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Siege of Wardour Castle
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Siege of Wardour Castle
Wardour Castle in Wiltshire, England, was besieged twice during the First English Civil War; once in May 1643, and then again between November 1643 and March 1644.
During the first siege, a Parliamentarian force of around 1,300 men led by Sir Edward Hungerford attacked the castle, which was the home of Thomas Arundell, 2nd Baron Arundell of Wardour, a prominent Catholic and Royalist. Arundell was absent, fighting for King Charles at the time of the attack, and the defence was led by his wife, Lady Blanche Arundell, in command of 25 soldiers. The siege began on 2 May, and lasted for a week before the Parliamentarians forced Lady Arundell to surrender on 8 May. The Parliamentarians garrisoned the castle with 75 men, led by Colonel Edmund Ludlow.
Henry Arundell, 3rd Baron Arundell of Wardour, the son of Thomas and Blanche, brought a Royalist force to reclaim the castle, and by November 1643 a tight blockade had been established. The castle was well-provisioned, and it was only when the Royalists exploded mines under the walls, creating large holes in the defences, that they forced the castle's surrender. The damage to the castle left it uninhabitable, and over 100 years later, the Arundell family commissioned New Wardour Castle to be built nearby.
The Arundell family were prominent Catholics; Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour, was in and out of royal favour, was arrested in 1580 for what was described by his biographer Andrew J. Hopper as "his catholic zeal", and later for accepting the title of Count of the Holy Roman Empire in 1595. He was also suspected of involvement in the Gunpowder Plot, an attempt by dissident Catholics to assassinate King James. His son, Thomas Arundell (later the second Baron Arundell of Wardour, from 1639), married Lady Blanche Somerset, herself daughter of Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester, who was described by the historian Stephen Manganiello as a "stiff papist". Arundell's support of King Charles led to an arrest warrant being issued for him by Parliament in November 1641, and at the outbreak of the First English Civil War, he raised a cavalry regiment in support of the Royalist cause, and left Wardour Castle to fight for the King.
Wardour Castle is in southwest Wiltshire between the villages of Donhead St Andrew and Tisbury, around 15 miles (24 km) west of Salisbury. It was built in the late 14th century, by the 5th Baron Lovel, and bought by the Arundell family in the 1540s. The castle was subsequently confiscated by the Crown, and then bought back in 1570 by Sir Matthew Arundell, who oversaw its conversion to more of a stately home, work that made it less defensible. Despite these modifications, the castle remained a significant fortification, and was described by the 17th century antiquarian John Aubrey as being "very strongly built of freestone". The castle's defences were strengthened during the early stages of the Civil War.
On 2 May 1643, Sir Edward Hungerford, the Parliamentarian commander-in-chief for the county of Wiltshire, arrived at Wardour Castle and ordered its surrender, as it was claimed to be a known refuge of Royalists (described contemporarily as "cavaliers and malignants"). Lady Arundell refused, responding that "she knew her duty and absolutely refused to deliver up the castle; she had a command from her lord to keep it, and she would obey his command". Hungerford, finding that the castle was stronger than he had expected, added reinforcements to his force: troops out of Somerset commanded by Colonel William Strode. The combined force numbered around 1,300 men: in comparison, the castle housed around 55 people, only 25 of whom were able fighters. Alongside Lady Arundell, who was aged 60, was her daughter-in-law (Cicely) with her three young children, and around fifty servants, including the guards and soldiers.
The castle was besieged for six days. Accounts from Royalists and Parliamentarians vary on the effectiveness of the siege: Bruno Ryves, a Royalist propagandist, described that due to attacks which continued throughout day and night, the castle inhabitants were "so distracted between hunger and want of rest, that when the hand endeavoured to administer food, surprised with sleep it forgot its employment, the morsels falling from their hands". In contrast, the Parliamentarian officer Edmund Ludlow wrote that when he arrived on 8 May, little damage had been done to the house other than to one of the chimneys.
On the day of Ludlow's arrival, the Parliamentarians blew up two or three barrels of gunpowder under one of the castle walls, where there was an opening "for the conveying away of filth", and destroyed part of the wall. Lady Arundell initially rejected the terms of surrender offered, which gave quarter to the women and children, but not the men. However, when the Parliamentarians threatened to mine the other wall, and to launch fireballs in through their broken windows, she relented.
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Siege of Wardour Castle
Wardour Castle in Wiltshire, England, was besieged twice during the First English Civil War; once in May 1643, and then again between November 1643 and March 1644.
During the first siege, a Parliamentarian force of around 1,300 men led by Sir Edward Hungerford attacked the castle, which was the home of Thomas Arundell, 2nd Baron Arundell of Wardour, a prominent Catholic and Royalist. Arundell was absent, fighting for King Charles at the time of the attack, and the defence was led by his wife, Lady Blanche Arundell, in command of 25 soldiers. The siege began on 2 May, and lasted for a week before the Parliamentarians forced Lady Arundell to surrender on 8 May. The Parliamentarians garrisoned the castle with 75 men, led by Colonel Edmund Ludlow.
Henry Arundell, 3rd Baron Arundell of Wardour, the son of Thomas and Blanche, brought a Royalist force to reclaim the castle, and by November 1643 a tight blockade had been established. The castle was well-provisioned, and it was only when the Royalists exploded mines under the walls, creating large holes in the defences, that they forced the castle's surrender. The damage to the castle left it uninhabitable, and over 100 years later, the Arundell family commissioned New Wardour Castle to be built nearby.
The Arundell family were prominent Catholics; Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour, was in and out of royal favour, was arrested in 1580 for what was described by his biographer Andrew J. Hopper as "his catholic zeal", and later for accepting the title of Count of the Holy Roman Empire in 1595. He was also suspected of involvement in the Gunpowder Plot, an attempt by dissident Catholics to assassinate King James. His son, Thomas Arundell (later the second Baron Arundell of Wardour, from 1639), married Lady Blanche Somerset, herself daughter of Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester, who was described by the historian Stephen Manganiello as a "stiff papist". Arundell's support of King Charles led to an arrest warrant being issued for him by Parliament in November 1641, and at the outbreak of the First English Civil War, he raised a cavalry regiment in support of the Royalist cause, and left Wardour Castle to fight for the King.
Wardour Castle is in southwest Wiltshire between the villages of Donhead St Andrew and Tisbury, around 15 miles (24 km) west of Salisbury. It was built in the late 14th century, by the 5th Baron Lovel, and bought by the Arundell family in the 1540s. The castle was subsequently confiscated by the Crown, and then bought back in 1570 by Sir Matthew Arundell, who oversaw its conversion to more of a stately home, work that made it less defensible. Despite these modifications, the castle remained a significant fortification, and was described by the 17th century antiquarian John Aubrey as being "very strongly built of freestone". The castle's defences were strengthened during the early stages of the Civil War.
On 2 May 1643, Sir Edward Hungerford, the Parliamentarian commander-in-chief for the county of Wiltshire, arrived at Wardour Castle and ordered its surrender, as it was claimed to be a known refuge of Royalists (described contemporarily as "cavaliers and malignants"). Lady Arundell refused, responding that "she knew her duty and absolutely refused to deliver up the castle; she had a command from her lord to keep it, and she would obey his command". Hungerford, finding that the castle was stronger than he had expected, added reinforcements to his force: troops out of Somerset commanded by Colonel William Strode. The combined force numbered around 1,300 men: in comparison, the castle housed around 55 people, only 25 of whom were able fighters. Alongside Lady Arundell, who was aged 60, was her daughter-in-law (Cicely) with her three young children, and around fifty servants, including the guards and soldiers.
The castle was besieged for six days. Accounts from Royalists and Parliamentarians vary on the effectiveness of the siege: Bruno Ryves, a Royalist propagandist, described that due to attacks which continued throughout day and night, the castle inhabitants were "so distracted between hunger and want of rest, that when the hand endeavoured to administer food, surprised with sleep it forgot its employment, the morsels falling from their hands". In contrast, the Parliamentarian officer Edmund Ludlow wrote that when he arrived on 8 May, little damage had been done to the house other than to one of the chimneys.
On the day of Ludlow's arrival, the Parliamentarians blew up two or three barrels of gunpowder under one of the castle walls, where there was an opening "for the conveying away of filth", and destroyed part of the wall. Lady Arundell initially rejected the terms of surrender offered, which gave quarter to the women and children, but not the men. However, when the Parliamentarians threatened to mine the other wall, and to launch fireballs in through their broken windows, she relented.
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