On 30 January 1649, King Charles I was beheaded on a scaffold at Whitehall in London.

After putting the country through a bloody civil war from 1642-1646 that his Royalist forces lost, Charles I launched another attempt in in 1647 which was quickly, but bloodily put down. The Army, under Oliver Cromwell, which wielded enormous power at the time was furious, so when they captured Charles I, they proceeded to try him. Charles I would not answer to the court as he felt it was unfit to try him. The court proceeded anyway and convicted and sentenced him to death on 27 January 1649.

On the day of his beheading, it was so cold that Charles I put on two shirts to ward off the cold, lest he be thought to be trembling at his fate. Charles I dignity in his execution made him a martyr to the Royalist cause. Some subjects in England still vociferously hold that Cromwell was the traitor, not their King.

Read here for Charles I speech on the scaffold.

Motorcycle Ride Recommendation

Start in Windsor and ride into central London to Buckingham Palace, along the Mall, into Whitehall, on to Parliament and ending up at the National Army Museum in Chelsea.

Book Recommendation: Why Was Charles I Executed? from AbeBooks.co.uk or Amazon.co.uk

Map Recommendation: London Bike Guide from AbeBooks.co.uk or Amazon.co.uk

With the arrival of Irish forces (somewhat) loyal to the King in late 1643, the Royalists had developed a strong footing in the northwest of England and were besieging the strategically important town of Nantwich. The Royalist commander Lord Byron decided to complete his conquest of Cheshire by quickly capturing Nantwich, which was being defended by Parliamentarian Sir William Brereton. However, the Parliamentarian Sir Thomas Fairfax had other plans. Showing his grasp of the whole war and not just that of his eastern England locality, Fairfax pulled together his disparate forces around Lincolnshire and marched to the relief of Nantwich. The two forces met near the present day Shropshire Union Canal on the close, flat pastures to the west of Nantwich.
Having deployed tightly coming out of Nantwich, Fairfax had to fight on each flank to open up space for his cavalry. On the other hand, Byron, converging on Nantwich, had to deal with over-extension. One has to imagine an inner concentric arc pushing against an outer concentric arc to understand the tension between the two forces. Fairfax was able to hold both flanks as his centre made the advance into Byron*s centre who were unsupported by their flanks due to the over-extension. Eventually, the Royalist centre cleaved in two and flanked away in opposing directions. This saved the left side, but doomed the right which fell back near Acton church.
Things went from bad to worse for Byron, as the blocking force meant to hold the Nantwich Roundhead forces at bay, failed. These Parliamentary forces proceeded to attack the Royalist baggage train near Acton church and the Royalist right flank near the present day Acton Bridge (footbridge) over the canal. In the melee, the Royalist lost many, but many more surrendered, including whole Irish regiments who felt they had been tricked into coming to England to fight for the King.
Nantwich was a clear win for the Parliamentary forces, having relieved the siege, captured the Royalist baggage train and not a few senior officers. Strategically, it kept the centre of England in play and established Fairfax as a Parliamentarian commander of national stature.

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Motorcycle Ride

Try this circular ride from Nantwich to Whitchurch and back

Map

Whilst King charles was taking in a full Royal social season in Oxford, the Royalists in Leeds were having it hard, especially in Leeds. The endless skirmishing around Leeds meant that the peoperous textilists of the city were falling on hard times. Having an affinity for the city, Sir Thomas Fairfax or "Black Tom" decided to relieve the Royalists of their control of the town once and for all.

On 23 January, in a heavy snowfall, Fairfax led an attack on the city on two fronts. Gaining the upper hand quickly, he rolled the defense in short order. The Royalist commnder, Sir William Saville, escaped. Fairfax captured soldiers, powder and equipment.

The taking was not to stand. The Royalists were back in the summer to drive the Parliamentarians all the way back to Hull. However, the Parliamentarians came in January 1644 to take it back.*

* base story sourced from the Leeds Royal Armouries website.

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Motorcycle Ride

If riding through inner city Leeds is not your idea of fun, try this ride from Wetherby, to the northeast of Leeds. It takes in the Marston Moor battlefield as well as some great little whiteball roads in rural Yorkshire.

Maps

On 10 January 1642, King Charles I had to leave London as the unrest against him grew. He had recently tried to arrest five members of parliament on treason charges, but failed. His coach had been surrounded by a mob when he had demanded that those who were sheltering the five members should give them up. This was enough to scare Charles and his Queen, Henrietta, into leaving London. They first decamped to Hampton Court, then Windsor Castle and finally to Oxford to set up an alternative government to the Parliament in London. Parliament was busy activating its militias, called the "Trained Bands." Although there were some attempts at reconciliation, the train of events leading to civil war was already underway.

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Motorcycle Ride

I'm sure it was faster for Charles by horse and carriage, but if you don't mind fighting London traffic, you can retrace the royal route to exile. Start in Whitehall, then to Hampton court, then to Windsor, then to Oxford.

Maps

King Charles orders the issuance of an indictment of treason against the "five members" of parliament. The members were John Hampden, Sir Arthur Haselrigg, Denzil Holles, John Pym and William Strode. Hampden died at the Battle of Chalgrove the very next year. Haselrigg fought throughout the war with his regiment of cuirassiers, or "lobster" cavalry. Holles fought at Edgehill, but was later a leading proponent of a negotiated settlement of the war.
Pym was the driving force in Parliamanent to reign in the King, but died two years later of cancer. Strode, after being imprisoned for eleven years at the King's behest, was probably only second in vociferousness in the war party to Pym.

Books from Amazon.co.uk

Motorcycle Ride

Check out the Battle of Chalgrove and the ride around the Oxfordshire countryside.

Maps