The second action of the Prayer Book Rebellion took place a week after the battle of Fenny Bridges, when the victorious Lord Russell received reinforcements of foreign mercenaries and began to advance towards the rebels’ siege lines around Exeter. Reaching Exeter would require crossing the strategically vital bridge at Clyst St Mary (modern day Bishop’s Clyst), which had been fortified by the insurgents and would necessitate a determined assault to dislodge them. Accordingly, in the hopes of obtaining an opportunity for rest after their march and before further fighting the next morning, the loyalist forces halted its advance a few miles to the east and pitched camp near Woodbury Salterton atop Windmill Hill on the evening of 3 August. Rather than passively awaiting the inevitable attack on their positions, the rebels mounted a surprise attack that same evening, either in the hopes of overrunning Russell’s encampment or at least of buying time for reinforcement of the garrison at Clyst St Mary. Despite fighting fiercely the insurgents were, however, unable to overcome the loyalist forces and they were driven off, notwithstanding a further false alarm which disrupted a sermon given by Miles Coverdale, Russell’s chaplain and a future Bishop, in the aftermath of the action.

There are several alternative sites for the battle, namely at Woodbury Castle, a hillfort near Woodbury Common, and atop a hill in Aylesbeare Common, however, neither have any recorded connection with the action or its terrain. Windmill Hill, by contrast, is near to Grendale where Gregory Cary, the reported owner of the titular windmill, was granted land in 1546. Similarly, tithe maps identify an area of land known as ‘Bishop’s Field’, evoking Coverdale’s sermon, immediately west of Windmill Hill. More concretely, the alternative sites are also a considerable distance from Clyst St Mary, which the loyalist forces attacked at around 9 AM the following morning, in contrast with the more direct route available from Windmill Hill. There is, at present, no commemoration of the Windmill Hill site, but there may be archaeological opportunities due to the relatively intact arable land of the site.

An assessment of the Prayerbook Rebellion battlefields undertaken by Dr Glenn Foard and Alex Hodgkins on behalf of Devon County Council in 2009 is available from Archaeological Data Services at https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/issue.xhtml?recordId=1208573

This entry has been provided by Alex Hodgkins