Siege of Bristol (1643)

Storming of Bristol
Part of English Civil War
Date July 26, 1643 Location Bristol Result Royalist victory
Belligerents
Parliamentarians	Royalists
Commanders and leaders
Nathaniel Fiennes	Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Strength
300 horse 1,500 foot 100 guns	unknown
Casualties and losses
unknown	unknown

The Storming of Bristol took place on 26 July 1643, during the First English Civil War. The Cavalier (Royalist) army under Prince Rupert of the Rhine, King Charles's nephew and lieutenant general, captured the important city and port of Bristol from its weakened Roundhead (Parliamentarian) garrison. The city remained under Royalist control until near the end of the war.

During the mid-17th century, Bristol had been one of the most important cities in England, second only to London in wealth. The Royalists had failed to secure it when the civil war began, leaving it under Parliamentarian control although there were many Royalist sympathisers within the city. In July 1643, the city's garrison was weakened when several of its units were detached to reinforce a Parliamentarian field army under Sir William Waller. On 13 July, Waller's army was destroyed at the Battle of Roundway Down.

The Royalists quickly realised that this presented them with a great opportunity to capture important Parliamentarian-held towns in the south-west of England. Only two days after the battle, Prince Rupert marched from Oxford, the Royalists' wartime capital, with a large army. He also sent orders to the Royalist western army which had been victorious at Roundway Down, now under the command of his younger brother Prince Maurice, to march against Bristol from the south while he himself advanced on the city from the north.

The Parliamentarian defenders of Bristol were commanded by Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes. His garrison consisted of 300 cavalry and 1,500 infantry, plus some poorly-armed town militia. The fortifications consisted of an inner line immediately surrounding the city and resting on the River Avon and River Frome, and an outer line about 500 yards outside the inner line. To the south and east the outer line was a continuous curtain wall and ditch on low-lying ground; to the north and west, it consisted of a chain of forts and batteries resting on the high ground overlooking the city, linked by a low earth wall. A total of 100 guns were distributed along the defences.

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