Second Battle of Newbury - Background

Background

In the early months of 1644, the Parliamentarians had won victories at Cheriton in the south of England and Nantwich in the north west. Also, they had secured the allegiance of the Scottish Covenanters, who sent an army into the north east. These developments both distracted the Royalists and weakened their forces around Oxford, King Charles's wartime capital.

Early in June, the Parliamentarian armies of the Earl of Essex and Sir William Waller threatened to surround Oxford. King Charles made a night march to escape to Worcester. He was still in danger but on 6 June, Essex and Waller (who disliked each other) conferred at Stow-on-the-Wold and fatally decided to divide their armies. While Waller continued to shadow the King, Essex marched into the West Country, to relieve Lyme Regis which was under siege, and then to subdue Devon and Cornwall.

This allowed the King to double back and return to Oxford to collect reinforcements. On 29 June, he then won a victory over Waller at Cropredy Bridge. Waller's army, most of which was unwilling to serve far from its home areas in London and the south east, was subsequently crippled for several weeks by desertions and threatened mutinies. This allowed the King to march after Essex's army.

Essex was soon trapped against the coast at Lostwithiel. He relied on support from the Parliamentarian navy, but contrary winds prevented the Parliamentarian ships leaving Portsmouth. Although Essex himself escaped in a fishing boat and his cavalry broke out of encirclement, the rest of his army was forced to surrender on 2 September, losing their arms and equipment. The troops were paroled, but suffered severely from exposure and attacks by country people during their march to Portsmouth. Although they were re-equipped, only 4,000 infantry (out of 6,000 who started) were fit for service.

On 2 July however, the Covenanters and Parliamentarians in the north had defeated King Charles's nephew Prince Rupert at the Battle of Marston Moor. This victory gave them control of the north, and also released the Army of the Eastern Association under the Earl of Manchester to serve in the south of England, once the city of York surrendered on 16 July.