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April 20, 1644
Siege of Lyme Regis

In the late 16th century, Lyme Regis was an important port, busier than Liverpool and one of the main links between England and mainland Europe. The combination of strong Puritan beliefs, and demands from King Charles I for ship money meant that upon the outbreak of the English Civil War, the town was sympathetic to the Parliamentarian cause. Two local Members of Parliament, Thomas Trenchard and Walter Erle claimed Lyme Regis for the Parliamentarians in 1642, and set about fortifying the town. Thomas Ceeley, another local MP, was assigned as governor of the town and its forces. He immediately set about removing those with Royalist loyalties, and sent harrying forces around the region, as far as Exeter and Somerset. Lyme Regis had no permanent fortifications, and so Robert Blake established a set of earthen walls, ditches and forts around the perimeter.

By the end of 1643, most of the southwest was under Royalist control; only Plymouth, Poole and Lyme Regis held out against them. The Parliamentarians controlled the navy, and Lyme Regis was strategically important, due to its location between Bristol and the English Channel. It had a garrison of about 500 men. In early 1644, Charles I ordered Lyme Regis to be captured, and sent a large force under the command of his nephew, Prince Maurice.

Maurice marched towards Lyme Regis in March 1644, and initially set up a garrison in the town of Beaminster. From there a detachment of troops captured and razed Stedcombe House, a property of Erle’s that he had garrisoned. On April 19, a fire devastated Beaminster and forced the Royalist troops to move, establishing their new quarters at Axminster. The following day, Maurice marched his army of around 4000 men to around 0.75 miles of Lyme Regis, and then after some posturing between the opposing forces, the Royalists captured Haye House, just outside the town, which had been garrisoned with around 30 defenders. On the 3rd day of the siege, the attackers set up their artillery on the west side of town, and began a bombardment, but the next day Ceeley sent a force of 190 men to attack the battery, and forced the Royalists from their position. New batteries were set up around the town, and the bombardment continued. On April 28, Maurice ordered an attack on the town, but it got little further than musket range. The next day, the town was restocked with ammunition and food, and reinforced with just over 100 men from 2 Parliamentarian ships, the Mary Rose and the Ann Joyce.

Throughout the siege, the garrison was supported by the women of the town; they aided in the building of the earthen fortifications, and later disguised themselves as men to make it appear that the town was held by more troops than it really was. They also ran ammunition around town and helped to reload the weapons.

Over the following week, the Royalists held the siege, but did not attack again until May 6, when they attacked in 3 places during a thick fog. The defenders were caught out slightly, as many of their soldiers were eating supper. They rallied quickly, however, and within an hour had repelled the attack. The following day, Maurice requested a parley so that the dead could be buried. That request was granted, in exchange for the defenders being able to claim any weaponry on the battleground. Over the next week, there was little fighting between the armies, and a further 7 ships arrived to aid the town, including 240 soldiers from Sir William Waller’s army, and on May 15 a further 120 men were sent by the Earl of Warwick.

The Royalists turned their attention to the harbor over the next week, placing artillery on the clifftops above it, and bombarding any ships within. On the morning of May 22, the guns sunk a barge laden with malt and peas, and was followed by a raiding party of around 50 men that evening, who attacked the harbor, setting fire to the barges that remained. The Earl of Warwick arrived on May 23 with 8 ships and the promise of as much help as he could provide, including 400 of his seamen to help garrison the town. On May 27, the besieging army made a second attempt to storm the town. The town came under barrage from the enemy batteries, and scaling ladders were brought against the earthen fortifications. Once again the attack was repelled, and a parley request from Maurice in the immediate aftermath was turned down for fear of treachery.

The town was further reinforced with 300 sailors the next day, before another attack on the town was launched on the 29th. A few ships had been sent as a decoy to split the Royalist force, but only succeeded in drawing a small detachment away, though they quickly returned when it was clear that the ships were not going to land. Around midday, the batteries began to heavily bombard the town, followed by a ground attack which managed to breach the fortifications. After 8 hours of fighting, the Parliamentarians rebuffed the attack. 14 more ships arrived 2 days later, bringing further provisions and ammunition, and news that a relief force would be sent. By this stage, Maurice realized that he was unlikely to be able to capture the town, and so was determined to destroy it instead; fires were set on June 1 and then no attacks other than light bombardments were made until June 11, when heavier, red-hot shot was fired to try and set more fires in the town.

Despite orders to lay siege to the King’s headquarters at Oxford, Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex opted to attempt to reclaim the southwest for Parliament, first retaking Weymouth, and then marching towards Lyme Regis. Hearing of the fall of Weymouth and the impending arrival of the Essex’s relief army, Maurice abandoned his siege during the night of June 14.

Maurice retreated to Exeter, while the Earl of Essex continued down into Devon and Cornwall, after sending Blake to capture Taunton. Essex’s campaign failed, suffering a total defeat at the Battle of Lostwithiel in early September 1644 (see posting). His remaining forces retreated back to Dorset, leaving only Plymouth, Lyme Regis and Taunton under Parliamentarian control in the southwest. The Earl of Warwick sent a letter to Parliament, detailing the hardships endured by the town during the siege, and requesting “some speedy course will be taken for their relief”. Parliament voted to grant the town £1000 a year and that unconditional compensation should be paid to residents who had suffered losses in the siege. Lyme Regis maintained a garrison through the war, finally disbanding in July 1647.