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

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

Battle of Stow on the Wold - 21 March 1646

If the battles of Naseby and Marston Moor were the decisive thrusts and Langport the mortal stroke, then Stow on the Wold would be the coup de grace. In the Spring of 1646, King Charles I was getting ever more desperate to hold the Royalist cause together whilst waiting for the long promised relief forces from Ireland, Scotland and France. Lord Jacob Astley took command of the Royalist forces in the west and began to gather up the remnants from the handful of Royalist garrisons still left in the west. As one could imagine at this point in the war, Royalist morale was pretty low. However, Astley, a stalwart of the Royalist commanders and an experienced soldier, was able to cobble together a force of 3,000.
Astley was trying to reach Oxford with his force when Parliament got wind of it. What ensued was a period of thrusting and parrying along the river Avon as Astley tried to evade certain defeat. Finally, Astley had no choice, but to stop and fight the harrying Roundhead forces of Colonel Thomas Morgan and Sir William Brereton. Astley chose a hill to the northwest of Stow on the Wold straddling the present day A424.
The Roundhead forces, who were slightly smaller, lined up to the northwest of Astley's position also along the current route of the A424. The Roundheads, flush with the confidence of an army on the brink of total victory, charged up the hill at the Royalist positions, near the present day Greenfield Farm. Initially, the Royalists held and even pushed the Parliamentary foot back. However, the Roundhead cavalry under Brereton rolled up the Royalist cavalry on the right flank. The Royalist cavalry fled the field and the infantry fought a running retreat southeasterly back to Stow square.
Finally, Astley sat down on an ancient cross monument in the square and declared, "You have done your work, boys, and may go play, unless you will fall out among yourselves." This was a fitting end to the last major battle of the First Civil War from the man who was most quoted at the first major battle. At Edgehill, Astley prayed, "Oh Lord, thou knowest how busy I must be this day, if I forget thee, do not thou forget me."

Rides, Routes and Waypoints

40-45 miles, depending on the options chosen. Take the A424 north out of Burford (Burford is on the A40 between Oxford and Cheltenham) towards Stow. Go through Stow and stay on the A424. The A424 splits the battlefield in half northwest of Stow. Turn right onto the lane to Donnington for a look at the battlefield from Roundhead lines back to the south towards Stow. Continue on Donnington Lane to the A429 and turn right to go back into Stow. Visit the town square where the surrender took place. Follow the A429 southwest out of Stow to Bourton on the Water to complete the Cotswold experience. There are hundreds of small lanes with beautiful scenery, pick one and lose yourself!
Use Ordnance Survey Landranger 163. The battlefield is centred on SP 191272. If using a road map, the battlefield is 20 miles east of Cheltenham.