Hereford 1600

It is the end of Elizabeth's reign. Hereford is not a rich city but it is a proud one. It has two members of parliament the costs of which are a burden on many parliamentary boroughs, Hereford included. The Earl of Essex has offered to pay for these MPs if they support his causes in the commons.

The citizens respectfully decline his offer.

The origins of the Civil War

As the dispute between King Charles I and parliament intensified, Herefordshire remained a deeply conservative county and royalists greatly outnumbered the supporters of parliament.


There were eight members of parliament representing the county at that time - two members for the county, and two each for the boroughs of Hereford, Leominster and Weobley. The two county MPs, Fitzwilliam Coningsby and Sir Robert Harley were to take prominent parts in the coming war on opposing sides, and in the Spring of 1642 Harley began strengthening his castle at Brampton Bryan.
 

Parliament appointed the Earl of Essex lieutenant of Herefordshire but his authority was ignored and commissions issued by the king raised such military force as existed in the county in the Royalist cause. The county magazine, in St Owen's Gate in the city was seized and the leading local Royalist, Lord Scudamore, collected materials of war at his seat at Holme Lacy.

Essex occupied Worcester on 24th September 1642 and dispatched a force of just 900 horsemen to Hereford. In a panic the mayor surrendered the city and two days later parliamentary infantry arrived to form a permanent garrison. With resources overstretched the occupation proved to difficult to maintain and on 14th December parliamentary troops left the city. Hereford reverted to the royalists.

St Owen's Gate, Hereford, in the late 18th century - from the inside. The county magazine was stored here in the time of the civil war.

The opportunity to organise the city's defences was missed however and in April 1643 the Parliamentary commander William Waller marched north from Gloucester and easily occupied Hereford on the 25th. Leading local Royalists including Lord Scudamore and Fitzwilliam Coningsby were captured.

Waller occupied Leominster on the 27th but lacking sufficient strength to maintain his position was forced to withdraw from the county, marching out of Hereford on 20th May. Again, Hereford reverted to the Royalists, who began to reorganise the local defences.

Church Street, Hereford. Once called Cabbage Lane, this had been the site of the vegetable market. The name was often gentrified to Capuchin Lane as early as the 18th century

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Brilliana Harley

The only parliamentary stronghold remaining in the county was Robert Harley's castle at Brampton Bryan. On 26th July the Royalists laid siege to it. For seven weeks the siege continued and the village of Brampton Bryan was reduced to rubble. The garrison, commanded by Harley's capable third wife Brilliana, held out. The Royalist gave up the siege but Brilliana, exhausted died shortly after.

Brampton Bryan, the only Parliamentary stronghold in the county, remained a problem for the Royalists and they returned in Spring 1644. The Royalist commander, Michael Woodhouse, had just taken nearby Hopton in Shropshire, where he had executed the garrison for defending a hopeless cause for too long. This may have served as a warning to the Brampton garrison. After three weeks of resistance they surrendered On 17th April and the castle was completely destroyed.

The Royalist position was not secure. The Parliamentarians at Gloucester grew stronger and they occupied the Herefordshire town of Ledbury in April, levying money from the countryside and raiding as far as the gates of Hereford. Prince Rupert's advance drove them from Ledbury but shortly afterwards they occupied Ross-on-Wye for a week.

Royalist now placed the county under military control and set about impressing men and horses. More contributions to the war effort were demanded, and those suspected of not supporting it were imprisoned without trial. In November 1644 Prince Rupert became commander of the Royalist armies and his brother Maurice was placed in charge of the counties of Monmouthshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Herefordshire. Soldiers brought from Ireland were posted in the county and their behaviour caused added resentment. The Royalist garrison at Canon Frome was particularly disliked and in north-east Herefordshire youths composed satirical ballads at their expense.

The 'Clubmen' as they were known, were opposed to the demands made upon the country to pay for the war. In other parts of the country this resentment was directed at the Parliamentary authorities but in Herefordshire the de facto authority was Royalist and it was against this the country people rebelled. Money, recruits and quarters were refused and those who furnished them were threatened that their houses would be burnt. About 15,000 of the discontented appeared before the gates of Hereford. This time the town gates remained shut. Although many of the protesters were well-armed, they were not really an army and no assault was made.

The Bye Gate in the 18th century. The gate would shortly be demolished but the left side would remain as the city prison.

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The Parliamentarians took advantage of the situation and re-occupied Ledbury, inviting the Clubmen to join them. The Clubmen refused however, objecting to paying for either of the armies equally. Prince Rupert drove the Parliamentarians out of Ledbury in a fierce night-time action on 22nd April 1645.

On the 18th June 1645 King Charles arrived in Hereford. He attempted to raise more troops in the county but these just deserted as soon as they could. Charles left for Raglan on 30th after raising money in the area.

The Siege of Hereford

Meanwhile a Scottish army in the service of Parliament was moving south. On 22nd July they stormed the Royalist position at Canon Frome and killed almost the entire garrison. The following day the Scots entered Ledbury on their march south. Turning again they laid siege to Hereford on 31st July.

The site of the Bye Gate today. The 'Kerry' stands on the site of an earlier pub called the 'Pack Horse' which is visible through the gateway in the previous illustration.

The commander of the Hereford garrison had plenty of time to prepare. The houses of the suburbs were dismantled and the trees of the surrounding orchards chopped down. Men and women worked at moving earth for the defence of the city.

Not all locals were staunch loyalists. A local lawyer, Miles Hill, was appointed to organise feeding and paying the army. Nonetheless there were many complaints of plundering and considerable damage was done to the county.

The siege was hard-fought. The Scots guns played on the city and shells (hollow containers containing explosives) were used as well as solid shot. Over 200 years later, workmen discovered an unexploded Scottish shell as a butcher's shop in Union Street was being demolished. Two of the city's churches - St Owen's and St Martin's - were destroyed in the siege.

On 1st September, just as the final assault was being prepared, news reached the besiegers that the king was approaching with a relieving force. The Scots army withdrew towards Gloucester and Charles entered the Bye Gate of the city on 4th September.

The siege was commemorated by the addition of a border to the city coat of arms consisting of ten Scottish flags of St Andrew, white crosses on a blue background, representing the ten divisions of the Scottish army. However in December that year Hereford was captured again for Parliament by means of a trick.

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Colonel Birch

Colonel Birch disguised some soldiers as workmen breaking the ice in the ditch at the Bye Gate. He hid a small force in the ruins of St Guthlac's Priory. While the disguised soldiers grappled with the guards, the group from the priory charged up to, and through, the Bye Gate. Birch was made governor of the city and in the whole county only Goodrich Castle remained in Royalist hands.

Hereford from the west in 1721. Behind the bridge can be seen the mound from which the keep of the castle had recently been removed. Friars gate is on the left.

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