Battle of Chalgrove Field 1643
Outline: officially registered battlefield boundary. Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 18 June 1643 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1643 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | England | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | First English Civil War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Cavalier, Roundhead | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 51.6700, -1.0700 | Wikidata P625 |
| Official record | Historic England list entry 1000006 | OGL v3 |
| Registered area | 98.4 ha | OGL v3 |
About the battle
The Battle of Chalgrove Field took place on 18 June 1643, during the First English Civil War, near Chalgrove, Oxfordshire. It is now best remembered for the death of John Hampden, who was wounded in the shoulder during the battle and died six days later.
Hoping to capture a Parliamentarian convoy containing £21,000 in cash, during the night of 17 to 18 June Royalist cavalry from Oxford led by Prince Rupert raided positions around Chinnor. Although they failed to intercept the convoy, they seized supplies and prisoners and headed home pursued by cavalry under Hampden and Major John Gunter. Prince Rupert halted at Chalgrove and counterattacked, scattering his opponents before their main force arrived under Sir Philip Stapleton.
The ease with which the Royalists conducted their raid, along with the failure to capitalise on the capture of Reading in April caused serious criticism of the Earl of Essex, Parliamentarian commander. On the other hand, Royalist morale was significantly boosted and Chalgrove marked the start of a series of victories over the next six months.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Chalgrove Field (revision 1379281264), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Battlefield boundary © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See also this battlefield on Battlefields of Britain.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Oxford (1142) 1142 · 16 km
- Siege of Oxford 1644 · 16 km
- Battle of Ashdown 871 · 19 km
- Battle of Reading (871) 871 · 25 km
- Battle of Reading (1688) 1688 · 25 km
- Siege of Reading 1642 · 25 km
Other battles of the First English Civil War
- Battle of Edgehill 1642
- Battle of Powick Bridge 1642
- Battle of Turnham Green 1642
- Siege of Hull (1642) 1642
- Siege of Reading 1642
- Battle of Adwalton Moor 1643
- Battle of Aldbourne Chase 1643
- Battle of Braddock Down 1643
- Battle of Burton Bridge (1643) 1643
- Battle of Camp Hill 1643
All 45 battles of the First English Civil War →
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