A walk through the battlefield of Naseby

Naseby village: ideal battle site because it sits on high ground – in fact one of the highest parts of Northamptonshire. It was occupied in 6^th century when it was called Hnaefes-burg – fortified place of Hnaef, a Saxon. By 1068 and Domesday it was called Navesberie… possibly from the Olde English “naefela” meaning “navel” – as it was thought to be the navel of England. In 1203 King John granted the village its market charter. It was severely affected by the Black Death in 1349, like Welton, and much of the village was wiped out. Some of the outlying filed still show the platforms as mounds in the earth where houses once stood. 

Click on image or here for YouTube link re battle

However, it is most famous for being the site of the defining battle of the Civil War in 1645, which saw King Charles I defeated and the end of the first of the 3 parts to the extended Civil War period. 

Point 1: The Royal Oak pub: Originally built during 1600s with thatched roof; was rebuilt in 1960s after a fire. As name suggests it was a Royalist pun during the Civil War, and this is reflected by décor within. 

Route: leaving pub, turn right and walk up road to turn left up Nutcote; at the top turn right along High Street:  see Caton Cottage –  a good example of architecture of the period with property narrow, long and set with side facing to road. Cromwell Cottage on corner of High Street and School Lane probably dates to mid 18^th century. At top of road, turn right and then left at junction at signpost towards Naseby Obelisk. 

Point 2: Naseby Obelisk: the obelisk marks the original location of the Naseby Windmill and is where the New Model Army of the Parliamentarians rendezvoused prior to the battle.

Then as now the view from the North where the Royalists had assembled was obscured, so the Royalists could not see the Parliamentarians gather. The Parliamentary forces numbered approx. 13 500 men: 7 500 Foot soldiers (Skippon), 5 400 Horse (Cromwell and Ireton) and 650 Dragoons (Okey). The overall commander was Sir Thomas Fairfax. Early on Sat 14^th June, Fairfax marched the NMA north from Guilsborough towards Naseby to meet here at the Naseby Windmill. The baggage and artillery trains remained behind on the primitive roads to avoid getting stuck. At that point they were not sure Charles would stand and fight. 

Route: Back to village; turn right at junction and walk along Newlands (area of original Market Square) lined with Victorian Cottages dating to around 1870. At small green by Church, turn right to get to battlefield site, following sign. Following the lane to the right heading downhill we are almost certainly retracing route taken by many of the `Parliamentary army as they gathered to fight on June 14^th 1645… 

Point 3: Cromwell Viewpoint: aka Cluster Hill – monument constructed in 1823 – overlooking the battlefield site of Broad Moor, and more accurately we are standing at Fairfax’s viewpoint. What we see is the central core of the battlefield, however the fighting extended across areas around Naseby, Sulby, Sibbertoft and Clipstone. Other key points in battle are on private ground or located too far to walk from this point! Facing us would have been Prince Rupert and the 10 000 soldiers of King Charles I: 4 600 foot (Astley) and 5 550 Horse (Maurice and Langdale).

June 14^th 1645: the context of the battle: 

3 main factors: for the Civil War:  Religion, Power (Charles’ belief in the / his Divine Right of Kings v MPs move towards proper representation) and Finance(anger at costly and largely unsuccessful wars with France and Scotland) – the government had refused to grant King’s requests for funds via tax, Charles’ lengthy prorogue of Parliament and determination to rule without MP’s influence; the hugely unpopular “ship tax” was also a trigger.  

Prior to Naseby several brutal battles had been fought, with considerable losses inc Edgehill (1^st in 1642) , Cropedy (June 1644) and Marston Moor (July 1644)  – though many others fought, but none had delivered the knockout blow needed to end the conflict, but did kill 2x as many as a proportion of the population than WW1 and had profound social impact: application for poor relief trebled at the end of the war, vagrancy rates quadrupled as people were driven off the land due to loss of income and livelihood. 

The king’s soldiers were largely conscripts, far from home, unskilled and inexperienced – as was the Parliamentarians at the start of the Civil War. Many were very young: by Naseby many officers were still in their teens!

But by Naseby there was one key difference: the introduction of The New Model Army

NMA: At start of Civil War Parliament was generally better commanded and financed but could never bring war to an end because, as was the case on both sides, soldiers mutinied due to lack of pay, poor provisions and being away from home. Armies were led by MPs and landowners, appointed by status not skill and often fierce rivals so did not work well together. 

In July 1644 Sir William Waller wrote to Parliament stating the problems leading to the creation of the NMA, technically at least a trained, paid, well provisioned professional army, formed by Cromwell in Jan 1645 – Britain’s 1^st national army, raised through conscription and paid for by taxation. 

Prior to Naseby, Charles had been in Oxford after the heavy losses of Marston Moor, he felt he needed to move north to regain lost territory. He slipped out of Oxford, with troops under Prince Rupert ending up in Leicester. To lure King Charles back, Fairfax besieged Oxford. 

In response to this, from Market Harborough, Royalists moved to Daventry where soldiers camped on Borough Hill and used it as a base for operations to relieve Oxford, whilst King Charles I stayed at The Wheatsheaf Inn. On the Royalist Army march from Market Harborough they had systematically taken all the livestock they could so that during this period they were able to drive some 30 000 cattle down the A361 to Banbury, to supply Oxford, during one week. 

This of course led to many complaints about the devastation being wreaked by the Royalist Army in the area, so Parliament ordered Fairfax to leave Oxford and head north to deal with the king’s army. 

By 13^th June, Cromwell and Fairfax had come north from Oxford and arrived in the Naseby area. Patrols from both sides clashed the evening before battle in Naseby Village. In the church at the end of the walk you can see a 17^thcentury table said to have come from Shuckborough House, opposite the Church, and that it was at this table that a group of the King’s Lifeguards were eating when they were surprised by Parliamentary soldiers, leading to several being killed and the rest captured…after which the Parliamentarians sat down and finished the meal… but that may just be legend! The reason that the table was in the house was that, at the time of the Battle, the Inn where the Royalist soldiers were eating, was at the back of Shuckborough House, which stands opposite the church. 

By 8am on June 14^th King Charles and Prince Rupert had moved the Royal Army to a ridge between East Farndon and Little Oxendon (not visible from this point), but roughly ¾ mile from Fairfax’s Army on Dust Hill. The land between was waterlogged; when Fairfax retreated to higher ground, Rupert saw this as a retreat and led an attacking charge. See boards for assault lines.

In simple terms: Okey’s dragoons poured fire on the Royalists from the left; the Royalists Right flank under Prince Rupert advanced and met Ireton’s cavalry; 3 regiments were routed and pursued back to the baggage train in the rear… leaving the Royalist foot to advance and of course be totally overcome by Cromwell and Skippon, whilst Rupert was routed by Fairfax. Battle lasted 2 hours; both sides wore red (as this was the cheapest dye in the period – this led to Britsh soldires later always wearing and being known as “redcoats”) and the same helmets, which must have made the battlefield even more confusing!

The reason we know this is the number of musket balls etc found by metal detectorists and farmers over the years. The exhibition in the church adds some detail to this and includes a find of what may have been a soldier’s purse either lost or buried during the retreat.

And the aftermath:

Losses: Parliament 400 (of 13 500), Royalists: 1000 dead and 5000 captured

150 women killed by Parliamentarians as prostitutes, but probably the wives of Welsh fighting recruits, mistakenly termed Irish; if not killed, their noses or ears cut off

Parliament got access to King Charles I’s baggage train and amongst his correspondence found out that he planned to reinforce his army with mercenaries from Catholic countries including Ireand, which only strengthened their resolve; they also captured weapons, gunpowder. It is said that the Irish link may explain the brutal repression of the Irish in later years by Cromwell, during the “Commonwealth” period. 

As the battle drew to its grim conclusion, Charles fled back to Leicester but the damage was done. Within months the remaining Royalist strongholds in the south and west fell to Parliament

A year later Charles I surrendered at Newark to the Scots; 1647-8 negotiations between Charles and Parliament failed due to Charles’ continued plotting (with Scots resulting in battle of Preston); 

King Charles 1 was finally brought to trial accused of High Treason in Westminster Hall on 20^th January  1648 where he refused to plead as he refused to recognise the authority of the court – arguing that a King could not be tried by any earthly superior. He was accused of using his power for personal interest and when as it was clear that the stalemate would never be resolved as long as Charles lived, his Death Warrant was signed by 59 signatories including Cromwell. This lead to Charles’ execution on a bitterly cold morning on 30^th January 1649 on a scaffold outside the first floor of the Banqueting House on Whitehall, which had been a building in which he took much pride, and which contains fabulous ceiling paintings of his father James I in all his heavenly glory as a King by divine right painted by Peter Paul Reubens.

Charles was buried in St George’s Chapel in Windsor alongside Henry VIII. After his death there followed the 11 year interregnum known as the Commonwealth, later a Protectorate – under Thomas Cromwell.

And how do we know? At least 60 contemporaneous accounts of battle (letters, diaries, memoires); archaeological study, metal detectorist + local farmers’ discoveries. 

Return to village and stop at church (point 5) : key available from the shop opposite. Inside see small display about battle, the supper table, Jacobean alter rails, and a 60 gallon ale ball from Boulogne in 1544. 

Point 5: Lion on plinth: this is the village war memorial designed and made by JG Pullen and Sons stonemasons; dedicated on 6 March 1921 by General Lord Horne and his wife Lady Horne. It is dedicated to the 11 men of the village who died during WWI. 2 WWII names added later. It’s said to be a smaller copy of the Trafalgar Square lions…

Point 6: Remains of Market Cross, also known as Whipping Cross: After King John granted market charter in 1203, this cross was set up opposite the church in what was the market place and is now the street called Newlands. By the 1820s it had been reduced to a stump as so the Lord of the Manor (John Purcell Fitzgerald) had it moved to the junction of the Haselbech and Harborough Road. But over time it was in increasing danger due to traffic and so weas moved to this location in 1993 by Naseby Parish Council. The building behind is a Wesleyan Church and attached Sunday School.

The slide show below contains AI enhanced images suggesting the scene in 1645 – if you exclude the contemporary signage of course! Many thanks to Pete Baynton for these!