Battle of Lansdown (Hill) 1643

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

Overview

Heritage Category:: Battlefield
List Entry Number:: 1000017
Date first listed:: 06-Jun-1995

User submitted image — Uploaded by Historic England Archive This photo may not represent the current condition of the site
View all

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.

There is a problem

Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions.

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

🏠 Buildings
🏰 Scheduled monuments
🌳 Parks and gardens
⚔️ Battlefields
⚓ Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Historic England Archive

Search over 1 million photographs and drawings from the 1850s to the present day using our images archive.

Find Photos

Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Battlefield
List Entry Number:: 1000017
Date first listed:: 06-Jun-1995
Location Description:: LANSDOWN HILL

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.

District:: Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Charlcombe
District:: Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: North Stoke
District:: South Gloucestershire (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Bitton
District:: South Gloucestershire (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Cold Ashton
District:: South Gloucestershire (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Doynton
National Grid Reference:: ST7238771213

Details

BATTLE OF LANSDOWN HILL 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.

If the Royalists were to mount a combined attack on London, Parliamentary strength in the West had to be broken. Bath was the Parliamentary rallying point, and Lansdown Hill was the key strategic height for an attack on Bath. It was held by Parliament.

Early on 5 July the Royalists advanced on Lansdown from the north, skirmishing continuously with the Parliamentary cavalry. In the early afternoon, the Royalists stormed back to a second line of defence. Stalemate followed, neither side having the strength to finish off the other. The Parliamentarians withdrew under cover of darkness to fight another day. Bath had not fallen.

The landscape of 1643 had much in common with that of today. The plateau top was sheep pasture with arable land in less exposed areas and the steep slopes were wooded.

AMENITY FEATURES As well as being an attractive landscape, the battlefield has a wide variety of historic features dating from the battle and earlier. A memorial was erected to the Royalist Sir Bevil Grenville on the crest of the hill. The stone wall on the plateau is likely to have been a feature of the battlefield in 1643.

Two key viewpoints are publicly accessible and a complete circuit can be achieved from public highways and footpaths.

OTHER DESIGNATIONS A number of designations apply to the battlefield. The whole area lies within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as well as being Green Belt. Congrove Field and the Tumps is an Area of Special Scientific Interest. An area west of the Bath-Lansdown road is a Site of Nature Conservation Importance.

There are three Scheduled Ancient Monuments within the battlefield area and two other Sites of Archaeological Interest. The battlefield lies within a Priority Historic Landscape Area.

KEY SOURCES Anon, 1643, 'A true relation of the great and glorious victory, through God's providence, obtained by Sir William Waller', Thomason Tracts E.60 Chadwyck Healy, C E H (ed.), 1902, Bellum Civile

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:: 18
Legacy System:: Battlefields

Sources

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