446:. Having acquitted themselves well in a bloody defence against a professional parliamentarian attack, 1,300 Royalist men were allowed by Fairfax to return to their homes after the surrender. As a result of this Parliamentary victory, the still sizeable Royalist force of around 6,000 men remaining on Burham Heath started to disperse with the bulk retreating northwards under the Earl of Norwich with a view to regrouping and taking London itself. When they found the city gates were closed, the remnant of the Royalist force moved on into Essex with Fairfax in hot pursuit. The retreating Royalists decided to make their defence from the Earl of Norwich's home town of
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before their last position in St Faith's
Churchyard. Fairfax finally overcame fierce resistance to take command of the town just after midnight during a raging thunderstorm. Fairfax was said to be astonished when about a thousand Royalists emerged from inside St Faith's Chapel to offer their
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with a force of only 6,000 men. Fairfax marched on
Maidstone with 4,000 veteran Parliamentary troops to recapture it from the defending 2,000 strong Royalist force within the town. Most of the Royalists were not soldiers, being described as 'cavaliers, citizens, seamen and watermen.'
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The battle moved into a phase of intense fighting in heavy rain, street by street and 'inch by inch' as each
Royalist barricade was ferociously defended. The battle lasted for the rest of the day with the Royalists retreating towards Gabriel's Hill, then
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in
Aylesford and Maidstone. The Earl of Norwich did not realise the significance of the attack until late afternoon when Fairfax decided to use his advantage to storm the town itself that same day from the south side.
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is still in use today. Several 16th- and 17th-century buildings that witnessed the battle have survived in
Maidstone, such as those on Bank Street (No. 78 for example is dated 1611);
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There are two commemorative plaques in the town: one in Bank Street and another on a ragstone plinth in
Brenchley Gardens, unveiled on the battle's 369th anniversary in 2017.
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took place in the town centre on 1 June 2008, to commemorate the battle's 360th anniversary. Maidstone
Wargames Society staged a table-top re-enactment at
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The battle took place on 1 June. After outflanking
Norwich's main Royalist forces on Burham Heath and a diversionary feint towards
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To mark the 370th anniversary of the battle, a guided tour of its sites was carried out by The
Battlefields Trust on 3 June 2018.
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Chapel of St Faiths has been replaced by the late 19th century
Victorian church seen today.
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and finally surrendered in late August after some ten weeks of deprivation and famine.
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Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England-West Kent and the Weald
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Contemporary Map of Kent showing Aylesford, Maidstone and East Farly (sic)
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355:. The force then dispersed to hold various towns for the King including
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In May 1648, a significant part of the Royalist uprising gathered in
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remains recognisably as it would have been in 1648, but the small
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had already been split in two and the larger part sent under
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A memorial to the battle at Brenchley Gardens in Maidstone
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to deal with the rebellion in South Wales, leaving Sir
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442:Royalist prisoners were initially held captive in
501:A re-enactment of the battle by members of the
481:worn by Fairfax at the battle is on display at
412:virtually unopposed. Early skirmishes began on
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757:"The 1st of June 1648 AD, Battle of Maidstone"
367:and Maidstone. Together with the rebellion in
720:The English Civil War: A Historical Companion
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609:The 1st of June 1648 AD, Battle of Maidstone
343:. The Kentish Royalists assembled outside
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61:Learn how and when to remove this message
892:"The Second Civil War: Kent & Essex"
739:The Oxford Dictionary of British History
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351:with over 10,000 men raised for the
319:and was a victory for the attacking
16:Part of the Second English Civil War
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450:on 13 June where the rebellion was
462:The narrow 14th-century bridge at
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974:Battles of the English Civil Wars
835:Kent and Sussex Battlefield Walks
777:"Memorial to battle of Maidstone"
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315:(1 June 1648) was fought in the
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890:Plant, David (2 October 2006).
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815:"Maidstone Wargames Society"
775:Gazet, David (1 June 2017).
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896:British Civil Wars Project
819:Maidstone Wargames Society
699:"Battle of Maidstone 1648"
657:Maidstone Wargames Society
458:Architecture and artefacts
323:troops over the defending
854:The King's England – Kent
833:Matthews, Rupert (2008).
797:The Civil Wars of England
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718:Bennett, Martyn (2004).
669:Battle of Maidstone 1648
317:Second English Civil War
252:Second English Civil War
85:Second English Civil War
149:Parliamentarian victory
32:This article cites its
929:Selby, Robert (2022).
910:Royle, Trevor (2004).
703:The Battlefields Trust
509:to mark the occasion.
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404:, Fairfax crossed the
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175:Commanders and leaders
931:The Kentish Rebellion
871:Newman, John (1976).
795:Kenyon, John (1988).
737:Cannon, John (2004).
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205:Casualties and losses
969:17th century in Kent
852:Mee, Arthur (1969).
418:Sir William Brockman
410:East Farleigh Bridge
761:Information Britain
313:Battle of Maidstone
125: /
78:Battle of Maidstone
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489:Anniversary events
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186:Sir Thomas Fairfax
964:Conflicts in 1648
940:978-1-9125-2486-0
844:978-0-7112-2826-9
468:All Saints Church
444:All Saints Church
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83:Part of the
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781:Kent Online
645:Newman 1976
573:Kenyon 1988
556:Cannon 2004
503:Sealed Knot
434:surrender.
431:Week Street
369:South Wales
285:Y Dalar Hir
132: /
98:1 June 1648
953:Categories
691:References
541:Royle 2004
448:Colchester
331:Background
290:Colchester
265:St. Fagans
117:51°16′12″N
979:Maidstone
519:Citations
438:Aftermath
402:Aylesford
361:Rochester
357:Gravesend
345:Maidstone
275:Maidstone
164:Royalists
120:0°31′26″E
108:Maidstone
633:Mee 1969
472:Huguenot
452:besieged
377:Cromwell
327:forces.
325:Royalist
280:St Neots
270:Pembroke
192:Strength
103:Location
51:May 2019
479:doublet
300:Winwick
295:Preston
34:sources
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709:16 May
388:Battle
146:Result
681:Gazet
597:Plant
365:Dover
341:Essex
200:4,000
197:2,000
935:ISBN
916:ISBN
903:2019
877:ISBN
858:ISBN
839:ISBN
826:2019
801:ISBN
788:2019
768:2019
743:ISBN
724:ISBN
711:2019
477:The
420:and
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337:Kent
311:The
210:800+
95:Date
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