Kill Dead!

      The modern day citizens of Leicester are probably for the most part unaware that over 360 years ago there beloved city was the sight of a bloody siege that ended with the loss of many of the inhabitants life’s. Yet what happened on those bloody day’s demands greater attention as it is a) the closest England ever came too during that period, to the massacre at Magdeburg in the 30 years war and b) as an important look at the consequences of a town trying to stay out of the war and taking a gamble on it all passing them quietly by.

      Leicester from the onset of the war had tried its best to stay out of things, the Committee of the town had allowed the walls and defensive to fall into disrepair, after all in nearly three years of civil war little had happened to cause alarm for the inhabitants and those with influence and power in the town preferred to carry on as normal, thinking that things would blow over and the war would be fought a long way from them, leaving there town untouched. This was a fatal mistake and as the start of the campaign season of 1645 got underway the consequences of there inactions would soon come to roost.

     Leicester had been the headquarters of Lord Grey of Groby since the beginning of the war. But he had left in 1644 after quarrelling with Sir Arthur Haselrig. By the 26th May it was becoming obvious that the kings army was on the March in there direction. An urgent summons was put out for help but Coventry, Derby, Nottingham and Northampton were too busy preparing there own defences and few reinforcements came to the summons. One who did was a Colonel of Horse, Sir Robert Pye.  Pye reported back to the committee of both kingdoms on the dilapidated condition of the defences but resolved to stick by the people of the town on the offer of 20 gold pieces. Some help did arrive in the form of 200 dragoons from Newport Pagnell and a detachment of infantry from Newark. There were most likely around 1, 270 new model army soldiers plus about 1000 townsfolk of a fighting age to defend against a Royalist army over 10,000 strong.

      The townsfolk had been busy hastily repairing the defences but progress had been hampered by citizens with enough local influence who would not allow there properties outside of the defensive ring to be destroyed , thus providing valuable cover for any advancing enemy. Pye had ordered gabions to be set up but there were none to be had and so the citizens had hastily set to filling cloth bags with wool as there only defence. On the 29th May the main Army led by Rupert arrived at the city walls and started to set up camp, Rupert ordered a battery consisting of 12 guns and 2 mortars set up opposite the “Newarke” or new-work upon some roman earthworks at the Rawdykes. By the next morning the guns were in position, the town encircled and totally cut off from outside help. At noon the Prince summoned town to surrender and the committee met to discus there options. The general mood of the meeting was to fight on “We are a party of those who have taken the Parliaments cause-a cause so high that I desire to die for no other” one of the members stated. Pye was not so keen but it was decided by vote to try and bargain for time while more defences were put in place. At 2pm a messenger arrived to the Prince asking if the decision could be delayed until the morrow, the prince who could see the work continuing on the defence told the envoy he would “lay him by the heels” if he returned with such an answer again. The Mayor and committee sent him out again however and Rupert had him sent to the Provost Marshall under arrest and sent his own messenger to get an answer within a quarter of the hour or “by the laws of war no quarter would be given” the mayor underestimated the situation and as the committee continued to debate past the allotted time Rupert ordered his battery to open fire and the siege had begun. The council quickly rushed to there troops handing out money, a paid soldier is far more likely to fight than an unpaid one.

      The cannonade continued for 6 hours until the wall around the Newarke area was all but smashed, however the citizens of the town had built a secondary defence made up of up turned wagons and sand bags, even the women of the town assisted under heavy fire from the royalist guns. Just before midnight the Prince ordered the attack and the columns of infantry advanced shouting “for god and the prince!” The Kings forces attacked on several different fronts, the main tercios advanced to the breech at the Newarke while Lisle led an attack at the Belgrave gate with Sir Henry Bard and scaling ladders while Sir Bernard Astley led his tertia against the drawbridge near St Margaret Church. At the main attack on the breech the parliamentarian musketeers cut into the advancing ranks and the royalist troops were stuck between the enemy and there own horse, unable to retire they pressed forward but were met by a squadron of horse and dismounted dragoons. The King hearing of there difficulty in advancing ordered his own Life Guard forward in support. Meanwhile Astley had stormed the north mills and was gaining ground into the town and Bard was outflanking the defenders on the east gate by using grenardoes. Soon the defenders gave up the east gate and rushed back to the market place with the cavaliers in hot pursuit to the cries of “Kill Dead”. By this time Lisle had taken the breech and Pye was taken prisoner. At the main battery of Horse Fair-Leas the black colours of the prince now flew in a statement of Victory!

      All was not over however in the suburbs the royalist had fallen to plunder yet the inhabitants fought on from the roof tops and windows firing down into the cavaliers or even throwing tiles when they had no more bullets. The women of the town particularly fought on with zeal being commented upon by a royalist officer after the battle. In St Martins church yard a troop of horse led a gallant charge to try and turn the tables but were cut down and the remaining garrison troops were forced to surrender.

      The casualties are hard to place but by most accounts 200 Royalists died in the attack and somewhere between 700 to 1000 of the defenders about 400 of which where townsfolk. Some of those inhabitants were Scottish and these received no mercy some were even forced to fight each other to the death as sport to amuse the drunken troops of the King. The stiff resistance made by Leicester was noble yet it paid a heavy price for it, many women were raped, even children killed without compunction and nearly every house, shop, tavern and church looted from the cellars to the rafters. The King himself marched off with £1000 pounds from the mayor and 9 cannon, 100 barrels of powder, 1000 muskets, 140 cartloads of goods and wares and 400 horses. Added to this was the destruction of large parts of town, fires raged long into the following day and it took 4 days for the King to gain full control over his Army from the drunken revelry of looting and pillaging. Even then as the Army left they fired the abbey where stiff resistance had been held in an act of malevolence towards the townsfolk. Although not strategically important the fall of Leicester sent a shockwave through Parliament who hastily ordered Fairfax to engage the Kings army, less than a fortnight later the Kings Army lay scattered in ruins after Naseby, yet the storming of Leicester is no less important as a reminder of how ugly and brutal civil wars can be.

By C Poore

Bibliography
The Siege of Leicester (published 1875)
The Eye of the Storm Barry Denton
Guns over Leicester T P Concannon
The Kings War c v wedgewood
The Civil War day by Day Wilf Emberton
Destruction in the Civil Wars S Porter
Naseby by P Young
 

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