Battle of Leeds 1643
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 23 January 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 | 53.7969, -1.5424 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The battle of Leeds took place during the First English Civil War on 23 January 1643, when a Parliamentarian force attacked the Royalist garrison of Leeds, Yorkshire. The attack was partly dictated by the need to maintain local support for the Parliamentarian cause; the Earl of Newcastle had recently shifted the balance of power in Yorkshire in the Royalists' favour with the addition of his 8,000-strong army, and sent one of his commanders, Sir William Savile to capture Leeds. The West Riding of Yorkshire relied on the cloth trade, and Ferdinando, Lord Fairfax sent his son, Sir Thomas Fairfax to bolster the defences of nearby Bradford, before agreeing to his request to attack Leeds.
Savile, who had command of around 2,000 men in Leeds, built a trench on the western edge of Leeds, destroyed one bridge on the approach to the town and heavily fortified another. Fairfax attacked during a heavy snowstorm, bringing an army of roughly 3,000 men to attack Leeds in three places. The battle lasted around two hours before the Parliamentarians secured the town, and captured about 500 prisoners. Fairfax lost around 20 men during the attack, while the Royalists suffered roughly double as many fatalities.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Leeds (revision 1370447394), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Adwalton Moor 1643 · 9 km
- Battle of Seacroft Moor 1643 · 11 km
- Capture of Wakefield 1643 · 13 km
- Battle of Wakefield 1460 · 13 km
- Sieges of Bradford 1642 · 13 km
- Battle of Bramham Moor 1408 · 15 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 →
Browse more: battles in England · Europe · Early modern battles