Battle of Roundway Down 1643
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Battlefield
- List Entry Number:
- 1000030
- Date first listed:
- 06-Jun-1995
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Battlefield
- List Entry Number:
- 1000030
- Date first listed:
- 06-Jun-1995
- Location Description:
- ROUNDWAY DOWN
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:
- Wiltshire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Bishops Cannings
- District:
- Wiltshire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Devizes
- District:
- Wiltshire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Bromham
- District:
- Wiltshire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Heddington
- District:
- Wiltshire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Rowde
- National Grid Reference:
- SU 02041 64779
Details
BATTLE OF ROUNDWAY 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.
The Royalists needed to secure the West before they could turn their attention to the real target, London. After the indecisive Battle of Lansdown, the demoralised Royalist army was pursued by a reinforced Parliamentary army from Bath. Following a short siege of Devizes, the Parliamentarians had to withdraw to Roundway Hill to face Royalist mounted reinforcements from Oxford who were drawn up on Roughridge Hill.
Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Royalist cavalry succeeded in defeating the better-balanced Parliamentary forces, pursuing many over the very steep slope near Oliver's Castle where horses and men fell helter-skelter into Bloody Ditch.
The opportunity presented by the Royalist victory to secure the West could have made Roundway Down one of the most decisive battle of the first war, but Gloucester held out and the opportunity passed.
The landscape of the battle was one of sheep pasture and arable open fields, making ideal ground for cavalry. The characteristic straight-sided fields were not created until 1794.
AMENITY FEATURES
Access to Roundway down is good. There is a picnic site at Oliver's Castle and a network of public footpaths with good views of the battlefield. The landscape has many features of archaeological and natural heritage interest.
OTHER DESIGNATIONS
The whole battlefield lies within the North Wessex Downs area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is part included in an area of High Ecological Value. The battlefield is an Area of High Archaeological Potential. Kings Play Hill and Roundway Down are Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
KEY SOURCES
Bulkley, S, 1643, Sir John Byron's relation to the Secretary of the last western action between the Lord Wilmot and Sir William Waller
Chadwyck Healey, 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:
- 31
- Legacy System:
- Battlefields
Sources
Websites
English Heritage Battlefield Report: Battle of Roundway Down 1643 (Published 1995), accessed 10th April 2019 from https://historicengland.org.uk/content/docs/listing/battlefields/roundway-down/
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 13-Jul-2026 at 23:50:46.
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.