The First Battle of Newbury 1643 by John Barratt

Author:John Barratt [Barratt, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: English Civil Wars, Battles & Campaigns, Early Modern
ISBN: 0752425692
Google: BV-PAwAAQBAJ
Amazon: 0752425692
Goodreads: 13199788
Publisher: The History Press
Published: 2005-04-02T04:00:00+00:00

5

Newbury Approach to Battle

As the opposing armies gathered around the town on the evening of 19 September 1643, Newbury’s few thousand inhabitants must have counted themselves particularly unfortunate to have been caught up in the front line of the Civil War.

Newbury was primarily a woollen-manufacturing and market town, whose townsfolk, though probably predominantly Parliamentarian in sympathy, had hitherto played little part in the war. The bulk of the town was situated on the southern bank of the River Kennet, crossed by a bridge, and consisted principally of two main streets extending southwards for about a mile. The strategic importance of Newbury lay in its bridge over the Kennet and in the fact that it dominated two major roads to London from the west via Reading. The more important route on the north bank of the Kennet was also controlled by Donnington Castle, which lay a mile to the north.

On 19 September Essex and his army had been forced to march along the southern route, on the south bank of the river, and this meant that the now inevitable battle would be fought to the west of Newbury in the area extending some 4 miles southwards from the Kennet to the River Enbourne.

On the southern bank of the Kennet, traversed by the Enbourne Road, were flat flood plains, extending southwards for about a mile until they reached a ridge of higher ground, running roughly from east to west. At the western end of this area, which went under the name of Guyer’s Field, were a number of small, hedged enclosures associated with the village of Enbourne.

The higher ground to the south was the most striking feature of the immediate area. Of key importance in the battle, though neither side apparently immediately appreciated the fact, would be a blunt-nosed spur extending in a north-easterly direction towards Newbury, known to history as ‘Round Hill’. Reaching a height of about 24 metres, Round Hill dominated the flood plains and the Enbourne Road.

To the south lay an area of rolling country, crossed by small lanes and tracks. Here were a number of small, thickly-hedged fields with high-banked lanes between them, particularly to the north-east, on Round Hill and towards Newbury. Another ridge of higher ground ran southwards towards the River Enbourne, crossed by the southern road to Theale and Reading.

Immediately to the south of the road was an area of relatively open ground called as Wash Common, known at its western end as Enbourne Heath. It would be here that the Royalists would have the best chance of making use of their supposed superiority in cavalry.

Overall, the ground over which the battle would be fought would be best suited to a defending force, provided that it could gain possession of the higher ground. An attacker would face serious difficulties, particularly in penetrating the numerous small enclosures. It would also largely prevent the use of the usual infantry formations, recommended by the military textbooks for employment in more open terrain, and would render pikemen particularly ineffective, except in defence against cavalry.

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