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Battle of Lansdown Hill
5th July 1643
The battle of Lansdown Hill was fought between the armies of Sir William Waller and Sir Ralph Hopton on 5th July 1643. By late May 1643 Waller’s army, based around Bath, was parliament’s main defence against the advance out of the South West of the royalist army under Hopton. After several probing moves to the south and east of the city, the two forces finally engaged on the 5th July.
Waller had taken a commanding position on Lansdown Hill. He sent troops forward to skirmish with the royalist cavalry detachments and finally forced the royalists to deploy and then to engage. After initial success on Tog Hill, a mile or more to the north, his forces were eventually forced to retreat. Now Hopton took the initiative and made direct and flanking attacks up the steep slopes of Lansdown Hill. Despite heavy losses amongst the regiments of horse and foot in the centre, under musket and artillery fire, the royalists finally gained a foothold on the scarp edge. Repeated cavalry charges failed to dislodge them and Waller was finally forced to retire, as he was outflanked by attacks through the woods on either side.
He retreated a few hundred yards to the cover of a wall across the narrowest point of the plateau. As darkness fell the fire-fight continued. Neither army would move from the cover they had found and both armies contemplated retreat. Late that night, under the cover of darkness, it was the parliamentarians who abandoned their position. Though the royalists were left in control of the field and of Bath, they had bought the ground at a high cost. Waller in contrast had lost very few killed or wounded and was ready to fight another day.
KEY FACTS
Name: Battle of Lansdown Hill
Type: battle
Campaign: 1643 campaign for the South West
War period: First Civil War
Outcome: inconclusive
Country: England
County: Gloucestershire / Somerset
Place: Lansdown
Location: accurate
Terrain: open field, enclosed field and open downland; plateau and steep scarps
Date: 5th July 1643
Start: morning
Duration: all day
Armies: Royalist under Sir Ralph Hopton; Parliamentarian under Sir William Waller
Numbers: Parliamentarian: about 1500 foot; 2500 horse; Royalist: about 4000 foot, 2000 horse, 300 dragoons
Losses: Royalist: possibly 200-300 killed & many wounded; Parliamentarian: possibly just 20 killed and less than 60 wounded
Grid Reference: ST721703 (372100,170300)
OS Landranger map: 172
OS Explorer map: 155
Historic England Battlefields Register CLICK HERE
Historic England battlefield report for Battle of Lansdown (Hill) 1643
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