1643 12th April
Capture of Tewkesbury
Capures Tewkesbury for Parliament
English Civil War · permanent subject timeline
Siege of Gloucester
The Parliamentarian defence that diverted the Royalist field army in 1643. This page combines historical context with 9 matching records drawn directly from the World History Database English Civil War archive.
Historical context
Siege of Gloucester: overview and significance
What happened?
Royalist forces besieged Gloucester in 1643, but the city held until a Parliamentarian relief army approached. Charles I lifted the siege rather than risk being trapped.
Why was it important?
The failure to take Gloucester checked Royalist momentum and forced a major strategic diversion. The subsequent movements contributed to the First Battle of Newbury.
World History Database records
Siege of Gloucester timeline
The records below are selected from the 1,090-record English Civil War archive and rendered as static HTML in chronological order.
1643
1643 13th April
Battle of Ripple Field
Driven back by Prince Maurice to Tewkesbury
1643 August
Siege of Gloucester
Massey directs Gloucester's defence after the Royalist army begins its major siege of the Parliamentarian city.
1643 5th September
Relief of Gloucester
Massey holds Gloucester until the approach of Essex's relief army forces the Royalists to abandon the siege.
1643 6th September
Siege of Gloucester
Fails to capture Gloucester
1643
Capture of Gloucester
Relieves Gloucester for the Parliamentarians
1643
Capture of Gloucester
The Governor of Gloucester hands it over to Waller
1643
Capture of Gloucester
The Governor of Gloucester hands it over to Waller
1644
1644
Gloucestershire Campaign
Massey conducts mobile operations from Gloucester against Royalist garrisons and communications across the surrounding counties.
Editorial provenance
Sources and editorial review
Compiled and edited by World History Database.
Historical context is editorial material; the chronology is generated from World History Database English Civil War records.
Last reviewed: September 2026.
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