consent.
May 12: The Earl of Strafford was beheaded on Tower Hill before a jubilant crowd. Charles I had sent his son, Charles II (the Prince of Wales) to the House of Lords to appeal for mercy.
August 10: Charles I leaves London for the north.
October: The Irish Rebellion starts when the Gaelic Irish revolt against the English settlers in Ulster.
November: Battle of Julianstown (Meath). Irish victory in the Irish Confederate Wars.
November 22: The Grand Remonstrance is passed by Parliament. It is a list of grievances aimed at curbing the power of absolute monarchy.
December 1: The Grand Remonstrance is presented to Charles I.

1642

January 1: John Pym refused the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer.
January 2: Charles I appointed Sir John Culpeper Chancellor of the Exchequer.
January 4: The First English Civil War began after the attempted arrest of six Members of Parliament by Charles I: Pym, Hampden, Haselrig, Holles, Strode and Lord Mandeville (later the Earl of Manchester). He had them indicted for treason, but warned of the king’s approach by the Earl of Essex, the men fled before he got there.
January 10: Philip Skippon was appointed commander of the London Trained (or Trayned) Bands.
January 13: Sir Thomas Lunsford was arrested by order of Parliament for attempting to seize the arsenal at Kingston-on-Thames for Charles I.
January 17: Sir Thomas Onslow and the Surrey Trained Bands secured the arsenal at Kingston-on-Thames for Parliament.
February 23: Henrietta Maria went to the Netherlands with Princess Mary and the crown jewels.
March 1: The House of Commons made its final attempt to persuade the King to accept the Militia Bill, which he refused to do. The Commons then resolved to pass the bill as an ordinance (without the king's assent).
March 2: Charles I headed north despite protests from Parliament. Both Houses of Parliament decided that the kingdom be put “in a posture of defence.”
March 4: Sir Ralph Hopton imprisoned in the Tower after protesting at Parliament's criticism of Charles I.
March 5: The House of Lords declared the power of Parliament to act for the good of the nation's defense independently of the king. The Militia Ordinance was passed, giving Parliament control of the county Trained Bands.
March 15: Despite Charles I’s objection, Parliament appointed the Earl of Warwick as Admiral of the Fleet.
March 19: Charles I arrived at York, setting up his court as well as providing his base for gathering supporters and preparing for war. It remained the main Royalist stronghold in the north after his departure in July. The citizens of Galway declare for Confederate Ireland, seizing an English naval ship and closing the town gates.
March 30: Battle of Seacroft Moor (West Yorkshire). Royalist Victory in the First English Civil War.
April 9: The Earl of Essex was dismissed from the office of Lord Chamberlain for refusing Charles I's command to join him at York.
April 15: Battle of Kilrush (Kildare). English victory in the Irish Confederate Wars.
April 23: Sir John Hotham refused the King admission into Kingston-upon-Hull, the site of the Northern Arsenal.
April 24: Charles I proclaimed Sir John Hotham a traitor.
April 26: Parliament issued a declaration that Sir John Hotham cannot be a traitor without due process of the law.
May 5: Parliament appointed a committee at York to present the protestations of Parliament to Charles I and to report on his actions. The commissioners included Lord Howard of Estrick, Lord Fairfax, Sir Philip Stapleton and Sir Hugh Cholmley.
May 12: Charles I issued a warrant summoning the gentry of the Ridings of Yorkshire to attend him in arms.
May 17: Charles I orders the law courts to move to York, but Parliament declared the move illegal. Lord-Keeper Littleton sends the Great Seal to York anyway.
May 20: Charles I formed a Lifeguard to protect his person, composed of gentlemen of undisputed loyalty, led by Sir Thomas Byron (commander) and the Prince of Wales (honorary captain). A few days later Parliament feigned shock at the formation of the King's Lifeguard and declared that he should rely upon the law and the affections of his subjects for protection rather than soldiers.
May 27: Parliament declared Charles I had been "seduced by evil councillors", and was intent on making war. From this time, no order was valid unless it comes from both Houses of Parliament. The King declared that any obedience given to Parliament's Militia Ordinance was treasonous.
May 28: Parliament ordered the Sheriffs of all counties adjacent to the Yorkshires to prevent any mustering of troops under warrants served by Charles I.
May 30: Parliament retrospectively annul all honours granted from this date on by Charles I.
June 2: The Nineteen Propositions were rejected.
June 12: Charles I issued the Commissions of Array to all the Lords Lieutenant throughout the kingdom, empowering them to summon all fit men aged from 15 to 60 for military training in the service of the king. Those appointed Commissioners of Array formed a nucleus of Royalist county administrators and military organisers.
June 14: Charles I wrote to the Mayor, Aldermen and Guilds of London declaring that whoever supports Parliament is a traitor.
June 20: Magazines at Preston, Warrington and Liverpool in Lancashire were secured for the Royalists by agents of Baron Strange. Charles I sent the Earl of Newcastle to secure the port of Newcastle-on-Tyne and Tynemouth, and with them the Northumberland and Durham coalfield.
June 25: The Earl of Northampton read the Commission of Array at Coventry but failed to raise support.
July 1: Parliament appointed the Earl of Warwick commander of the fleet.
July 2: The fleet declared for Parliament and accepted the Earl of Warwick as its admiral.
July 10: A Royalist raiding party approached Kingston-upon-Hull to burn down buildings outside the town walls, but was driven away by gunfire. This was the first military action of the English Civil War.
July 12: Parliament resolved to raise an army "for the safety of the King's person, the defence of both Houses of Parliament, and of those who have obeyed their orders and commands; and for the preservation of the true religion, the laws, liberties and peace of the kingdom". The Earl of Essex became Captain-General of Parliament's army. Street fighting broke out in Manchester when Baron Strange (later the Earl of Derby), attempted to prevent the execution of the Militia Ordinance. Richard Perceval, a linen weaver, become the first fatal casualty of the English Civil War.
July 27: The 1,500 troops of Sir John Meldrum arrived by sea to direct the defence of Kingston-upon-Hull.
July 30: Royalist supporters under the Earl of Northampton gather at Kineton Heath in Warwickshire to prevent Parliamentarian artillery being moved from Banbury to Warwick Castle. Lord Brooke agrees to leave the guns at Banbury.
August 1: Shepton Mallet Incident. The Parliamentarian Deputy Lieutenant of Somerset held a meeting in the market place at Shepton Mallet to discuss peace proposals, after he heard the Marquess of Hertford was issuing warrants to raise men and weapons for Charles I. Word was sent to the Marquess claiming the Parliamentarians were coming to “fire the houses and make the streets run with blood,” so the Marquess sent Sir Ralph Hopton and a troop of cavalry to Shepton Mallett to read the King’s Commission of Array. They were met by Colonel William Strode, his son and some armed servants, who demanded to know why the Royalists had arrived bearing arms. Hopton tried to read the missive sent by the Royalists of the town, but Strode refused to listen and replied “I come not to hear petitions, but to suppress insurrections,” demanding Hopton leave the town. Hopton, Smith and Gorges then attempted to arrest Strode, Strode being thrown from his horse in the struggle. He was surrounded, so one of Strode's servants threatened Hopton with a pistol but had it snatched from him by a local man known only as Mr Smith. Strode was handed over to a local constable and Hopton read the Royalists petition to a growing, angry crowd. Nicholas Dawton was the only man who stepped forward in support of the petition. A messenger arrived to announce that a mass of villagers from the surrounding area were approaching the village in support of Strode, causing Hopton to gather his men and leave. Strode was released and by midday over two thousand men had joineed the Parliamentarians at Shepton Mallet, with many more intercepted on the way by Hopton or other Royalists.
August 2: Siege of Portsmouth. Portsmouth was a strong fortified port and contained 100 cannon and 1400 barrels of powder. The governer, George Goring declared in favour of the King. Realising the importance of the port, Parliament immediately sent troops to besiege it.
August 4: The Trained Bands of Hampshire assembled on Portdown, blockading the town. The Committee of Safety allowed the sum of £1,000 for the siege. Lord Forbes relieved Forthill, then besieged Galway.
August 8: George Goring was expelled from the House of Commons. The Earl of Warwick and seven Parliamentarian warships arrive at Portsmouth to blocade the town.
August 12: Goring withdrew his guns and men from Portbridge, the bridge onto Portsea Island. The rearguard, who were dismantling the fortifications, were attacked by a troop of William Waller’s men. The Parliamentarians set about building forts to make sure the bridge couldn’t be retaken.
August 13: Goring’s men dragged an abandoned gun from Portbridge into the town, causing a brief skirmish. The Hampshire Trained Bands launch a failed attack on the mill used by the defenders for grinding their corn. The only Royalist ship in the harbour, the Henrietta Maria was captured by Captain Browne Bushell.
August 18: Hearing of a possible arrival of Hertford with a 1,000 men, Parliament sent eight companies of Sir John Meyrick’s Greycoats and a troop of horse to strengthen the attacking forces. Sir John Meldrum came to take command bringing another 1,000 troops with him. He started building gun batteries and trenches on Portsea Island. Morale within the town sank lower and a number of men defected to the Parliament side.
August 21: First Battle of Lostwithiel.
August 22: Raising of the Standard. Charles I unfurled his standard at Nottingham, declaring war on his own Parliament.
August 23: Charles I's Standard blew down, which was considered a bad omen.
August 28: William Waller went to Portsmouth to meet with Goring to negotiate a truce. Goring refused to agree to the terms.
September 2: Parliament ordered the London theatres to close.
September 7: The unsuccessful Siege of Galway is raised by Lord Forbes.
September 9: Essex took command of the Parliamentarian Army at Northampton.
September 13: The Royalist Army moved west from Nottingham.
September 19: Essex’s Army left Northampton and headed west.
September 20: Charles I arrived at Shrewsbury, sending his nephew Prince Rupert to reinforce Byron at Worcester. Rupert ordered Byron to withdraw towards Shrewsbury.
September 23: Battle of Powick Bridge. Rupert sent Byron back to Shrewsbury after he realised it was too difficult to defend. Rupert covered the withdrawal with his troops at Brickfield Meadow, near Powick Bridge. Shortly afterwards 1,000 Parliamentary cavalry, commanded by Nathaniel Fiennes, reached Powick Bridge and started to cross the River Teme. Colonel Sandys was leading his men across the bridge late in the afternoon when Prince Rupert’s dragoons opened fire on them, killing Sandys. Rupert’s cavalry charged, routing the Parliamentarian forces and killing 150 men in just 15 minutes. Prince Rupert received a minor sword wound, and won his reputation as a dashing cavalry commander.
October 23: Battle of Edgehill. It is effectively a draw, as both sides withdraw.
October 27: Royalists capture Banbury.
October 29: Charles enters Oxford.
November 3: Charles leaves Oxford and heads for London.
November 4: Royalists occupy Reading.
November 12: Battle of Brentford. Brentford was garrisoned by two Parliamentary regiments under Lord Brookes and Denzil Holles. There was a thick fog coming off the river, allowing Prince Rupert to move his troop from Colnbrook catching the defenders by surprise. One of the regiments turned and ran, the other was quickly overrun. The Royalists stormed the town, taking 500 prisoners, 15 guns and 11 colours, as well as killing a number of people, with more drowning in river as they fled. Amongst the prisoners was Captain John Lilburne, who had been in command of the garrison at Brentford. He was the first prominent Parliamentarian officer to be captured, and was due to be charged for High Treason. His wife Elizabeth petitioned Parliament who called an emergency meeting, after which they threatened to execute Royalist prisoners if Lilburne was hanged. Elizabeth carried the message to Oxford herself. On receipt of it, the trial was called off and Lilburne was exchanged for a Royalist officer the following year.
November 13: Battle of Turnham Green. Essex mustered all his troops on Turnham Green, Charles I’s men numbering 12,000 and low on ammunition. Essex’s men numbered 24,000 and during the stand off were supplied refreshments by the London townsfolk. Eventually the Royalist army withdrew west along the Thames valley with Prince Rupert providing a rearguard.
November 19: Charles withdraws to Reading.
December 1: Sir William Waller captured Farnham Castle after the main gate was blown open with a petard. His men overwhelmed the 100 strong garrison commanded by Sir John Denham. Waller then used Farnham Castle as his base of operations whenever he was in the region.
December 3: Newcastle secured York for the Royalists.
December 5: Lord Wilmot captures Marlborough for the Royalists.
December 6: Earl of Newcastle defeated Lord Fairfax at Tadcaster and takes Pontefract.
December 8: Demonstrations begin in London for peace negotiations to be resumed.
December 13: Waller took Winchester from Lord Grandison. Sir Richard Browne’s dragoons attacked a weakened section of the town’s walls that had partially collapsed, the men having to climb an embankment on their hands and knees to reach the section of crumbling wall whilst under constant fire - miraculously, only three were killed in the climb. Twenty attackers entered through the breach, at which Grandison retired into Winchester Castle. It was surrounded by Parliamentarian soldiers, who made preparations to burn down the castle gates during the night. The following day Grandison agreed to surrender the castle as long as his men remained unharmed, leading to 42 officers and 600 soldiers being taken prisoner. The Mayor had paid £1,000 to protect the city from being plundered, but Waller allowed the men to plunder it anyway, a decision he later regretted as ironically his own house was amongst those plundered. The Cathedral was ransacked, the stained glass windows broken, statues decapitated, altar rails and books burned and the mortuary chests opened and their contents divided out.
December 14: Charles I established the Royal Mint at Oxford.
December 15: Parliament formed the Midland Association, commanded by Lord Grey of Groby. It combined the military and administrative resources of the counties of Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Rutland, Northampton, Buckingham, Bedford and Huntingdon.
December 16: Parliament ordered the arrests of prominent Catholics and sequestration of their estates.
December 17: Waller's troops captured Arundel Castle. The attackers rampaged through the town, some fired at the defending soldiers on the castle walls whilst a party of 36 soldiers stormed through the gates which had been blown open and took the castle.
December 18: Parliamentarian clubmen and irregulars hold off a Royalist attack on Bradford.
December 20: Parliament formed the Eastern Association comprising of the counties of Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge and Hertford. Waller began besieging Chichester, the suburbs being quickly overrun and batteries set up to bombard the Northern and Eastern gates of the town.
December 27: Waller takes Chichester, the garrison surrendering after Waller threatened to storm the town.

1643

January 19: Battle of Braddock Down.
March 13: First Battle of Middlewich.
March 19: Battle of Hopton Heath.
March 23: Royalists Newark commanded by Sir Charles Cavendish and Sir John Henderson captured the town of Grantham in a surprise attack. The Royalists did not garrison Grantham but marched on towards Boston.
March 30: Battle of Seacroft Moor.
April 1: The Royalist town of Wigan is sacked by Colonel Holland’s Parliamentarians.
April 2: The Earl of Newcastle recaptures Wakefield for the Royalists.
April 3: Prince Rupert storms Birmingham, who had targetted it supposedly for its intense Puritanism and its iron industry, which supplied the Parliamentarian armies with sword blades. As the town had no walls, earthworks were hastily erected at Camp Hill, garrisoned by a force of 200 Parliamentarians commanded by Captain Greaves. Rupert approached with 1,200 horse and 700 foot to be met by a solid resistance, the Royalist troops being driven back twice under heavy fire. Greaves withdrew into Birmingham itself when Rupert sent flanking parties round the Parliamentarian position, but still kept up firing as Rupert's troops advanced, They were halted by a Parliamentarian counter-attack in which Lord Denbigh was mortally wounded, but eventually Rupert drove them out, after which the Royalists plundered and burnt the town.
April 10: Rupert besieges Lichfield, which had been captured by Lord Brooke for Parliament in March. The cathedral was transformed into a temporary fortress. In the next ten days, several attempts were made to storm the walls, but without heavy siege guns they had failed. Rupert called up fifty miners from Cannock Chase to drain the moat around Cathedral Close, then to tunnel up to the walls. The tunnels were packed with gunpowder, and on April 20 this was detonated - the first explosive mine to be used in an English siege. It opened up a massive breach in the defences, unable to defend it the Parliamentarians surrendered the following day.
April 11: Parliamentarian Lord Willoughby of Parham attempted to block the Royalist advance with a force of 1,500 troops. In an engagement at Ancaster Heath, the Parliamentarians were easily routed by the larger Royalist force. Fearing that Cavendish's manoeuvres might herald a march south by the Earl of Newcastle's northern army, Parliament ordered Lord Willoughby to make another attack on Newark.
April 13: Battle of Ripple Field. Sir William Waller joined Massey at Tewkesbury April 12, Massey having destroyed the Royalist bridge of boats across the River Severn. Waller set out the next morning to seize Upton Bridge, at the time the only bridge over the Severn below Worcester. Prince Maurice, Rupert's younger brother, realised that the bridge of boats had gone and hurried to secure Upton Bridge before Waller could cut him off. Maurice crossed Upton Bridge and advanced southwards down the east bank while Waller and Massey advanced north. They met near Ripple, Waller's forces occupying the ridge of Old Nan's Hill, the Royalists drawing up on the plain of Ripple Field below. Both armies had about 2,000 men, but Waller's force was nearly all cavalry. After an initial Parliamentarian cavalry attack was repulsed, Waller withdrew down a lane and back into Ripple. Dragoons were sent to hold off the Royalists on Ripple Field while musketeers were deployed in hedges covering the entrance to the lane. As Waller withdrew Prince Maurice attacked, driving back the Parliamentarian dragoons who collided with their own musketeers. Colonel Massey sent an urgent order for reinforcements from Tewkesbury, as Sir Arthur Haselrig led his cuirassiers in a charge, hoping to stall the Royalist attack and rally the Parliamentarians. Haselrig was driven back and Parliamentarian was routed, the Royalists pursuing them for three miles until they were met by Massey's reinforcements. The Royalist attack was checked and driven back by heavy musket fire. On the same dayl, the Earl of Essex marched to besiege Reading in the first stage of his long-awaited campaign to attack Oxford. Rupert was recalled to counter this threat to the Royalist capital.
April 22: Colonel Oliver Cromwell occupied Peterborough.
April 24: The House of Commons ordered the destruction of religious monuments and stained glass windows in Westminster Abbey and St Margaret’s.
April 25: Sir Ralph Hopton routed at Sourton Down. Hopton and the Cornish army headed towards Okehampton as the Parliamentarians retreated from Launceston, determined to strike a decisive blow before the enemy had time to regroup, Hopton moved into Devon without proper reconnaissance. As Hopton drew closer to Okehampton, Major-General Chudleigh led a force of cavalry to ambush the Royalists at Sourton Down, Captain Drake leading a charge against the advance guard of Royalist dragoons causing them to panick and fall back in disorder, colliding with their own troops. The Parliamentarians routed half of the Royalist army. Lord Mohun and Sir Bevil Grenville made a stand while Hopton sent orders to Sir Nicholas Slanning to bring up the rearguard. The Parliamentarian attack was eventually driven back and the Royalists took up defensive positions among ancient earthworks on the moor. Reinforced by infantry from Okehampton, Chudleigh continued twith sporadic skirmishes into the night, until a violent tempest broke out over the battlefield, drenching the combatants and adding to the confusion and terror. The Royalists fled, leaving behind weapons, stores, gunpowder and Hopton's portmanteau containing letters from Charles I ordering the Cornish army to join forces with the Earl of Hertford and Prince Maurice in Somerset.
April 26: Reading surrenders to the Earl of Essex.
May 2: Sir Edward Hungerford orders Lord Arundel to surrender Wardour Castle. He is on campaign with Sir Ralph Hopton, in his absence Lady Arundel refuses to surrender, holding out for a week before she has to surrender.
May 4: The Earl of Newcastle storms and captures Rotherham.
May 6: The Earl of Newcastle takes Sheffield.
May 9: At Sleaford, Willoughby joined Colonel Cromwell of the Eastern Association and Captain Hotham with a contingent from Nottingham.
May 11: The Parliamentarian forces advanced to Grantham remaining there for a further two days, giving Cavendish and Henderson time to prepare a counterstrike.
May 13: Cavendish leads the Royalist attack on Lord Willoughby at Belton, killing 70 and capturing a further 40. The Royalists launch a second advance, and in his first successful action as a cavalry commander, Oliver Cromwell routs them, but abandons the march to Newark.
May 16: Battle of Stratton. The Parliamentarian Earl of Stamford was positioned around an Iron Age hill fort.
June 18: Battle of Chalgrove Field.John Hampden was killed in the skirmish.
June 30: Battle of Adwalton Moor.
July 5: Battle of Lansdowne (or Lansdown).
July 13: Battle of Roundway Down.
September 20: First Battle of Newbury.
October 11: Battle of Winceby.

1644

January 26: Battle of Nantwich.
March 29: Battle of Cheriton.
June 29: Battle of Cropredy Bridge.
The Scots marched South and joined Parliament's army threatening York.
July 2: Battle of Marston Moor.
September 1: Battle of Tippermuir.
September 2: Second Battle of Lostwithiel.
October 27: Second Battle of Newbury.
September 13: Second Battle of Aberdeen.

1645

January 10: Archbishop Laud executed.
January 14: Lord Fairfax (Thomas) is appointed Commander of the Parliamentarian army.
February 2: Battle of Inverlochy.
February 15: New Model Army founded.
April 23: 150 Irish soldiers, sailing to join up with the Royalist army, are captured by the Parliamentarians who execute them all at Pembroke.
May 9: Battle of Auldearn.
June 10: Oliver Cromwell appointed Lieutenant-General of the Parliamentarian cavalry.
June 16: Battle of Naseby.
July 2: Battle of Alford.
July 10: Battle of Langport.
August 15: Battle of Kilsyth.
September 13: Battle of Philiphaugh.
September 24: Battle of Rowton Heath.
December 17: Siege of Hereford ended with the surrender of Royalist garrison.

1646

January 18: Siege of Dartmouth ended with the surrender of Royalist garrison.
February 3: Siege of Chester ended with the surrender of Royalist garrison after a 136 day siege.
February 16: Battle of Torrington. Victory for the New Model Army.
March 10: Ralph Hopton surrenders the Royalist army at Tresillian bridge in Cornwall.
March 21: Battle of Stow-on-the-Wold. The last pitched battle of the First English Civil War, a victory for the New Model Army.
May 5: Charles surrendered to a Scottish army at Southwell, Nottinghamshire.
April 13: Siege of Exeter ended with the surrender of the Royalist garrison.
May 6: Newark fell to the Parliamentarians.
June 24: Siege of Oxford ended with the surrender of the Royalist garrison.
July 22: Siege of Worcester ended with the surrender of the Royalist garrison.
July 27: Siege of Wallingford Castle, after a 65 days, ended with the surrender of the last English Royalist stronghold, to Thomas Fairfax.
August 19: Siege of Raglan Castle ended with the surrender of the Royalist garrison to Fairfax.
December 21: Arround this time a mini ice age begins.

1647

March 13: Harlech Castle, the last Royalist stronghold, surrendered to Parliamentarian forces.
August 8: Battle of Dungan's Hill.
August 31: Montrose escaped from the Highlands.
December: Pride's Purge, when troops under Colonel Thomas Pride removed opponents of Oliver Cromwell from Parliament by force of arms.

1648

May 8: Battle of St. Fagans.
May 16(?): Siege of Pembroke begins.
June 13: Siege of Colchester begins.
June 24: Battle of Maidstone.
July 11: Siege of Pembroke ends.
August 17: Battle of Preston. The battle lasts for two days.
August 28: Siege of Colchester ends. Royalists Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle were shot.

1649

January 20: The trial of Charles I of England by the High Court of Justice begins. The result of the trial was a foregone conclusion, Cromwell saying "I tell you we cut off his head with the crown on it."
January 27: The death warrant of Charles I of England was signed.
January 30: Charles I was executed by beheading outside the Banqueting House, in Whitehall.
February 5: Charles II proclaimed King of Scots in Edinburgh.
February 7: The Rump Parliament voted to abolish the English monarchy.
March 9: Engager Duke of Hamilton, Royalist Earl of Holland, and Royalist Lord Capel were beheaded at Westminster.
March 17: An Act abolishing the kingship is formally passed by the Rump Parliament.
March 24: The capitulation of Pontefract Castle which, even after the death of Charles I, remained loyal to Charles II.
May 17: Members of the Levellers in the New Model Army are hanged for mutiny.
May 19: Parliament pass an Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth. It remains as one for the next four years.
August 15: Cromwell lands in Ireland after Admiral Robert Blake blocades Prince Rupert, who was trying to stop the Parliamentarians landing at Dublin.

1650

Start of the English Interregnum, which lasts for ten years
April 27: Battle of Carbisdale.
June 23: Charles II lands in Scotland.
August 23: Colonel George Monck formed his Regiment of Foote.
September 3: Battle of Dunbar.
September 29: The first documented dating service, the Office of Addresses and Encounter, opens in London.
December 1: Battle of Hieton.

1651

January 1: Charles II crowned King of Scots at Scone, Scotland, the last king to be crowned there.
July 20: Battle of Inverkeithing.
August 25: Battle of Wigan Lane.
September 3: Battle of Worcester.
October 16: Charles II landed in Normandy, France, after successfully fleeing England.

1653

March 14: Battle of Leghorn. The Dutch fleet defeated the English navy.
April 20: Oliver Cromwell dismissed Parliament.
June 12: Battle of the Gabbard. The English navy defeated the Dutch fleet.
July 4: The Barebones Parliament is formed.
August 8: Battle of Scheveningen. The final naval battle of the First Anglo-Dutch War. The English navy defeated the Dutch.
December 12: Parliament is dismissed.
December 16: The Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell starts, lasting for five years until his death.

1654

April 5: The Treaty of Westminster is signed, ending the First Anglo-Dutch War.
September 3: Members of the Rump Parliament question Cromwell's position.
September 12: Oliver Cromwell excludes the members of Parliament who are hostile towards him.

1655

November 24: Oliver Cromwell bans Anglicans.

1657

March 31: Oliver Cromwell offered the crown.
April 3: Oliver Cromwell refuses the crown, instead becoming Lord Protector.
July 13: Oliver Cromwell constrains John Lambert.

1658

January 13: Death of Edward Sexby, who had plotted against Oliver Cromwell.
September 3: Cromwell died in his bed. The Protectorate continues under Richard Cromwell, Oliver's son.

1659

April 22: Richard Cromwell disbanded Parliament.
May 25: Richard Cromwell steps down as Lord Protector.
October 12: Parliament fires John Lambert, amongst others.
October 13: John Lambert drives out Parliament.
December 16: General Monck demands free parliamentary elections in Scotland.

1660

January 1: General Monck, along with his army of six or seven thousand men, started the march from Coldstream in the Scottish Borders to London at Parliament’s request. This was the beginning of the end of the Commonwealth, and the first step in the restitution of the monarchy.
February 2: Monck and his men arrived in London.
February 27: John Thurloe reinstated as England's Secretary of State.
March 16: Parliament disbanded.
May 8: Parliament declared Charles Stuart, son of Charles I, King Charles II of England.
May 15: John Thurloe is arrested for high treason, for his support of Oliver Cromwell.
May 23: Charles II landed in England.
May 29: Charles II arrives in London, marking the start of the Restoration. It is also Oak Apple Day, and his birthday.
June 29: John Thurloe released from custody.
July: Richard Cromwell left England for France where he went by a variety of pseudonyms, including John Clarke.
October 17: The trials and executions of the regicides of Charles I start, and continue for three years.

1661

January 6: The Fifth Monarchists attempted to seize control of London, but George Monck's regiment defeated them.
January 30: On the 12th anniversary of the beheading of Charles I, the exhumed remains of Oliver Cromwell were posthumously executed (Cromwell's severed head was displayed on a pole outside Westminster Abbey until 1685). John Bradshaw and Henry Ireton are treated the same.
April 23: Charles II is crowned in Westminster Abbey.