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
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Battlefield
- List Entry Number:
- 1000017
- Date first listed:
- 06-Jun-1995
- Location Description:
- LANSDOWN HILL
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This list entry identifies a battlefield which is registered because of its special historic interest.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This list entry identifies a battlefield which is registered because of its special historic interest.
Location
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- South Gloucestershire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Cold Ashton
- District:
- South Gloucestershire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Bitton
- District:
- South Gloucestershire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Doynton
- District:
- Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Charlcombe
- District:
- Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- North Stoke
- 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/
Legal
This battlefield is registered within the Register of Historic Battlefields by Historic England for its special historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 05-Jun-2026 at 17:19:06.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.