Battle of Torrington
50°57′11″N4°08′28″W/ 50.953°N 4.141°W
| Battle of Torrington | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theFirst English Civil War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Royalists | Parliamentarians | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Sir Ralph Hopton | Sir Thomas Fairfax | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
3,000 horse 2,000 foot | 10,000 | ||||||
TheBattle of Torrington(16 February 1646) was a decisive battle of the south-western campaign of theFirst English Civil Warand marked the end ofRoyalistresistance in theWest Country.It took place inTorrington,Devon.
Prelude[edit]
AfterLord Wentworth's defeat atBovey Tracey,Sir Ralph Hoptonwas appointed Royalist commander in the west, with Wentworth commanding the horse andSir Richard Grenvillethe foot. Grenville refused to recognise Hopton's command and was arrested for insubordination and imprisoned onSt Michael's Mount.[1]
Hopton's army, numbering 3,000 horse and 2,000 foot, advanced into Devon and occupied Torrington, where defensive works were erected.
Battle[edit]
The Parliamentarians approached from the east on the evening of 16 February 1646. In heavy rain and with night falling, the Parliamentarians ran into Royalist dragoons and fighting broke out to the east of Torrington. The Parliamentarian commander,Sir Thomas Fairfax,decided to wait until morning to reconnoitre the Royalists' defences. However, when he sent his dragoons forward to test the defences and they came under fire; Fairfax pushed more troops forward in support and a general fight developed.
The fighting at the barricades lasted two hours atpush of pike.At last the Cornish infantry gave way and retreated into the town, where bitter fighting continued. A stray spark ignited the Royalist magazine inTorrington church,where eighty barrels of gunpowder were stored. The explosion destroyed the church, killed all the prisoners held there and narrowly missed killing Fairfax.[1]
Aftermath[edit]
The explosion effectively ended the battle with the remaining Royalist troops escaping.
Memorial[edit]
The anniversary of the battle is remembered in February each year, with a torch-lit procession and re-enactment.[2]
In fiction[edit]
The battle features strongly in the conclusion ofRosemary Sutcliff'shistorical fictionSimon.
Citations[edit]
References[edit]
- "A Little Local History".Great Torrington. Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved4 July2016.
- Plant, David."The Battle of Torrington, 1646".BCW Project.Retrieved4 July2016.
