Battle of Boldon Hill facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Boldon Hill
Part of the First English Civil War
Date 24 March 1644 Location The Boldons, South Tyneside Result Indecisive
Belligerents
England	Scotland
Commanders and leaders
Marquess of Newcastle	Earl of Leven

The Battle of Boldon Hill was a big fight that lasted a whole day. It happened on March 24, 1644, in a place called Boldon Hill, which is now in Tyne and Wear. This battle was part of the First English Civil War. On one side were the English Royalists, also known as Cavaliers. They supported King Charles I. On the other side were the Scottish Covenanters and the Parliamentarians. The Parliamentarians were from nearby Sunderland and supported the English Parliament. The battle ended without a clear winner.

Why the Battle Happened

The English Civil War was a fight between the King and Parliament. In 1643, the Parliamentarians asked Scotland for help. The Scottish Covenanters agreed to join the war. On November 29, they signed a deal. Scotland would help the Parliamentarians. They would attack places held by the Royalists in northern England.

In January 1644, the Covenanters marched into Northumberland. Their army had about 18,000 foot soldiers and 3,000 horse riders. This army was led by Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven. The Parliamentarians hoped the Scots would capture Newcastle upon Tyne. Newcastle was a very important Royalist stronghold.

Newcastle was a strong medieval city. It had thick walls and a "High Castle." Only 500 Royalist soldiers were there at first. But the city could get supplies from the North Sea. This meant guns, ammunition, and food. The Royalist forces in northern England were led by the Marquess of Newcastle. Before the Scots arrived, he went to Newcastle. He made the city stronger. He added 5,000 more Royalist soldiers. These soldiers were led by Colonel Sir Thomas Glemham.

The Armies Get Ready

The Covenanter army started to arrive near Newcastle on February 2. Scottish musketeers shot at the city's forts. The Royalists fired back with muskets and cannons. Nothing much happened that day. The Covenanters then moved back for the night.

On February 3, Lord Leven attacked a small fort outside the city. He then told Newcastle to give up. Glemham, who was in charge of Newcastle, asked for five days to think about it. Lord Leven agreed to this. It gave him time to bring up his big siege cannons. He could also get ready for a full attack.

More Covenanter soldiers arrived over the next few days. They had to spread out in the countryside. Days passed, but Newcastle did not surrender. Lord Leven also did not attack. The Royalists did not want to just wait. So, on February 19, they sent out 35 groups of horse riders. They tried to surprise the Scots. The attack happened west of Newcastle, near Corbridge. The Scots were not completely surprised. But the Royalists still killed or captured over a hundred of them.

This attack made Lord Leven act. On February 22, he stopped the siege. He moved his army south across the River Tyne. They went towards Sunderland and then Durham. Lord Leven left 1,700 soldiers at Newcastle. They were led by Sir James Lumsden. Their job was to keep an eye on the city. Meanwhile, the Royalists in Newcastle got more help. Twelve groups of horse riders came from Yorkshire. They were led by Sir Charles Lucas. Now, the Royalists in Newcastle had 14,000 soldiers.

Because the Royalist army was bigger, the Marquess decided to chase Lord Leven's army. He wanted to stop them from going further south. He also wanted to stop them from joining the Parliamentarians. So, the Royalists left 1,700 men in Newcastle. They followed the Covenanters to Boldon Hill. On March 7, they got ready for battle. They were two miles from the Scots. The Scots saw the danger. They marched north and also got ready to fight. But a battle did not happen. The land between the armies was too hard to cross. There were many ditches and hedges. So, the armies just stood there for hours. The Royalists left the field at sunset.

The next day, there were small fights between horse riders. But the Royalists did not challenge the Scots like before. Over the next two weeks, both armies moved around. The Royalists went to Durham. They got more soldiers there. Then they came back north to face the Scots. The Covenanters went to the north side of the River Wear at Sunderland. They gathered supplies. Then they attacked and captured a Royalist fort. This fort was at South Shields, near the mouth of the River Tyne.

What Happened at Boldon Hill

Around March 22, both armies knew where the other was. They started getting ready for another fight. Over the next two days, they moved back to where they had faced each other earlier. The Royalists were again on top of Boldon Hill. The Scots were at Whitburn Lizard (Cleadon Hills), three miles away.

On Sunday, March 24, the battle started. The Royalists moved towards the Scots. Their musketeers took positions behind hedges. They stopped because the land between them and the Scots was still hard to cross. The Covenanters also put their musketeers behind hedges. They fired back. Then, cannons from both armies started firing. They did not stop. In the afternoon, Scottish dragoons (soldiers who rode horses but fought on foot) attacked Royalist musketeers in East Boldon. But mostly, it was a cannon duel. This lasted until midnight. Eventually, the Royalists went back to Boldon Hill. The Scots went back to Whitburn Lizard.

The shooting from muskets and cannons in this battle was not very effective. This was because of the difficult land. Both sides said they won. We don't know how many people were hurt or killed. The Royalists said they lost 240 men.

What Happened Next

After the battle, the Royalist army went back to Durham. They were on their way to York. Five days later, the Covenanters followed them south.

The two armies would fight again. They met at the Siege of York in April. Then they fought at the Battle of Marston Moor in July. The Parliamentarians won at Marston Moor. After that, Leven and the Covenanters went back to Newcastle. On August 15, they started besieging Newcastle again. The fortress finally gave up on October 27, 1644.