The Civil War

During the Civil War there was a sharp exchange between Royalists and Parliamentarians at Caversham Bridge in 1643 which lasted about a day. Caversham played a prominent role in the Civil War owing to two geographical factors - the importance of Caversham Bridge as a crossing over the River Thames, and the proximity of Caversham to the Royalist-controlled town of Reading to the south of the Bridge.

From 16 April 1643, the Earl of Essex, who had put together an army loyal to Parliament of about 18,000 men, put Reading, with about 3,100 Royalist defenders, to siege. Nine days later, early on the 25 April 1643, Royalist forces mounted a rescue mission to relieve the besieged town - moving south from Oxford to Reading via Caversham.

The rescue mission failed, however, with the King's men coming across stiff opposition in the vicinity of the Bridge - particularly from a fortified building close by, Harrison's Barn (which no-one's ever quite been able to pinpoint). Having sustained casualties (one estimate suggests about a hundred dead), and having failed to take the Bridge, the Royalists retreated via the steep hill that now leads up to Balmore Walk and Emmer Green beyond. There was subsequent fierce fighting here, resulting in an (alleged) local saying "Balmayers field ran blood". As well as the human cost of April 1643 (Reading fell to the besieging army within days), there was considerable physical damage as well - the spire of St. Peter's Church was destroyed by cannon shot, and the Bridge itself had been previously partially demolished in order to protect the Royalist defenders of Reading.. The town was to remain a Parliamentary possession for the rest of the war.

The events of the day had repercussions years later. According to 'The Constitutional Documents of the Puritan Revolution (1625 - 1660)' edited by Samuel R. Gardiner in the late 1800s, the people of Caversham were specifically mentioned in the trial of Charles I over the fight for Caversham Bridge. Some diaries of this event can be found in a book by P. Young and N. Tucker: 'The Civil War: Military Memories' (published in 1967 by Longman).

Another book which provides a detailed account of the battle of Caversham Bridge is the more recent: 'Siege of Reading, the Failure of the Earl of Essex's 1643 Spring Offensive' by Malcolm Barrès-Baker, published in 2004. It's available online and can be purchased via our 'Find Out More' section.