User:Harrias/Siege of Sherborne (1642)

Siege of Sherborne
Part of the First English Civil War
The ruins of the castle, pictured in 2010
Date 2–20 September 1642 Location Sherborne, Dorset 50°56′58″N 02°30′04″W
Belligerents
Royalists	Parliamentarians
Commanders and leaders
Marquess of Hertford	Earl of Bedford
class=notpageimage| Location within Dorset

The Siege of Sherborne (2–20 September 1642) was a pair of attacks by the Parliamentarians on Royalist-held Sherborne, Dorset, in South West England, during the early stages of the First English Civil War.

Background

Religious, fiscal and legislative tensions between Parliament and King Charles had existed throughout his reign, and in 1642 they escalated sharply after Charles had attempted to arrest five members of parliament. The King appointed the Marquess of Hertford as commander of his forces in the West Country, supported by Sir Ralph Hopton, a local member of parliament (MP) and an experienced army officer. The county of Somerset was generally more sympathetic towards Parliament than towards the King, and after the Royalists established quarters at Wells they were constantly under threat. They won a minor skirmish at Marshall's Elm, where their superior cavalry and leadership helped them defeat a much larger Parliamentarian force, but they were forced to leave the town on 6 August when the local population rose against them, wielding "pitchforks, dungpecks, and suchlike weapons." Hertford retreated to Sherborne in Dorset, where he garrisoned the castle. Dorset was split in its sympathies: most of the larger towns favoured parliament; but in more rural areas, and to the north of the county generally, the Royalists had more support.

Bibliography

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