Siege of Oxford

Siege of Oxford
Part of the First English Civil War
A modern-day view of Christ Church, Oxford. King Charles' residence in the city.
Date First siege 27 May 1644 – 4 June 1644 Second siege 22 May 1645 – 5 June 1645 Third siege 1 May 1646 – 25 June 1646 Location Oxford, Oxfordshire Result Parliamentarian victory
Belligerents
Royalists	Parliamentarians
Commanders and leaders
Charles I Prince Rupert	Sir William Waller Sir Thomas Fairfax

Oxford

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Oxfordshire and Oxford

The siege of Oxford comprised the English Civil War military campaigns waged to besiege the Royalist controlled city of Oxford, involving three short engagements over twenty-five months, which ended with a Parliamentarian victory in June 1646.

The first engagement was in May 1644, during which King Charles I escaped, thus preventing a formal siege. The second, in May 1645, had barely started when Sir Thomas Fairfax was given orders to stop and pursue the King to Naseby instead. The last siege began in May 1646 and was a formal siege of two months; but the war was obviously over and negotiation, rather than fighting, took precedence. Being careful not to inflict too much damage on the city, Fairfax even sent in food to the King's second son, James, and was happy to conclude the siege with an honourable agreement before any further escalation occurred.