Battle of Braddock Down 1643

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Battlefield
List Entry Number:: 1000005
Date first listed:: 06-Jun-1995

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Battlefield
List Entry Number:: 1000005
Date first listed:: 06-Jun-1995
Location Description:: BRADDOCK DOWN

This list entry identifies a battlefield which is registered because of its special historic interest.

Understanding registered battlefields

Corrections and minor amendments

This list entry identifies a battlefield which is registered because of its special historic interest.

Understanding registered battlefields

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

National Grid Reference:: SX 17575 63008

Details

BATTLE OF BRADDOCK DOWN 1643

The Civil Wars of the mid seventeenth century were a reflection of profound political, constitutional, religious and social conflict which was expressed in a struggle for control between King and Parliament.

At the start of 1643, the Royalist position in Cornwall was threatened by the advance from Devon of two parliamentary armies under the Earl of Stamford and Colonel Ruthin. Sir Ralph Hopton, commanding the Cornish Royalists, decided to strike at Ruthin before he could join forces with Stamford. Hopton found the Parliamentarians deployed on Braddock Down on 19 January 1643.

Hopton launched his troops in a charge which swept all before it, Ruthin's men staying to fire barely a single volley at the advancing Royalists. Some 1,250-1,500 Parliamentarians were captures, together with their baggage train and ammunition, and as many as 200 were killed. Cornwall was once more firmly in the hands of the Royalists, and Hopton marched into Devon and blockaded Plymouth. The Battle of Braddock Down had rejuvenated the Cornish Army and confirmed their faith in Hopton's leadership.

The battlefield landscape remains dominated by the opposing slopes of Braddock Down and, although later drained and subdivided into smaller fields, the grassy downland over which the battle was fought is easily imagined.

AMENITY FEATURES Although the appearance of the battlefield has altered significantly since 1643, the topography is still readily appreciable. Access to the battlefield is limited, however, to the roads on its edges. A view can be gained from the southern tip of the battlefield where recent road improvements have left a small informal car parking area. The prehistoric burial mounds of the area add a further dimension to the interest of the landscape.

OTHER DESIGNATIONS The Caradon Local Park (Draft Version, April 1994) designates the Battlefield Area as part of a Special Area of Great Landscape Value. To the north of the battlefield area is Largin Wood, a Cornwall Nature Conservation Area.

KEY SOURCES

Coate, M, 1963, Cornwall in the great Civil War and Interregnum 1642-60

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment to the Selected Sources on 10/04/2019

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:: 6
Legacy System:: Battlefields

Sources

Websites
English Heritage Battlefield Report: Battle of Braddock Down 1643 (Published 1995), accessed 10th April 2019 from https://historicengland.org.uk/content/docs/listing/battlefields/braddock/