Colonel Ralph Weldon’s Regiment of Foot

Flag Illustration	¹⁾
Active	1645 to 1660
Country	England
Allegiance	Parliamentarian
Conflicts	First Civil War
	Second Civil War
Type	Foot
Colonel	Ralph Weldon
	Robert Lilburne
	Sir Arthur Hesilrige
	Charles Howard
	Sir Arthur Hesilrige
	John Meyer
	Lord Widdrington
Area Raised	Kent
Coat Colour	Red
Flag Colour	Crimson?
Flag Design	Unknown
Field Armies	NMA 1645-6
	Hesilrige 1648

Also Colonel Robert Lilburne’s, Sir Arthur Hesilrige’s, Charles Howard’s, John Meyer’s and Lord Widdrington’s Regiment of Foot

New Model Army regiment of foot, serving in the First Civil War and thereafter in garrison in the north

Service History

1645

April: Formed from Colonel Ralph Weldon’s Regiment of Foot of Waller’s army
May: Relief of Taunton
May to July: Besieged at Taunton
July: Battle of Langport
July: Siege of Bridgewater
August: Siege of Portishead Point Fort (det)
August to September: Siege of Bristol
October: Siege of Tiverton
October to April 1646: Siege of Exeter
16 December 1645 Weldon appointed Governor of Plymouth (LJ viii, 43)

1646

January to May: Siege of Salcombe Castle
March: Taking of Inch House
May to June: Siege of Oxford
Command of the regiment given to Colonel Robert Lilburne. (precise date not known but probably early in the year)

1647

May: Divided as to whether to serve in Ireland
June: Refuse to disband
October: Mutiny at St Albans
December: Sir Arthur Hesilrige replaces Lilburne as Colonel

1648

In garrison at Newcastle
August: Storm of Tynemouth Castle

1649

Garrison Newcastle and Tynemouth

1650

Garrison Newcastle and Tynemouth
August: Five companies sent to form George Monck’s Regiment of Foot, Hesilrigge instructed to re-raise five companies
Suppress Scottish witch-finder in Newcastle

1651

Guard Scots prisoners from Dunbar at Durham
October: Eight companies garrison Carlisle, two Tynemouth

1652

1653

1654

1655

1656

July: Howard replaces Hesilrige

1657

1658

In garrison at Berwick (5 coy), Carlisle ( 3 coy) and Tynemouth (1 coy)
April: Ordered to be recruited up to 1000 and add one company newly raised in Hartlepool

1659

July: Parliament replaces Howard with Hesilrige again
October: Monck secures co-operation of the regiment in Berwick
October: Companies in Carlisle support the army faction

1660

January: Companies in Carlisle and Tynemouth declare for Parliament
March: Hesilrige replaced by his Lieutenant Colonel, John Meyer
August: Lord Widdrington appointed Colonel
November: Four companies disbanded at Carlisle
Remainder of the regiment retained in garrison a while before disbanding

Notes

A history of the regiment is given in The Regimental History of Cromwell's Army by Sir Charles Firth and Godfrey Davies, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1940.

Colonel Ralph Weldon’s New Model Army regiment was formed from his own regiment of Sir William Waller’s Southern Association, originally raised in Kent. They missed Naseby instead fighting at Taunton, then on Fairfax’s Western campaign, and served at the siege of Oxford.

Weldon being appointed governor of Plymouth the regiment was given to Robert Lilburne, then passed to Sir Arthur Hesilrige with the regiment moving into garrison at Newcastle by 1648. In August of that year they stormed Tynemouth Castle after Lt Col Henry Lilburne had changed sides and declared for the King. The regiment remained in garrison in the North, sending drafts to Scotland and Ireland. In 1659 they eventually came over to Monck’s party and were disbanded at the end of 1660.

Coats, Flags and Equipment

Red coats. Probably the regiment carried crimson flags in 1645; they had carried crimson colours and worn red coats in the Southern Association. While most other New Model regiments of foot received funds to buy colours in April 1645, Weldon’s had to wait until the 27th of November, implying that they held onto their old colours throughout the year. What colour the November flags were is sadly unrecorded. They also received new partizans, halberds and drums at the same time.

Notable Officers