Waller defeated at Roundway Down — Royalists capture Bristol — First battle of Newbury — the Solemn League and Covenant — Death of John Pym
January
| (Early January) Publication at Oxford of the first issue of the Royalist newsbook Mercurius Aulicus under the editorship of John Birkenhead and Peter Heylin. Source: TKW, ODNB | |
| (Early January) Colonel Ruthven bombards Saltash on the Cornish side of the River Tamar but is unable to capture the town. TGCW | |
| 2 | Petition from the Common Council of the City of London presented to the King at Oxford requesting his return to Westminster and assuring him of protection. HGCW1 |
| 3 | London apprentices petition for peace at Westminster. Peace petitions also in circulation in Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire. HGCW1 |
| Covenanter leaders petition for the suppression of the King's letter to the Scottish Privy Council denouncing Parliament. TSR | |
| 6 | The Earl of Stamford arrives at Exeter to take command of Parliament's forces in Devon. ODNB |
| 7 | Prince Rupert mounts an unsuccessful attack on Cirencester. HGCW1 |
| 9 | Ending of the first meeting of the Confederate Assembly of Kilkenny. TCK |
| The Marquis of Hertford arrives at Oxford with 2,000 recruits from Wales. ODNB | |
| 10 | The Scottish Privy Council considers the Covenanters' petition and also the "Cross Petition" signed by Royalist nobles and lairds. The Council votes to reverse its decision of 20 December 1642 and to publish a declaration by the English Parliament. Covenanter leaders call for a meeting of the Scottish Parliament. TSR |
| 11 | King Charles commissions the Marquis of Ormond, the Earl of Clanricarde and others to meet with Irish Catholic leaders in order to report to him on their complaints. HGCW1 |
| 12 | The King and the Princes Charles and James review Royalist troops at Oxford. DBD |
| 13 | The King's reply to the petition of the Common Council read in London. King Charles agrees to return to London on condition that the Lord Mayor and several named citizens are first placed under arrest. His terms are rejected. HGCW1 |
| General Preston besieges Birr Castle in King's County, Leinster. TCK | |
| 15 | Sir William Waller receives the public thanks of the House of Commons for his services to the Parliamentarian cause. DBD |
| Colonel Ellis seizes Chirk Castle in Denbighshire for the King. TCG | |
| 17 | Two Parliamentarian ships laden with weapons, ammunition and money forced into Falmouth and captured by Cornish Royalists, enabling Sir Ralph Hopton to re-equip his army. TGCW |
| 18 | Hopton appointed commander-in-chief of the Royalist western army. DBD |
| Four Scottish commissioners appointed to go to the King and to the English Parliament to work for the abolition of episcopacy in England and the summoning of a meeting of divines of both kingdoms to discuss religious matters. TSR | |
| 19 | Battle of Braddock Down. Colonel Ruthven defeated by Cornish Royalists commanded by Sir Ralph Hopton. Hopton's victory secures Cornwall for the King. HGCW1 |
| General Preston and the Leinster army capture Birr Castle in King's County. Preston advances to Bannagher, which surrenders without a shot being fired. TCW, TCK | |
| 21 | Parliament resolves that forces from the counties of Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire should form an association, but the idea is opposed by Sir Richard Onslow of the Surrey Committee and members of the Hampshire Committee. RG |
| 22 | Hopton and Lord Mohun storm and capture Saltash near Plymouth. TGCW |
| 23 | Sir Thomas Fairfax defeats Sir William Savile and captures Leeds. SOB |
| 25 | Sir Ralph Hopton resumes the siege of Plymouth. Royalist forces occupy surrounding towns to seal off the city by land. DBD |
| 26 | General Preston captures Fort Falkland to complete the Confederate conquest of King's County. TCK |
| 27 | The Earl of Newcastle withdraws to York with most of the Royalist northern army. DBD |
| 28 | Sir William Brereton defeats Sir Thomas Aston at Nantwich, which he fortifies and holds as the headquarters of Parliament's forces in Cheshire. HGCW1, ODNB |
| 30 | Letters from the King to the Queen that were intercepted by Lord Fairfax in Yorkshire are read in Parliament. The letters prove the King's encouragement of Roman Catholics in the Earl of Newcastle's northern army. Parliament orders the letters to be printed. RKP, HCJ |
February
| (Early February) Viscount Ranelagh and Sir Charles Coote flee from Connacht towards Dublin. Source: TCK | |
| 1 | Parliamentary commissioners present peace proposals to the King at Oxford, calling for a disbandment of both armies. HGCW1 |
| 2 | Taking advantage of Lord Stamford's march south into Devon, Prince Rupert storms and captures Cirencester, essential for keeping Royalist lines of communication to the south-west open. RG, HGCW1 |
| Queen Henrietta Maria with a large store of weapons and money sets sail for England, accompanied by Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp. Her convoy is driven back by storms. HGCW1 | |
| 3 | The King presents his counter-proposals at Oxford, calling for a cessation of hostilities during the peace negotiations rather than disbandment. HGCW1 |
| 5 | Battle of Rathconnel: Viscount Ranelagh and Sir Charles Coote defeat General Preston when he attempts to prevent their withdrawal from Connacht to Dublin. TCK |
| 7 | The House of Lords votes for a cessation of hostilities and the disbandment of both armies. HLJ |
| 8-28 | The House of Commons debates terms and procedures for continuing peace negotiations with the King. New proposals for a cessation forwarded to Oxford on 28 February. HGCW1 |
| 8 | The poet Sidney Godolphin killed during a skirmish near Okehampton in Devon. TGCW |
| 9 | Sir John Seaton storms and captures Preston in Lancashire for Parliament. AECW |
| 11 | Sir William Waller commissioned Major-General of the Western Association, comprising the counties of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Somerset. RG |
| 14 | Houghton Tower in Lancashire surrenders to Parliamentarians from Preston, but sixty Parliamentarians are killed when a booby-trapped supply of gunpowder is set off. AECW |
| 16 | The Royalist Earl of Derby driven back from an attack on Bolton in Lancashire. AECW |
| 19 | Parliamentarian forces seize Lancaster in Lancashire. AECW |
| 20 | Lord Herbert advances from south Wales towards Gloucester and defeats a Parliamentarian force under Colonel Berrow at Coleford in the Forest of Dean. NUS, ECWB |
| 21 | Major-General James Chudleigh defeats the Royalists at Modbury in Devon to relieve the blockade of Plymouth. TGCW |
| 22 | Sir Ralph Hopton orders his artillery back into Cornwall and withdraws to Tavistock. TGCW |
| The Queen's convoy finally lands at Bridlington Bay, Yorkshire. HGCW1 | |
| Prince Rupert leads 1,500 horse and dragoons out of Oxford to intercept Waller's advance guard and an artillery train on its way to join Waller's army. Informed by spies of Rupert's movements, Waller recalls his forces. Rupert attacks 200 of Waller's troopers at Alton but withdraws after two Royalist charges are repulsed. RG, CWIH | |
| 23 | Parliamentarian warships under Vice-Admiral William Batten bombard Bridlington, endangering the Queen. HGCW1 |
| The Scottish commissioners meet the King at Oxford and offer to mediate with Parliament, but the King questions their authority to intervene in English affairs. TSR | |
| 24 | Parliament passes an ordinance for raising money for the maintenance of the army by a weekly assessment, to be imposed on all counties in England. AOI |
| 25 | Lord Brooke defeats Colonel Wagstaffe at Welcombe Hill to secure Stratford-upon-Avon for Parliament. TCG |
| 27 | Major-General Thomas Ballard approaches Newark in Nottinghamshire with 6,000 Parliamentarian troops from Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Royalist defenders driven back from outlying garrisons. TGCW, TCG |
| 28 | Parliamentarian attack on Newark repulsed. Sir John Henderson leads a counterattack from within the town that drives Major-General Ballard's forces away. TGCW |
| Sir Ralph Hopton and the Earl of Stamford negotiate a cessation of hostilities in Devon and Cornwall, to allow both sides to reorganise their forces. TGCW | |
March
| 1 | Parliamentary commissioners at Oxford present revised terms for a cessation of arms to the King. Source: HGCW1 |
| 2 | Lord Brooke killed at the siege of Lichfield. ODNB |
| The Marquis of Ormond advances from Dublin with the intention of capturing Ross in County Wexford to disrupt communications between the Confederate capital Kilkenny and the ports of Waterford and Wexford. TCK | |
| 3 | Sir William Waller occupies Winchester in Hampshire with 400 dragoons and ten troops of horse. RG, CWIH |
| 4 | Royalist garrison at Lichfield surrenders to Sir John Gell. HGCW1 |
| Waller's forces defile the ancient monastery church at Romsey. DBD | |
| Ormond's advance towards Ross delayed by the stubborn resistance of the defenders of Timolin Castle in County Kildare. TCK | |
| 6 | The King replies to Parliament's terms for a cessation; amongst other measures, he insists that naval commanders and governors of fortified towns be appointed by him. HGCW1 |
| 7 | Prince Rupert attempts to capture the key port of Bristol, but a plot to open the gates for him fails and he is forced to withdraw to Oxford. HGCW1 |
| Parliament issues orders for the fortification of London. HGCW1 | |
| The Queen arrives in York. TGCW | |
| 9 | Waller arrives at Salisbury in Wiltshire, where he seizes money, weapons and horses. DBD |
| 11 | Ormond besieges Ross in County Wexford. TCK |
| 14 | Oliver Cromwell seizes Lowestoft in Suffolk for Parliament. TCG |
| 15 | Sir William Waller arrives at Bristol. His army has increased to around 2,000 men. RG |
| 16 | Ormond abandons the siege of Ross on hearing news of the approach of Confederate reinforcements. TCK |
| 17 | Negotiations begin at Trim between representatives of the Confederates and the King's representative the Earl of Clanricarde. The complaints of the Irish Catholics sent to the King in the Remonstrance of Grievances. HGCW1 |
| 18 | Parliament offers a compromise over the appointment of commanders of forts and ships, suggesting that they be nominated by the King but subject to approval by Parliament. HGCW1 |
| Battle of Ross: the Marquis of Ormond defeats General Thomas Preston and the Leinster Confederates when they attempt to block his withdrawal to Dublin. TCW, CCW | |
| The Earl of Derby storms Lancaster but is unable to capture the castle. His badly-disciplined troops plunder and burn the town. AECW, DBD | |
| 19 | Battle of Hopton Heath, Staffordshire. The Royalist Earl of Northampton defeats Sir William Brereton and Sir John Gell, but Northampton is killed in action. Prince Rupert ordered to take command of Royalist forces in the Midlands. HGCW1 |
| 20 | The Earl of Derby captures Preston, Lancashire. Blackburn also surrenders to the Royalists. AECW |
| 21 | Sir William Waller storms Malmesbury in Wiltshire. Colonel Lunsford's garrison surrenders early next morning. HGCW1, RG |
| Oliver Cromwell occupies King's Lynn in Norfolk to investigate rumours of the governor Sir Hammond L'Estrange's disloyalty to Parliament. TCG | |
| 23 | The King objects to Parliament's terms for a cessation and proposes that commanders of forts and ships should be restored as they were before the outbreak of the war. HGCW1 |
| Charles Cavendish and Sir John Henderson with a force from Newark capture Grantham in Lincolnshire in a surprise attack. TGCW | |
| 24 | Waller surprises Lord Herbert's Welsh Royalists at Highnam near Gloucester. The Royalist cavalry flee and the infantry surrender. HGCW1 |
| Waller secures Gloucester for Parliament and pushes west. HGCW1 | |
| 25 | Sir Hugh Cholmley, Parliamentarian governor of Scarborough in Yorkshire, defects to the King, delivering Scarborough Castle to the Royalists. HGCW1 |
| 26 | Prince Rupert recaptures Malmesbury. ECWB |
| 27 | Parliament establishes the Committee for Sequestration to confiscate the estates of all who gave assistance to the King. HGCW1, AOI |
| 28 | John Pym's proposal to impose an Excise Tax on "superfluous commodities" rejected by the House of Commons. HGCW1 |
| The Earl of Derby attacks Bolton in Lancashire for the second time, but is repulsed. AECW | |
| 29 | Prince Rupert marches from Oxford for the Midlands, intending to open a route south for the Queen's convoy at York. DBD |
| 30 | Battle of Seacroft Moor, Yorkshire. Lieutenant-General George Goring routs Sir Thomas Fairfax as he withdraws from Tadcaster. TGCW |
| The House of Commons orders the arrest of the Capuchins at the Queen's Chapel in Somerset House and the destruction of religious images in the chapel, including an altar-piece by Rubens which is thrown into the Thames. HGCW1 | |
| 31 | Sir William Parsons, Lord-Justice of Ireland, dismissed from office for his opposition to an alliance between the Royalists and the "Old English" gentry of Ireland. The King appoints Sir Henry Tichborne to replace Parsons and work alongside Sir John Borlase. HGCW1 |
April
| (Early April) Sir William Waller advances into Monmouthshire; Prince Maurice sent from Oxford to counter Waller's advance towards Wales. Source: TGCW | |
| 1 | The Royalist town of Wigan in Lancashire sacked by Colonel Holland's Parliamentarians. AECW, DBD |
| 2 | The Earl of Newcastle recaptures Wakefield in Yorkshire. DBD |
| 3 | Prince Rupert storms Birmingham. HGCW1 |
| Action at Stockton Heath: Sir William Brereton attacks the Earl of Derby's headquarters at Warrington. Brereton is driven off, but Derby remains hemmed in at Warrington. AECW | |
| 4 | King Charles appoints three noblemen as lieutenant-generals for Wales and the Marches: Lord Herbert in south-east Wales, Lord Capel in the north, and Lord Carbery in the south-west. RWE |
| As Sir William Waller approaches Monmouth, the Royalist garrison withdraws to Raglan Castle, enabling the Parliamentarians to occupy the town. DBD | |
| 5 | Sir William Brereton's second attack on Warrington repulsed. AECW |
| Sir William Waller captures Chepstow in Monmouthshire. ECWB | |
| 8 | Parliament rejects the King's terms for a cessation and renews the original proposal for disbandment. HGCW1 |
| 10 | Rupert besieges Lichfield. HGCW1 |
| 11 | Threatened by Prince Maurice, Waller withdraws towards Gloucester. HGCW1 |
| Battle of Ancaster Heath, Lincolnshire. Lord Willoughby's Parliamentarians defeated by Charles Cavendish. TGCW | |
| 12 | The King offers his final peace terms, which are wholly unacceptable to Parliament. HGCW1 |
| The Marquis of Hamilton granted a dukedom. ODNB | |
| Colonel Massie captures Tewkesbury where he is joined by Sir William Waller. AECW | |
| 13 | Prince Maurice blocks Waller's advance towards Worcester and defeats him at the battle of Ripple Field. Waller forced to withdraw to Gloucester. TGCW |
| The Earl of Essex marches from Windsor with an army of 19,000 men to besiege Reading. HGCW1 | |
| At Athy in Leinster, the Earl of Castlehaven defeats a British detachment under Colonel Crawford marching to raise the siege of Ballynekill. TCK | |
| 14 | Parliament rejects the King's terms. Parliamentary commissioners at Oxford instructed to abandon peace negotiations and return to London. HGCW1 |
| 15 | Sir Arthur Aston defies the Earl of Essex's summons to surrender Reading. SGCW |
| 16 | Bombardment of Reading begins. SGCW |
| 19 | The King gives his final rejection of the Scottish commissioners' offer to mediate with Parliament. He refuses to allow them to go to London and rejects their request that a Parliament should be summoned in Scotland. TSR |
| 20 | Prince Rupert's engineers detonate the first explosive mine used in England to breach the defences at Lichfield Close. TCG, DBD |
| The Earl of Derby defeated at Whalley Abbey in Lancashire by Colonel Shuttleworth. Derby withdraws to the Isle of Man. Parliamentarians control most of Lancashire. AECW, DBD | |
| 21 | Lichfield surrenders to Prince Rupert. He is immediately recalled south by the King to counter the threat from the Earl of Essex. HGCW1 |
| The King appoints the Earl of Lanark head of a delegation of Scottish Royalist nobles to go to Edinburgh and work against an alliance between the Covenanters and the English Parliament. TSR | |
| 22 | Colonel Oliver Cromwell occupies Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. TGCW |
| Expiration of the truce between the Royalists and Parliamentarians in the West. Major-General Chudleigh marches into Cornwall to attack Sir Ralph Hopton at Launceston. TGCW | |
| 23 | Sir Ralph Hopton drives back Chudleigh's advance at Beacon Hill near Launceston and pursues him back into Devon. TGCW |
| King Charles officially authorises the Marquis of Ormond to begin negotiations for a cessation of hostilities with the Irish Confederates. TCW | |
| 24 | The House of Commons orders the destruction of religious monuments and stained glass windows in Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's. HGCW1 |
| 25 | Sir William Waller takes Hereford for Parliament. HGCW1 |
| Action at Caversham Bridge. A Royalist relief force fails to relieve the siege of Reading. SGCW | |
| Sir Ralph Hopton surprised and routed at Sourton Down near Okehampton. The Earl of Stamford sends a detachment to hold Bodmin for Parliament and concentrates his main force at Stratton. TGCW | |
| Colonel Oliver Cromwell joins forces with Sir Miles Hobart and Sir Anthony Irby in besieging Croyland in Lincolnshire, defended by a Royalist cousin Captain Cromwell. TGCW | |
| 26 | Reading surrenders to the Earl of Essex. SGCW |
| 28 | Surrender of Croyland to Cromwell, Hobart and Irby. TGCW |
May
| 2 | Sir Edward Hungerford summons Wardour Castle in Wiltshire. In the absence of Lord Arundel, who is on campaign with Sir Ralph Hopton, Lady Arundel refuses to surrender. Source: DBD |
| The Common Council of London orders the destruction of Cheapside Cross as an idolatrous monument. HGCW1 | |
| 4 | The Earl of Newcastle storms and captures Rotherham in Yorkshire. ATKA |
| 5 | Court-martial at Oxford of Colonel Fielding for surrendering Reading. He is condemned to death, but later reprieved. DBD |
| 6 | The Earl of Newcastle storms and captures Sheffield in Yorkshire. ATKA |
| 8 | Lady Arundel surrenders Wardour Castle to Sir Edward Hungerford. DBD |
| 9 | Lord Willoughby, Sir John Hotham and Colonel Cromwell rendezvous at Sleaford in Lincolnshire in preparation for an attack on Newark. TGCW |
| 11 | Lord Willoughby's forces arrive at Grantham but make no further progress towards Newark. TGCW |
| 12 | The Scottish Privy Council votes to summon a Convention of Estates as the King will not allow a full Parliament. TSR |
| 13 | Royalists out of Newark attack Lord Willoughby at Grantham. In his first independent action as a cavalry commander, Oliver Cromwell routs a Royalist force. TGCW |
| 15 | Colonel Thomas Pinchbeck arrives at Oxford with a large convoy of arms and ammunition sent by the Queen from the north. ATKA |
| 16 | Battle of Statton, Cornwall. Sir Ralph Hopton defeats Parliament's western army under the Earl of Stamford. The victory enables Hopton to secure Devon for the Royalists, with the exception of the garrison towns of Plymouth, Exeter, Dartmouth, Bideford and Barnstaple. TGCW |
| The Earl of Lanark arrives in Edinburgh too late to prevent the decision to call a Convention. TSR | |
| 18 | Captain Ludlow appointed commander of the garrison at Wardour Castle. DBD |
| Short of men to garrison the town, Sir William Waller abandons Hereford and returns to Gloucester. ATKA | |
| 20 | Parliamentarians from Manchester besiege Warrington in Cheshire. They are later joined by Sir William Brereton and a large force from Cheshire. DBD |
| The second Confederate Assembly meets at Kilkenny. TCK | |
| 21 | Sir Thomas Fairfax storms and captures Wakefield against heavy odds. Lieutenant-General George Goring taken prisoner. Lacking forces to garrison the town, Fairfax withdraws to Leeds. TGCW |
| 22 | The King writes to the Duke of Hamilton authorising him to forbid the meeting of the Convention of Estates. TSR |
| Sir William Waller concentrates Parliament's Western Association forces at Bath. RG | |
| 23 | The House of Commons impeaches Queen Henrietta Maria for high treason, on the grounds that she has brought arms and ammunition into the country in order to prosecute war against Parliament. HGCW1 |
| 27 | Colonel Norris surrenders Warrington in Cheshire to Brereton's Parliamentarians. Sir George Booth installed as governor of Warrington. DBD |
| 28 | Sir William Waller advances on Worcester. RG |
| 29 | Waller's attack on Worcester repulsed by Colonel Samuel Sandys. Waller withdraws to Gloucester on receiving reports that a brigade of horse from Oxford is marching to cut him off. ATKA, RG |
| 31 | Arrest of Edmund Waller and others involved in a plot to instigate a Royalist uprising in London. HGCW1 |
| Sir Ralph Hopton advances to Honiton in Devon. DBD | |
| William Prynne authorised to seize Archbishop Laud's papers to search for evidence against him. DNB | |
| (End of May) The Earl of Antrim taken prisoner by Covenanter forces in Ulster. His captured correspondence reveals details of a plan for a Royalist uprising in Scotland supported by an Irish Catholic army. HGCW1 | |
June
| 1 | The Scottish Privy Council meets in Edinburgh. The Duke of Hamilton does not enforce the command forbidding the meeting of the Convention of Estates in case the order is disobeyed and the King's authority weakened. Source: TSR |
| 2 | Gathering of Parliamentarian commanders at Nottingham: Lord Grey of Groby, Lord Willoughby, Colonel Cromwell, Sir John Gell and Captain Hotham. Cromwell's plan to advance into Yorkshire to support the Fairfaxes is rejected. HGCW1 |
| 4 | Sir Ralph Hopton's army joins forces with Prince Maurice and the Marquis of Hertford at Chard in Somerset. Royalist garrisons established at Taunton, Bridgwater, Dunster Castle then the main army moves towards Wells and Bath, where Waller's forces are established. TGCW |
| Queen Henrietta Maria sets out from York for Oxford with a force of around 3,000 men and an ammunition convoy. ATKA | |
| The Earl of Castlehaven defeats Lord Inchiquin's lieutenant Sir Charles Vavasour at Cloghlea in County Cork, inflicting heavy losses and capturing Vavasour himself. TCK | |
| 5 | Letters read in the House of Commons detailing the King's dealings with the Confederates in Ireland. HGCW1 |
| 6 | John Pym reports on the discovery of Edmund Waller's plot. The House of Commons resolves to implement an oath of loyalty in support of Parliament's war against the Papists and Royalists. The "Peace Party" undermined. HGCW1 |
| The House of Lords authorises the meeting of an Assembly of Divines to discuss reform the Church of England (without the assent of the King). HGCW1 | |
| 8 | Sir William Waller occupies Bath. RG |
| 9 | The Privy Council of Scotland agrees to consider an alliance with the English Parliament in view of the discovery of Lord Antrim's plans for a Royalist uprising supported by Catholic troops from Ireland. Elections for the Convention of Estates begin. TSR |
| 10 | King Charles gives permission for the Convention of Estates to meet in Edinburgh but forbids it from raising an army or recalling Scottish troops from Ulster. TSR |
| The Earl of Essex occupies Thame in Oxfordshire. TGCW | |
| 12 | Advance guard of the combined Royalist western army attacks Waller's outposts at Chewton Mendip. Prince Maurice wounded and briefly captured. HGCW1, ODNB |
| Parliament passes an ordinance authorising the meeting of the Westminster Assembly to discuss reform of the Church. TCWA | |
| 13 | The Earl of Essex's advance guard occupies Wheatley in Oxfordshire. HGCW1 |
| Sir Robert Stewart and the Lagan Army ambush and defeat Owen Roe O'Neill's Ulster army at Clones in County Monaghan. TCW | |
| 14 | Parliament passes an ordinance authorising a body of censors, without whose license nothing may be published. AOI |
| 16 | The Queen's convoy arrives at Newark to complete the first stage of the march to Oxford. DBD |
| 17 | A detachment from Essex's army advances on Islip near Oxford but withdraws without attacking. TGCW |
| Prince Rupert leads a raid out of Oxford on Essex's garrisons. TGCW | |
| 18 | Rupert's force attacks Postcombe and Chinnor. Action at Chalgrove Field in Buckinghamshire. John Hampden mortally wounded. TGCW |
| Captain Hotham arrested at Nottingham. HGCW1 | |
| 21 | The House of Commons passes articles for the Queen's impeachment on charges of high treason. HCJ |
| The Queen's convoy sets out from Newark for Oxford with Lieutenant-General Charles Cavendish in command of the military escort. ATKA | |
| 22 | First meeting of the Convention of Estates in Edinburgh. TSR |
| The Earl of Newcastle resumes operations in Yorkshire. His forces storm and capture Howley Hall, the residence of Lord Savile. HGCW1 | |
| 23 | Sir Walter Erle with six hundred Parliamentarian troops from the Poole garrison besieges Corfe Castle in Dorset, defended by Lady Mary Bankes. CWIH, ECWB |
| 24 | Truce negotiations between the Marquis of Ormond and the Irish Confederates begin. TCW |
| Captain Hotham escapes to Lincoln then joins his father at Hull. HGCW1 | |
| Death of John Hampden. HGCW1 | |
| A committee selected to define the powers of the Convention of Estates. TSR | |
| 25 | Detachment of Royalist cavalry under Colonel Hurry sweeps around the rear of Essex's army and plunders Wycombe, causing great alarm in London. HGCW1 |
| 26 | The Convention of Estates votes to ignore the limitations on its powers imposed by the King. The Duke of Hamilton and Earl of Lanark withdraw in protest. TSR |
| 28 | The Earl of Essex tenders his resignation after his leadership is sharply criticised; Parliament is unable to accept it. HGCW1 |
| The Convention of Estates orders that the documents captured from the Earl of Antrim should be forwarded to the Westminster Parliament. TSR | |
| The Earl of Newcastle marches on Bradford. HGCW1 | |
| 29 | Colonel John Hutchinson appointed governor of Nottingham. DBD |
| Arrest of Sir John Hotham and his son for plotting to betray Hull to the Royalists. HGCW1 | |
| King Charles issues a proclamation prohibiting the meeting of the Westminster Assembly of Divines. TCWA | |
| 30 | Battle of Adwalton Moor, Yorkshire. The Earl of Newcastle defeats Ferdinando Lord Fairfax. All of Yorkshire under Royalist control except the port of Hull. The Fairfaxes trapped in Bradford. HGCW1 |
| Sir William Waller sends Major Dowet with 250 troopers to beat up the quarters of the western Royalist army at Beckington near Frome in Somerset. RG, ECWB | |
July
| 1 | First meeting of the Westminster Assembly of Divines, authorised by Parliament to reform the English Church. Source: HGCW1 |
| Lord Fairfax breaks out of Bradford with most of the Parliamentarian army and marches for Hull via Leeds. Sir Thomas Fairfax stays behind to cover the withdrawal. SOB | |
| Prince Rupert advances to Buckingham in anticipation of meeting the Queen's convoy from the north and covering the last stage of her march to Oxford. ATKA | |
| 2 | Royalist attacks on Bradford repulsed. SOB |
| The Royalist western army secures the crossing of the River Avon at Bradford-upon-Avon in Wiltshire. DBD, RG | |
| Lieutenant-General Cavendish forces a crossing of the River Trent at Burton-upon-Trent to allow the Queen's convoy to cross. ATKA | |
| 3 | Sir Thomas Fairfax escapes from Bradford with a small force. Lady Ann Fairfax taken prisoner. The Earl of Newcastle occupies Bradford. SOB |
| Sir William Waller arrays his army on Claverton Down outside Bath. Colonel Robert Burghill advances to attack Royalist outposts on the western side of the River Avon. RG | |
| 4 | Lord Fairfax arrives in Hull; Sir Thomas joins him that evening after a gallant fighting retreat from Bradford. SOB |
| Sir William Waller takes up his position on Lansdown Hill near Bath. TGCW | |
| 5 | Battle of Lansdown, Somerset. Sir William Waller narrowly defeated by the Royalist western army. Death in action of Sir Bevil Grenville. TGCW |
| 6 | Sir Ralph Hopton temporarily blinded and paralysed in an ammunition explosion. TGCW |
| 7 | Waller reinforces his army with troops from Bristol, then sets out in pursuit of Hopton's Royalists making their way towards Oxford. TGCW |
| 9 | Prince Maurice fights a rearguard action against Waller's advance guard, enabling Hopton's army to retreat into Devizes. TGCW |
| The Earl of Essex writes to Parliament stating that the Parliamentarian army is inadequate and proposing that peace negotiations with the King should be resumed. This is widely interpreted as an indication of Essex's unreliability. RKP | |
| An ammunition convoy under the command of the Earl of Crawford sent from Oxford to reinforce the Western Army.ATKA | |
| 10 | Waller takes up a position on Roundway Down, overlooking Devizes. TGCW |
| Prince Maurice, Lord Hertford and Lord Carnarvon break out of Devizes and ride to Oxford to secure reinforcements for Hopton's beleaguered army. The Parliamentarians besiege Devizes. TGCW | |
| 11 | Prince Rupert meets the Queen's convoy at Stratford-on-Avon. ATKA |
| The Earl of Crawford's convoy is ambushed on the way to Devizes by a party of Waller's horse under Major Dowett. Most of the powder and ammunition captured. ATKA, EHRD | |
| 12 | Rendezvous at Marlborough in Wiltshire between Prince Maurice and the cavalry brigades of Lord Wilmot, Lord Crawford and Sir John Byron. ATKA |
| 13 | Battle of Roundway Down: Prince Maurice, Lord Wilmot and Sir John Byron inflict a heavy defeat on Waller who retreats to Bristol with the remnants of his army. RG |
| King Charles and Queen Henrietta Maria re-united, making their rendezvous on the battlefield of Edgehill. HGCW1 | |
| (Mid-July) Father Peter Scarampi arrives in Ireland as envoy to the Confederates from the Vatican. Scarampi brings supplies of money, weapons and ammunition from the Pope. TCK | |
| 15 | Prince Rupert marches from Oxford with three brigades of infantry and two brigades of horse and dragoons to join with the Western Army. ATKA |
| 16 | Sir William Waller reviews his surviving forces on Durdham Down outside Bristol. Leaving most of them to garrison Bristol, he withdraws to Gloucester and then to London. RG |
| 17 | The King orders all loyal naval officers and seamen to sail to Falmouth in Cornwall, where a new Royal Navy is to be formed under the command of Sir John Penington. TCW |
| The artillery train leaves Oxford to join Prince Rupert's army in the West. ATKA | |
| 18 | Sir William Brereton probes the outer defences of Chester but withdraws after two days. DBD |
| Pro-Royalist uprising in Kent; houses of rich Parliamentarians plundered in Tonbridge and Sevenoaks. TKW | |
| Parliament receives a petition from the mayor, aldermen and Common Council of London requesting that the London militia be placed under the sole command of the Militia Committee under the direction of Parliament, rather than the Earl of Essex. RKP | |
| 19 | Parliament issues Instructions to four commissioners to go to Edinburgh and negotiate an alliance with the Scots. TSR |
| 20 | Lord Willoughby captures Gainsborough in Lincolnshire for Parliament. HGCW1 |
| Parliament receives a second petition regarding the command and organisation of the London militia and appoints a committee to discuss the matter. RKP | |
| 22 | The Excise Ordinance passed by both Houses of Parliament, imposing a purchase tax on many common goods to raise war funds. AOI |
| Parliament appoints a committee headed by John Pym to investigate the grievances and complaints of the Earl of Essex and his officers. RKP | |
| 23 | Prince Rupert joins with the western army before Bristol. TGCW |
| Colonel Rich leads Parliamentarian troops in Kent suppress riots over taxation and religious changes. HGCW1 | |
| 24 | On the recommendation of Pym's committee, Parliament resolves to settle arrears of pay in the Earl of Essex's army, to raise new recruits and to reinforce his cavalry. RKP, HCJ |
| Prince Rupert summons Bristol. Governor Nathaniel Fiennes refuses to surrender. The bombardment of Bristol begins. TGCW | |
| 25 | Sir William Waller arrives in London to a hero's welcome. The defeat at Roundway Down is blamed upon the failure of the Earl of Essex to support him. DBD, RKP |
| Parliament orders Oliver Cromwell and Sir John Meldrum to support Lord Willoughby at Gainsborough, who is threatened by Lieutenant-General Charles Cavendish's Royalists. HGCW1 | |
| 26 | Storming of Bristol. After a day of fierce fighting, Colonel Fiennes surrenders the city to Prince Rupert. TGCW |
| 27 | Sir William Waller thanked for his services by the House of Commons and recommended to the Earl of Essex as commander of the new forces to be raised in London. Essex deliberately delays issuing a commission to Waller. HCJ, ODNB |
| Colonel Cromwell and Sir John Meldrum rendezvous with troops from Lincolnshire at North Scarle. DBD | |
| 28 | Cromwell and Sir John Meldrum defeat Lieutenant-General Cavendish at Gainsborough but are unable to hold the town in the face of the approach of the Earl of Newcastle's main army. HGCW1 |
| The House of Commons appoints Colonel Cromwell governor of Ely. HCJ | |
| The Earl of Essex petitions the House of Lords for reinforcements and money to pay his troops. He also requests an enquiry into the causes of the loss of the West. RG | |
| 29 | The Common Council approves the selection of Sir William Waller as commander of new forces to be raised in London. RG |
| The House of Lords considers the Earl of Essex's grievances and resolves that his army should be paid and reinforced and that a vindication of Essex's conduct should be published. RKP, HLJ | |
| Colonel Massie and the principal officers of Gloucester write to Parliament appealing for troops, money, weapons and ammunition. BG | |
| 30 | Lord Willoughby surrenders Gainsborough to the Earl of Newcastle. HGCW1 |
| 31 | Colonel Richard Norton's attack on Basing House in Hampshire beaten off by the timely arrival of Lieutenant-Colonel Peake's musketeers sent from Oxford supported by Sir Henry Bard's cavalry. SGCW |
August
| 1 | King Charles enters Bristol, to the popular acclaim of the citizens. Source: HGCW1 |
| The House of Commons votes £1,700 and orders Sir William Waller to organise the sending of supplies and men for the relief of Gloucester (none of the supplies voted arrive in time). HCJ, BG | |
| 2 | Parliament sets up a Council of War to advise on military questions. RKP |
| Parliament votes to raise an additional 4,000 foot and 500 horse for the Earl of Essex's army. Essex to lead the army against the King's forces in the West. Waller to command forces to be raised for the defence of London. RKP, RG | |
| Dorchester in Dorset surrenders to Lord Carnarvon without a fight. ODNB | |
| 4 | Lord Capel attacks Nantwich in Cheshire while Sir William Brereton is away in Stafford, but the attack is repulsed. RWE |
| Sir Walter Erle abandons the siege of Corfe Castle. ECWB | |
| 5 | Weymouth and Portland surrender to Lord Carnarvon. ODNB |
| 6 | Advance guard of the King's army arrives on the outskirts of Gloucester. BG |
| 7 | Parliament's commissioners arrive in Edinburgh to negotiate the Solemn League and Covenant between Parliament and the Scots. TSR |
| The House of Commons votes against the House of Lords' proposals for re-opening negotiations with the King by 88 votes to 81. Seven peers (Portland, Northumberland, Conway, Holland, Bedford, Lovelace and Clare) leave Westminster in protest. The Earls of Holland and Bedford go to join the King at Oxford. HGCW1, RKP | |
| The Earl of Essex sends a commission for Sir William Waller but only empowers him to command the London militia. RG | |
| Owen Roe O'Neill defeats Lord Moore and government troops from Drogheda and Dublin at Portlester in County Meath (this battle is sometimes dated 11 September). TCK | |
| Captain William Smith captures two ships from Bristol and the Royalist admiral Barnabas Burley at Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire. Parliament orders regular naval patrols of Milford Haven. RWE, MCW1 | |
| 7-9 | Violent demonstrations at Westminster against the continuation of the war. A peace demonstration by London women is suppressed by Waller's regiment of horse. HGCW1, ODNB |
| 10 | The King besieges Gloucester. Colonel Edward Massie's resolute defence inspires the citizens of London to rally to the help of the beleaguered city. HGCW1 |
| The Earl of Manchester appointed commander of Parliament's Eastern Association army, with orders to block the Earl of Newcastle's advance towards London from the north. HGCW1 | |
| Parliament passes an ordinance authorising the impressment of men to serve in its armies. HGCW1 | |
| Parliament's commissioners in Edinburgh invite Scottish ministers to attend the Westminster Assembly to discuss reform of the English church. TSR | |
| Sir Thomas Myddelton arrives with troops and artillery from London at Nantwich in Cheshire, where he joins forces with Sir William Brereton. MCW1 | |
| 13 | Sir Hamon L'Estrange at King's Lynn in Norfolk declares for the King after refusing to pay Parliament's tax assessment. The Earl of Manchester and the Eastern Association army march to besiege Lynn. TCG |
| 15 | A delegation sent from the House of Commons to Essex's headquarters at Kingston to persuade him to extend Waller's commission. RG |
| 16 | Henry Marten imprisoned in the Tower of London and expelled from Parliament for making a speech openly hostile towards the Monarchy. HGCW1 |
| Publication of the first issue of the Parliamentarian newsbook Mercurius Britanicus, commissioned in response to the Royalist Mercurius Aulicus, under the editorship of Marchamont Nedham and Thomas Audley. DNB | |
| 17 | The Solemn League and Covenant ratified by the Convention of Estates. TSR |
| 18 | Mobilisation begins of a Scots army for possible service in England. SA |
| The Earl of Carbery summons the gentry of Pembrokeshire to Carmarthen and persuades them to support him in securing the ports of Tenby and Pembroke for the King. RWE | |
| The Earls of Holland, Bedford and Clare arrive at Oxford, having defected from Parliament. They go to Gloucester to offer their services to the King in person and are received with cold courtesy. HGCW1 | |
| 19 | The General Assembly of the Kirk appoints commissioners to attend the Westminster Assembly. TSR |
| The Common Council of London agrees to send a brigade of Trained Band and auxiliary regiments (the City Brigade) to relieve the siege of Gloucester with the Earl of Essex's regular army. FN | |
| 23 | The Earl of Manchester besieges King's Lynn. TCG |
| London Trained Band regiments begin mustering for the relief of Gloucester. FN | |
| 24 | The Earl of Essex reviews his army on Hounslow Heath. FN |
| 25 | Sir Thomas Fairfax abandons his base at Beverley in Yorkshire as the Earl of Newcastle's main army marches to besiege Hull. ATKA |
| 26 | Essex's army and the City Brigade march for the relief of Gloucester. FN |
| A copy of the Solemn League and Covenant received at Westminster and forwarded to the Assembly of Divines. HGCW1 | |
| The Convention of Estates authorises the formation of an army to be sent to England and commissions the Earl of Leven its commander. The Convention then adjourns until January 1644, leaving the Committee of Estates to govern Scotland in the interim. TSR | |
| The House of Commons finally receives the Earl of Essex's commission for the commander of the new army to be raised in London, but the name of the recipient is left blank. The House orders Waller's name to be inserted. RG | |
| 30 | Sir William Brereton captures Eccleshall Castle in Staffordshire. MCW1, ECWB |
| The Mayor and corporation of Tenby in Pembrokeshire sign a declaration promising to obey the Earl of Carbery and refusing to assist Parliament. RWE | |
September
| 1 | The Solemn League and Covenant discussed in the House of Commons. Source: HGCW1 |
| The Earl of Essex's army marching for the relief of Gloucester arrives at Brackley Heath in Northamptonshire to rendezvous with the City Brigade and contingents from Bedfordshire and Leicestershire. FN | |
| 2 | The Earl of Newcastle besieges Hull. SGCW |
| Surrender of Barnstaple in Devon to Prince Maurice. TCG | |
| Colonel Middleton and Sir James Ramsay fend off attacks by Lord Wilmot's cavalry on Essex's army. FN | |
| 4 | The Earl of Stamford surrenders Exeter to Prince Maurice. HGCW1 |
| Sir Ralph Hopton raised to the peerage as Baron Hopton of Stratton. ODNB | |
| Prince Rupert joins Lord Wilmot with most of the King's cavalry but they are unable to hinder the Earl of Essex's advance. FN | |
| 5 | Essex's army arrives at Prestbury Hill five miles from Gloucester. The King's army lifts the siege and withdraws to Sudely Castle. HGCW1 |
| 6 | Essex's army occupies Cheltenham. FN |
| 7 | The Solemn League and Covenant before the House of Lords. Scottish commissioners arrive in Westminster to finalise the alliance between Parliament and the Scots. HGCW1 |
| 8 | The Earl of Essex occupies Gloucester. HGCW1 |
| 9 | Sir William Brereton and Sir Thomas Myddelton advance into Shropshire and summon the county for Parliament. RWE, MCW1 |
| 10 | The Earl of Essex marches to Tewkesbury. He orders the construction of a pontoon bridge over the River Severn to convince the Royalists that he intends to march on Worcester. FN |
| 11 | Sir William Brereton and Sir Thomas Myddelton seize Wem in Shropshire for Parliament and establish a garrison under the command of Colonel Mytton. AECW, MCW1 |
| 12 | The House of Commons orders the impressment of 500 men for Waller's new army. CSWW |
| 13 | The defenders of Hull open the sluices and cut the banks of the River Humber to flood the surrounding land. SGCW |
| 14 | The Earl of Essex makes a feint towards Worcester then unexpectedly turns south, hoping to return his army to London and avoid a confrontation with the King's army. FN |
| 15 | The Cessation of Arms signed by the Marquis of Ormond for the King and Lord Mountgarret for the Confederates: a one-year cease fire which allows English troops in Irish garrisons to return to England to fight for the Royalists. TCW |
| 16 | King's Lynn in Norfolk surrenders to the Earl of Manchester. HGCW1 |
| After a night march from Tewkesbury, the Earl of Essex scatters the Royalist garrison at Cirencester and captures supplies and ammunition. HGCW1 | |
| 17 | The Earl of Essex's army at Swindon, the King's army ten miles to the north-east at Alvescot. The Parliamentarian army is eight miles closer to Newbury than the Royalists. DBD |
| 18 | Action at Aldbourne Chase. Prince Rupert hinders the Earl of Essex's return to London, enabling the main Royalist army to block his route home at Newbury. HGCW1 |
| The Earl of Carbery summons the trained bands of Pembrokeshire to a rendezvous at Haverfordwest, where the Mayor and leading citizens declare for the King. MCW1 | |
| 20 | First battle of Newbury. After a day of fierce fighting during which Viscount Falkland, Lord Carnarvon and Lord Sunderland are killed, the King decides to withdraw his army, leaving Essex's route home open. HGCW1 |
| 21 | At Aldermaston in Berkshire, Prince Rupert's cavalry attacks the rearguard of the Earl of Essex's army as it withdraws towards London. FN |
| 22 | Oliver Cromwell crosses the River Humber and brings a store of muskets and gunpowder to the defenders of Hull. HGCW1 |
| The Earl of Essex's army occupies Reading. FN | |
| Accused of cowardice and treachery by his political enemies, Nathaniel Fiennes requests a public enquiry into the circumstances of his surrender of Bristol. DBD | |
| 24 | Royalist assault led by Lord Crawford on Poole in Dorset is repulsed. CWIH |
| 25 | The Solemn League and Covenant signed by members of the House of Commons and the Assembly of Divines. They swear to preserve the Church of Scotland and to reform the churches of England and Ireland. The signing of the Covenant secures a military alliance between the English Parliament and the Scottish Covenanters. HGCW1 |
| The Earl of Essex evacuates Reading. Essex returns to London ahead of his main army, where he is warmly received by Parliament. FN | |
| 26 | Sir Thomas Fairfax with twenty-one troops of horse crosses from Hull to the Lincolnshire side of the Humber estuary to join forces with the Eastern Association. SOH |
| In Finsbury Fields, the Earl of Essex and a delegation of MPs review the Trained Band regiments that had remained in London. Essex loudly acclaimed. FN | |
| 28 | The London regiments arrive home from the Gloucester campaign to a jubilant welcome. FN |
| The Committee of Estates orders a general muster of all men aged between 16 and 60 from whom shire colonels are to select troops for the Army of the Covenant. TSR | |
| 29 | The King's council of war at Oxford resolves to form two new armies. Lord Hopton is appointed commander of a new western army to advance on London through Wiltshire and Hampshire; Lord Byron is appointed commander of a new army in Cheshire to regain Lancashire and assist the Earl of Newcastle in Yorkshire. Both armies to be reinforced by troops returning from Ireland. TGCW |
| 30 | Colonel James Wardlaw arrives to take command at Plymouth with 500 men to reinforce the garrison. SGCW |
| (End of September) Scottish troops occupy Berwick-on-Tweed. TSR | |
October
| (Early October) The Royalist Sir William Ogle captures Winchester in Hampshire in a surprise attack. Source: ECWB | |
| 3 | The Royalists re-occupy Reading, where Sir Jacob Astley is appointed governor. HGCW1 |
| 5 | Sir John Meldrum arrives with 500 foot from the Eastern Association to reinforce the defence of Hull. HGCW1 |
| 6 | Prince Maurice captures Dartmouth in a surprise attack. He then marches to reinforce the siege of Plymouth. ATKA |
| 7 | The Earl of Essex threatens to resign his commission unless the House of Commons agrees to ratify his seniority over Waller. The proposal is carried the following day. HLJ, HCJ |
| 9 | Sir William Waller surrenders his independent commission to the Earl of Essex. RG |
| The Earl of Manchester joins Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell at the siege of Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire. HGCW1 | |
| Royalist assault on the defences of Hull driven back. SGCW | |
| 11 | Battle of Winceby, Lincolnshire. First co-operative action between Oliver Cromwell and Sir Thomas Fairfax who rout Sir John Henderson's Royalist cavalry and open the way for the recovery of Lincolnshire for Parliament. HGCW1 |
| Sir John Meldrum attacks the Earl of Newcastle's siege-works at Hull. The Parliamentarians overrun the forts and haul off several siege cannon. SGCW | |
| 12 | The Earl of Newcastle abandons the siege of Hull. SGCW |
| 13 | The commissioners of the Kirk, the Committee of Estates and the English commissioners in Scotland sign the Solemn League and Covenant. TSR |
| 15 | A Royalist force under Sir Lewis Dyve captures Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire, commanding the main road from London to East Anglia and the north. A proposed march on Reading by the Earl of Essex and the London regiments is diverted to Newport Pagnell. HGCW1 |
| Remaining members of the House of Lords take the Solemn League and Covenant. HGCW1 | |
| (Mid-October) Lord Capel advances from Shrewsbury to attack the Parliamentarian garrison of Nantwich in Cheshire but his forces are repulsed by the Nantwich garrison. MCW1 | |
| 17 | Prince Maurice falls ill with typhus. DBD |
| Lord Capel attempts to recapture Wem in Shropshire but his forces are driven off by a token garrison under Colonel Mytton. AECW, SRMC | |
| 18 | Lord Capel's army retreating from Wem is caught at Lee Bridge by Sir William Brereton and severely beaten. AECW |
| 19 | The King appoints the Marquis of Ormond Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. HGCW1 |
| Parliament resolves to proceed with the impeachment of Archbishop Laud. HGCW1 | |
| 20 | Lincoln surrenders to the Earl of Manchester. HGCW1 |
| 23 | The first English regiments to be released from service in Ireland by the Cessation land at Minehead in Somerset. HGCW1 |
| 24 | Sir John Byron raised to the peerage as Baron Byron of Rochdale. ODNB |
| The Royalist newspaper Mercurius Aulicus publishes a declaration of loyalty secured by the Earl of Carbery from the gentry of Pembrokeshire and the corporation of Pembroke. RWE | |
| 25 | A brigade of London Trained Band regiments arrives at Windsor to join forces with Sir William Waller. RG |
| 27 | The Earl of Newcastle created a Marquis. ODNB |
| 28 | As the Earl of Essex approaches, Sir Lewis Dyve abandons the Royalist garrison at Newport Pagnell because of inadequate supplies, despite Prince Rupert's urgent requests to strengthen the garrison. HGCW1 |
| At Andover, a detachment of Waller's horse routs 100 horse from Winchester commanded by Sir Humphrey Bennett. CWSA | |
| 30 | Detachments of the Earl of Essex's army occupy Newport Pagnell and St. Albans. HGCW1 |
| 31 | The London Brigade under the command of Sir James Harrington advances to Waller's headquarters at Farnham in Surrey. RG, CWSA |
November
| (November) Alasdair MacColla raids the Western Isles of Scotland and captures Colonsay. Source: TCW | |
| (Early November) Lord Hopton takes the field in the south with his new army, including troops recently arrived from Munster. TGCW | |
| 1 | Parliamentarian commissioners appointed to accompany the Scottish army. HGCW1 |
| Sir William Waller reviews his forces at Farnham in Surrey. RG | |
| 2 | Members of the Scottish Privy Council sign the Solemn League and Covenant; the names of councillors who refuse to sign sent to the Committee of Estates. TSR |
| 3 | Waller marches for the Royalist stronghold of Winchester but is delayed by bad weather. RG |
| 4 | Sir William Waller commissioned major-general of the revived Southern Association army (Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire). HGCW1, RG |
| 5 | Lord Hopton at Andover in Hampshire to rendezvous with the Earl of Crawford and Colonel Gerard's cavalry brigade from Oxford. The Royalists march to secure Winchester. Waller abandons his march on Winchester and diverts his forces to attack Basing House RG |
| 6 | Waller summons Basing House, but is refused. RG |
| 7 | Waller's first attack on Basing House frustrated by bad weather. SGCW |
| Third Confederate General Assembly begins (continues until 1 December). TCW | |
| Sir William Brereton and Sir Thomas Myddelton advance from Nantwich to march into north Wales. The Cheshire Parliamentarians are joined by a contingent from Lancashire. MCW1 | |
| 9 | Sir William Brereton forces the crossing of the River Dee at Holt Bridge and advances into north Wales, A Royalist garrison remains in Holt Castle but Brereton's forces enter Wrexham unopposed that night. NUS, ECWB |
| 10 | Colonel Ravenscroft surrenders Hawarden Castle to Brereton MCW1, ECWB |
| 11 | Parliament introduces a Great Seal of its own and annuls all commissions made under the Seal held by the King. HGCW1 |
| News of the Parliamentarian invasion of north Wales reaches Oxford: King Charles orders Lord Byron to muster forces to reinforce the region. RWE | |
| 12 | Waller's second attempt to storm Basing House driven back. The London regiments refuse to obey orders. HGCW1 |
| Brereton's forces capture Flint Castle. ECWB | |
| 15 | Waller's army withdraws to Farnham; Hopton relieves Basing House. RG, CWSA |
| Surrender of the town and castle of Mostyn to Brereton's forces. MCW1, ECWB | |
| 16 | Five regiments of foot and one of cavalry arrive by sea from Leinster at Mostyn in Flintshire under the command of Major-General Sir Michael Erneley and march to reinforce Chester. Sir William Brereton and Sir Thomas Myddelton withdraw from north Wales, leaving only Hawarden Castle garrisoned. ATKA, RWE |
| Royalist assault on the northern defences of Plymouth driven back. SGCW | |
| The Scottish Lords Hamilton, Morton, Roxburgh, Kinnoull and Lanark declared "enemies of religion" for refusing to sign the Covenant. TSR | |
| 17 | King Charles appoints the Earl of Carbery governor of Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire. RWE |
| 19 | The Confederates nominate seven delegates to negotiate a permanent treaty with the King at Oxford. TCW |
| 22 | A detachment of Major-General Erneley's Irish Royalists besieges Hawarden Castle. NUS |
| 26 | Lord Hopton's army advances to Odiham in Hampshire, seven miles from Waller's headquarters at Farnham. CWSA |
| 27 | Hopton advances to Farnham, but withdraws when Waller refuses to be drawn into a battle. ATKA, RG |
| 28 | Final military arrangements of the alliance between Parliament and the Scots are agreed: the Scots are to raise an army of 18,000 foot, 2,000 horse and artillery at Parliament's expense. Parliament promises not to make any peace treaty without consulting the Scots. TSR |
| 30 | Despite previous objections, the House of Lords agrees with the Commons that Parliament should have its own Great Seal. DBD |
| Lord Byron arrives in Shrewsbury with 1,000 horse and 300 foot from Oxford to reinforce the Royalists in north Wales and the Marches. RWE | |
December
| (Early December) Further regiments arrive at Chester from Ireland. Source: RWE | |
| 4 | The Committee of Estates divides itself into two parts. The Marquis of Argyll leads the part designated to accompany the Army of the Covenant. TSR |
| 6 | Parliament's new Great Seal used for the first time to seal the patent of the Earl of Warwick as Lord High Admiral of England. DBD |
| Lord Byron arrives in Chester with reinforcements from Oxford and orders to take command of the troops returning from Ireland. DBD, RWE | |
| A Royalist detachment under Sir Edward Ford and Colonel Bampfield occupies the town of Arundel in Sussex and besieges the castle. SCWI | |
| 7 | Surrender of the Parliamentarian garrison at Hawarden Castle. DBD |
| 8 | John Pym dies of cancer. ODNB |
| 9 | Arundel Castle in Sussex surrenders to Lord Hopton. HGCW1 |
| 11 | Colonel Richard Norton, governor of Southampton, attacks the Royalist garrison at Romsey. ATKA |
| 12 | Lord Byron marches from Chester against the Parliamentarians of Cheshire with a veteran army of 4,000 foot and 1,000 horse. RWE |
| Sir William Waller musters his forces at Farnham Park and persuades the London Brigade to stay with him for another week before returning home. CWSA | |
| The Royalist advance into Sussex halted at Bramber, defended by Captain Temple. The Royalists retreat to Arundel. TCG, ECWB | |
| 13 | Waller storms the Royalist garrison at Alton in Hampshire in a surprise attack. HGCW1 |
| Captain Steele surrenders Beeston Castle in Cheshire to Captain Sandford of Lord Byron's army; Steele subsequently condemned and shot at Nantwich for surrendering the castle. ATKA, TCG | |
| 15 | State funeral of John Pym at Westminster Abbey. HGCW1 |
| 16 | The Duke of Hamilton arrested upon his arrival at Oxford. ODNB |
| The London Brigade leaves Waller's army and marches for home. CWSA | |
| 17 | An initial attack on Nantwich by Byron's forces is beaten off. ATKA, ECWB |
| Reinforced by units from Kent and Sussex, Sir William Waller advances from Farnham against Hopton's forces in Sussex. SCWI, CWSA | |
| 18 | The Royalist besiegers of Plymouth begin a heavy bombardment of the northern defences, to no avail. SGCW |
| 19 | Lord Byron commissioned Field Marshal of all Royalist forces in Lancashire, Cheshire, and the six counties of north Wales. Lord Capel returns to Oxford. RWE |
| 20 | Gainsborough surrenders to Sir John Meldrum. DBD |
| Waller's forces attack Arundel, storming the outer defences and capturing the town. The castle besieged. SCWI | |
| 22 | King Charles denounces the alliance between Parliament and the Scots and summons all members of the Lords and Commons to attend a new parliament to be convened at Oxford. HGCW1 |
| The Royalists abandon the siege of Plymouth. SGCW | |
| 24 | A company of Parliamentarians massacred at Barthomley Church in Cheshire by Lord Byron's forces. ATKA |
| 26 | Lord Byron defeats Sir WIlliam Brereton at Middlewich in Cheshire. Brereton retreats to Manchester. ATKA |
| 27 | Lord Hopton advances from Winchester to Petersfield to relieve the siege of Arundel. SCWI |
| 28 | A court martial finds Nathaniel Fiennes guilty of "improperly surrendering" at Bristol. He is sentenced to death, but the sentence is later revoked by the Earl of Essex. DBD |
| 29 | The armies of Hopton and Waller face one another on North Marden Down near Arundel. Finding himself heavily outnumbered, Hopton withdraws. SCWI |
| Sir Thomas Fairfax ordered by Parliament to reinforce Sir William Brereton and the Cheshire Parliamentarians. TGCW, HGCW1 | |
Sources:
AECW: Atlas of the English Civil War, P.R. Newman (London 1985)
AOI: Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, C.H. Firth and R.S. Raitt (eds), 1911
ATKA: All the King's Armies, Stuart Reid (Staplehurst 1998)
BG: Bibliotheca Gloucestrensis, John Washbourn (ed) (Gloucester 1825)
CCW: Confederate Catholics at War 1641-49, Pádraig Lenihan (Cork 2001)
CWSA: The Campaigns of Sir William Waller's Southern Association, Laurence Spring (Bristol 1997)
CWIH: The Civil War in Hampshire 1642-45, Rev. G. N. Godwin (Southampton 1904)
DBD: The English Civil War Day By Day, Wilfrid Emberton (Stroud 1995)
DNB: Dictionary of National Biography
ECWB: English Civil War Battles database, Tim Williams
EHRD: English Heritage Battlefield Report: Roundway Down 1643 (English Heritage 1995)
FN: First Newbury 1643: the turning point, Keith Roberts (Osprey 2003)
HGCW1: History of the Great Civil War vol. i, S.R. Gardiner (London 1888)
HCJ: House of Commons Journal www.british-history.ac.uk
HLJ: House of Lords Journal www.british-history.ac.uk
KCI: King Charles I, Pauline Gregg (Berkeley 1984)
MCW1: Memoirs of the Civil War in Wales & the Marches vol.i, J.R. Phillips (London 1874)
NUS: A Nation Under Siege, the civil war in Wales 1642-48, Peter Gaunt (HMSO 1991)
ODNB: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
RG: Roundhead General, a military biography of Sir William Waller, John Adair (London 1969)
RKP: The Reign of King Pym, J.H. Hexter (Harvard 1941)
RWE: The Royalist War Effort 1642-46, Ronald Hutton (London 1999)
SA: Scots Armies of the English Civil Wars, Stuart Reid (Osprey 1999)
SCWI: Sussex in the Great Civil War and the Interregnum, Charles Thomas-Stanford (London 1910)
SGCW: Sieges of the Great Civil War, P. Young and W. Emberton (London 1978)
SRMC: Shrewsbury, the Royalist Marcher Capital, Alf Thompson (Orders of the day, Volume 33, Issue 2, 2001)
SOB: Sieges of Bradford, David W. Fell
SOH: Sieges of Hull www.yorkshirehistory.com
TCG: The Cromwellian Gazetteer, Peter Gaunt (Stroud 1987)
TGCW: The Great Civil War, A.H. Burne and P. Young (London 1958)
TCWA: The Calling of the Westminster Assembly, John Murray (Presbyterian Guardian 1942)
TCK: The Confederation of Kilkenny, C.P. Meehan (Dublin 1846)
TCW: The Civil Wars, a military history of England, Scotland & Ireland 1638-60, Kenyon and Ohlmeyer (eds) (Oxford 1998)
TSR: The Scottish Revolution 1637-44, David Stevenson (Newton Abbott 1973)
TKW: The King's War 1641-47, C.V. Wedgwood (London 1958)
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