Siege of Colchester

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Siege of Colchester
Part of Second English Civil War
St Mary-at-the-Walls church was used as a gun battery during the siege, the later brick repair to the tower is still evident.
Date 12 June – 28 August 1648 Location Colchester, Essex Result Parliamentary victory
Belligerents
Royalists	Parliamentarians
Commanders and leaders
Earl of Norwich  Lord Capel  Sir Charles Lucas  Sir George Lisle	Sir Thomas Fairfax
Strength
4,000	5,000 (plus reinforcements)
Casualties and losses
1,000	500-1,000

The siege of Colchester occurred in the summer of 1648 when the Second English Civil War reignited in several areas of Britain. Colchester found itself in the thick of the unrest when a Royalist army on its way through East Anglia to raise support for the King, was attacked by Lord-General Thomas Fairfax at the head of a Parliamentary force. The Parliamentarians' initial attack forced the Royalist army to retreat behind the town's walls, but they were unable to bring about victory, so they settled down to a siege. Despite the horrors of the siege, the Royalists resisted for eleven weeks and only surrendered following the defeat of the Royalist army in Northern England at the Battle of Preston (1648).