This Saturday we remembered the English Civil War Battle of Winceby which took place in Lincolnshire on the 11 October 1643
The battle of Winceby is one of the lesser battles of the Civil War, with no more than 6000 troops engaged, but its significance far outweighs its scale. For Parliament’s Eastern Association army from East Anglia this was their first major campaign. It was also the first nationally important victory for Cromwell’s cavalry and the first action in which he fought side by side with Sir Thomas Fairfax, with whom in the New Model Army he would finally destroy the royalist cause in 1645-6(Battlefield Trust.)
The day started at Hameringham Church where we were kindly permitted to collect for a briefing for the Battlefield Walk. 2 members of the Battlefield Trust who were going to lead the walk, gave a description of the battle and the surrounding area before showing the musket ball marks in the wall at the rear of the church. The walkers then set off for the battlefield. The walk lasted about 2 ½ hours.
At 1230hrs the Bolingbroke Village Hall opened its doors for the second part of the day. Those people who wanted to attend the talks and the walkers off the Battlefield were able to have a hot drink and cake. The Artisan Baker of Firsby supplied 2 themed cakes for the day, which were cut by the 2 members of the Battlefield Trust. The first talk of the afternoon was by Dave Start who gave us a brief history of Winceby Church and the people of Winceby which we found from local inventories and wills written in the 1500 & 1600’s also a terrier of the church dated 1606.
Unfortunately, the second speaker Dr Jonathon Fitzgibbons was indisposed and unable to attend, but luckily, we had a copy of one of his Zoom talks “Cromwellians Lincolnshire” which we were able to show.
After the talks, at the kind invitation of the Friends of Old Bolingbroke Church, a visit and guided tour of Old Bolingbroke church with local historian Bruce Trewin. It is a fascinating building both historically & architecturaly.
(More details of the Battle of Winceby 1643 are available on The Battlefields Trust website)
