Siege of Chester

Morgan's Mount, a Royalist gun platform which was part of Chester's defences in 1645

Date	February 1645 – January 1646
Location	Chester, in Cheshire
Result	Parliamentary victory

Belligerents

Royalists

Parliamentarians

Commanders and leaders

Lord Byron,
King Charles I

Sir William Brereton,
Colonel Michael Jones

The Siege of Chester was a siege of the First English Civil War, between February 1645 and January 1646, with an intermission during the summer of 1645.

From the beginning of the war, the city of Chester was held by forces loyal to Charles I of England. It was first besieged in late 1644, but was relieved in March 1645 by Prince Maurice. With fighting continuing around Cheshire, the siege was not pursued again in earnest until September 1645, continuing ferociously until the following January. At the Battle of Rowton Heath in September, Charles himself failed to lift the siege, suffering a disastrous defeat.

Throughout the siege, which varied considerably in intensity, the garrison was commanded by Lord Byron, who in the final months strongly defended the city against great odds. In January 1646 (1645, old style), faced with the starvation of the inhabitants, Byron was persuaded to surrender, and the city was occupied by forces of the New Model Army under Sir William Brereton.

The city of Chester, in Cheshire, was an important stronghold in the English border country, commanding an important crossing of the River Dee and thus the approach to North Wales. With strong city walls, dating originally from Roman times, Chester was a Royalist stronghold from the beginning of the civil war. Early in the war, between 1642 and 1643, its walls were strengthened and a new ring of earthwork defences was added outside them.

After Lord Byron was defeated at the Battle of Nantwich in January 1644, he marched his remaining forces to Chester, making it his base for resistance to the Parliamentarian forces in Cheshire under Sir William Brereton. During the first half of 1645, Brereton was able to gain control of most of Cheshire, but the King's men in Chester commanded the river crossing into North Wales, still held by the King, protecting it from a Parliamentary invasion.

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