25^th August 2006

As part of two events held during August, LPS investigated the battlefield of Edgehill in Warwickshire. The investigation began with a visit to the Castle Inn which overlooks the battlefield and from where members could get a good idea of how events must have unfolded back in 1642. The Castle Inn, also known as The Round Tower, or Radway Tower, lies on the summit of Edgehill, some 700ft above sea level.

The tower marks the spot where, on the afternoon of Sunday 23 October 1642, King Charles I raised his standard and summoned his officers about him to prepare for the first major battle of the English civil war. All around the Castle Inn are reminders of the Civil War years and muskets, halberds, breastplates, maps and paintings adorn the walls.

The history of the battle is that King Charles marched from Shrewsbury towards London with his newly raised army. Parliamentarian Lord Essex marched out to meet him, with the express task of making sure the king did not reach the capitol. They met near Edgehill, a few miles from Banbury. The two armies were of approximately the same size; about 14,500 men. The Royal cavalry under Prince Rupert and Lord Wilmot pushed back the wings of the Parliamentary army, but in the centre the royal troops were themselves badly mauled. After only three hours of hard fighting neither side was able to make headway, and they broke off the fight as darkness descended. Essex considered his army too badly damaged to resume the fight next day, and he pulled back his men to Warwick, leaving the road to London open to Charles’ army. Although neither side at Edgehill could claim a decisive victory, the result was that Charles ‘won’ in so far as the road to London was now open to him. However, Charles did not take advantage of his opportunity. His natural caution asserted itself, and by the time his troops reached Reading, Essex had regained London and a fresh force of men prevented any further royalist advance. Charles never again had so clear an opportunity to take London as he did after Edgehill.

After refreshments at the Castle Inn members followed the B4086 down into the valley, along one the routes that the Royalist artillery may have taken. At the foot of the hill we turned left into Farnborough Road which we followed until we reached Radway. Once in Radway we located the site of the mediaeval church where there once stood two monuments to Captain Kingsmill who was struck down on the battlefield by a cannon ball. The church was demolished in the nineteenth century and the monuments moved to the new church which stands in the centre of Radway.

After investigating the graveyard we followed Tysoe Road until we located a mound near Westcote Farm to the west of Radway. It is here that tradition has it that the King’s Standard was said to have been raised. The Standard Bearer was Sir Edmund Verney who, during the battle, was surrounded by hundreds of pikemen and musketeers and was seen using his heavy standard as a pike until the top broke off. He saw his valet, Jason, killed whereupon he ‘killed two with his owne hands, whereof one had killed Jason, and broke the point of his standard at push of pike before he fell’ as reported by Sir Edward Sydenham who was fighting nearby.

Edmund was overwhelmed and it is said that the enemy offered him his life if he would surrender the standard, but he refused saying that his life may be his own but the standard was his King’s and he would not deliver it while he lived. He was struck down and killed, but his grip on the standard was so strong that it could not be released and the Parliamentarian troops had to hack off his hand. The standard was later captured by Charles’ troops and when they returned it to the King he recognised Sir Edmund’s hand by the ring it still bore. His body was never found and the hand was returned to Claydon house for a proper burial.

From the mound we returned to the B4086 turning northwest and following the road until we found the memorial to the battle. In was just to the south of this area that the Parliamentarian Cavalry were positioned. Royalist Prince Rupert led a cavalry charge against these Parliamentarian cavalry who subsequently fled along the road towards Kineton, many of them being killed on the way. They would almost certainly have fled across the area where we investigated. We then walked back southeast along the B4086 to a left hand bend. At this point, just to the south of the road, there is a hedgerow which existed in 1642 and behind which the Parliamentarian cavalry were positioned before the rout, the hedgerow being lined with musketeers. As we walked down the road Stephanie had a feeling that she had been pushed from behind although no one was visibly there.

From the monument we returned along the B4086 until we reached Langdon Lane on the right. We followed the lane back into Radway passing through both the Parliamentary and Royalist lines to end an enjoyable evening.

Bill and Steph at the Battlefield Monument

To view more images see: Edgehill Album

For other reports about the Edgehill see: 23-10-2010