Siege of Arundel
The Siege of Arundel took place during the First English Civil War, from 19 December 1643 to 6 January 1644, when a Royalist garrison surrendered to a Parliamentarian army under William Waller.
At the end of 1642, South-East England was largely controlled by Parliament, with pockets of Royalist support in Hampshire and Kent. In an October 1643 offensive led by Sir Ralph Hopton, the Royalists advanced into Sussex, where a small garrison at Arundel Castle surrendered without fighting on 2 December.
Hopton's policy of trying to hold as many towns as possible left individual garrisons isolated, while the Royalists lacked a mobile field army, capable of quickly supporting threatened positions. Arundel was attacked by a large Parliamentarian force on 19 December; although strongly held, severe weather and poor roads meant it could not be relieved, and surrendered on 6 January.
Background
When the war began, Parliamentary forces secured most of southern England, including the ports of Southampton and Dover, as well as the bulk of the Royal Navy. After Portsmouth surrendered in September, Parliament controlled every major port from Plymouth to Hull, preventing the Royalists from importing arms and men from Europe.However, in June 1643, Ralph Hopton, Royalist commander in the south-west, advanced into Wiltshire; on 13 July, he inflicted a serious defeat on Waller's 'Army of the Southern Association' at Roundway Down, just outside Devizes. This exposed Parliamentary garrisons in the west, and on 26 July, Prince Rupert stormed Bristol.
Capturing the second largest city in Britain was a significant achievement, and enabled the Royalists to transfer troops from Ireland. Combined with victory at Roundway Down, this provided an opportunity to persuade Parliamentary moderates into a negotiated peace. At a strategy meeting in Oxford, they agreed Prince Rupert would capture Gloucester, the last major Parliamentary position in the west, then move against London.
This would be supported by Hopton advancing into Hampshire and Sussex, whose iron foundries were Parliament's main source of armaments. However, he was short of money and supplies, while his infantry consisted mostly of half-trained Irish conscripts, which delayed him until mid-October. By then, Prince Rupert had failed at Gloucester, and his advance on London checked at the inconclusive battle of Newbury on 20 September.
One of Hopton's officers was Sir William Ogle, who had been serving in Ireland, but came from Winchester. While scouting the advance in late October, he discovered its Parliamentary garrison had been withdrawn, and occupied the town, forcing Hopton to advance before he was ready. When he reached Winchester in early November, his troops promptly mutinied, and a number had to be executed before order was restored. Meanwhile, Waller had assembled a new army at Farnham Castle, consisting of Trained bands from the South-Eastern Association of Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, bolstered by others from London.
Throughout the war, both sides relied on these militia, whose service was normally limited to 30 days, within their home area. As the largest and best equipped, London units were used by Parliament to fill gaps, and Waller's army included several regiments mustered in early September to repel Prince Rupert's advance on London. An attack on Basing House in November failed, the Londoners demanding to be sent home.
Hopton advanced on Farnham, but was unable to tempt Waller into giving battle, and retreated. The Royalists established winter quarters at various points in West Sussex and Hampshire, including Alresford, Alton and Petersfield, although senior officers warned they were too far apart for mutual support. On 2 December, a small Parliamentary garrison at Arundel Castle surrendered to Edward Ford, former Sheriff of Sussex.
The siege
Under instructions from the Earl of Essex to retake Alton, then Arundel, Waller persuaded the London Bands to help him capture Alton on 13 December. When he asked for their help with Arundel, they refused, and were sent home on 15 December.The Royalist garrison originally contained 800 infantry, and four troops of horse, withdrawn by Hopton prior to the siege. Its governor, Colonel Joseph Bampfield, was an experienced soldier, who constructed additional earthwork defences to the north and south-west of the town, while bringing in provisions from the surrounding countryside. His attempt to capture Bramber further east failed, and when Hopton learned of the loss of Alton, he immediately ordered him back to Arundel. Despite being six miles inland, it was an important inland port, and the only Royalist base strong enough to resist attack.
Waller arrived there on 19 December, with around 5,000 men, mostly men from the South-Eastern trained bands, who were of limited quality. He immediately assaulted the outer defences on 20 December, which were captured after an initial repulse; Lt-Colonel John Birch was shot in the stomach, allegedly surviving only because the cold weather stemmed the flow of blood.
The garrison retreated into the castle, but lost their supplies, which had been stored in the town, while the besiegers drained the lake that was their main water supply. Oxford sent Hopton an additional 1,000 horse under Lord Wilmot, but he was now desperately short of infantry, having lost another 600 at Alton. On 27 December, he advanced from Winchester with 2,000 horse, and 1,500 infantry; leaving a skeleton force to continue the siege, Waller intercepted him at North Marden, 15 miles from Arundel. Outnumbered, Hopton withdrew, allowing Waller to bring up heavy guns from Portsmouth, which opened fire on 4 January. Weakened by typhus, and short of supplies, the Royalists surrendered on 6th; about 100 re-enlisted in the Parliamentary army, the rest sent to London.
Bampfield later wrote an account of the siege, in which he claimed sickness and casualties had reduced the garrison to less than 200 effectives. He was held prisoner for six months, before being exchanged for two Parliamentary officers held in Oxford.
Aftermath
Following the loss of Arundel, Charles ordered Hopton to withdraw into Wiltshire, to ensure he remained in contact with Bristol. However, he persuaded him he should remain in Hampshire to prevent Waller's cavalry raiding Royalist areas in the west. On 12 January, Waller advised Essex he was fortifying and provisioning Arundel, before a heavy snow fall ended operations for the next few weeks.By the end of February, Waller's army had been increased to 5,000 infantry and 3,500 horse; he was ordered to slip past Hopton and retake the west. Unfortunately, one of his commanders, Sir Richard Grenville, deserted to the Royalists in early March, and shared this information. Hopton received reinforcements, but was defeated at Cheriton on 29 March; apart from isolated strongpoints, this ended the Royalist threat in the south-east.
Waller installed a permanent garrison, and the castle was used to store military supplies and hold prisoners. In May 1645, Captain William Morley was appointed governor, a position he retained until 1653, when 'the walls and works' of the castle were made indefensible, or 'slighted'.
A detailed description of the impact of the siege on Arundel was provided by Lady Mary Springate, whose 23 year old husband Thomas was part of the garrison installed after its capture. She describes it as 'depopulated, all the windows broke with the guns, and the soldiers making stables of all the shops and lower rooms.' Mary was eight months pregnant; her husband died of fever two days after her arrival. This anecdote was used by author Hester Burton in her 1969 novel, Thomas, based on a detailed account written by Lady Mary for her posthumous daughter, who married the Quaker leader, William Penn.