Siege of Lyme Regis 1644
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 20 April 1644 – 16 June 1644 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1644 | Wikidata P580 (start 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 |
| Coordinates | 50.7250, -2.9400 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Lyme Regis was an eight-week blockade during the First English Civil War. The port of Lyme Regis, in Dorset, was considered to be of strategic importance because of its position along the main shipping route between Bristol and the English Channel. Thomas Ceeley and Robert Blake commanded the town's Parliamentarian defences during the siege, which was laid by Prince Maurice between 20 April and 16 June 1644.
At the start of the war, the people of Lyme Regis were predominantly Puritans, and the town was claimed by a pair of local members of parliament and garrisoned for the Parliamentarians. Most of the rest of Dorset, and the south-west of England in general, was under the control of the Royalists. The town, which only had sea-facing defences, feared an attack and Blake was charged with its fortification. He established a series of earthen defences featuring four forts which completely surrounded the town.
King Charles I ordered the capture of the town in early 1644, and sent his nephew, Maurice, with around 4,000 troops. The siege was laid on 20 April, but despite a steady bombardment, and three attempts to storm the town by ground, the town's defences held fast.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Lyme Regis (revision 1370743077), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the First English Civil War
- Second Battle of Middlewich 1643
- Siege of Gloucester 1643
- Siege of Hull (1643) 1643
- Siege of Lichfield 1643
- Siege of Worcester (1643) 1643
- Battle of Lostwithiel 1644
- Battle of Nantwich 1644
- Battle of Selby 1644
- Battle of Tipton Green 1644
- Relief of Montgomery Castle 1644
All 45 battles of the First English Civil War →
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