TO COMMEMORATE THAT GREAT AND DECISIVE BATTLE FOUGHT IN THIS FIELD .
ON THE DAY OF XIV DAY OF JUNE MDCXLV,
COMMANDED BY HIS MAJESTY
KING CHARLES THE FIRST,
AND THE PARLIAMENT FORCES
HE ADED BY THE GENERALS’ FAIRFAX AND CROMWELL.
WHICH TERMINATED FATALLY
FOR THE ROYAL CAUSE, LED TO THE THR ONE,
THE ALTAR, AND THE CONSTITUTION,
AND FOR YEARS PLUNGED THIS NATION
INTO THE HORRORS OF ANARCHY
AND CIVIL WAR:
LEAVING A USEFUL LESSON TO BRITISH KINGS:
NEVER TO EXCEED THE BOUNDS
OF THEIR JUST PREROGATIVE,
AND TO BRITISH SUBJECTS.
NEVER TO SWERVE FROM THE ALLEGIENCE
DUE TO THEIR LEGITIMATE MONARCH.
THIS PILLAR WAS ERECTED
BY JOHN AND MARY FRANCES FITZGERALD.
LORD AND LADY OF THE MANOR OF NASEBY
AD MDCCCXXIII

The decisive battle of the English Civil War was fought in the fields of Naseby, Sulby, Sibbertoft and Clipstone parishes on Saturday 14 June, 1645. The Parliamentarian New Model Army, under the command of Sir Thomas Fairfax, defeated the Royalist army, commanded by King Charles I and Prince Rupert of the Rhine.

Patrols clashed on the evening of 13 June in Naseby village. Early on Saturday 14 June Fairfax marche the New Model Army north from Guilsborough towards Naseby to meet here, at Naseby windmill. The wheeled transport, the baggage and artillery trains, had to stay on the primitive road to avoid getting stuck in the mud. The foot and horse would have chosen their own routes. The regiments were then organised into ‘battalia’, their fighting formation. No one knew if they were going into battle or if they were to continue their pursuit of the Royalist army through Market Harborough and beyond. Would King Charles stand and fight?

By 8.00am King Charles and Rupert had moved the royal army to a ridge between East Farndon and Little Oxendon. From there this position cannot be seen. Similarly the view north from the windmill is limited by the rising ground, so Fairfax and his commander of horse, Oliver Cromwell, had to ride to the edge of the steep hill overlooking Clipston to look for their enemies. **

Both sides wished to fight and Fairfax ordered his army to a position on the ridge to the south of this place. Rupert saw the movement and brought the Royalist to Dust Hill, across the valley to the north.
This area was mostly open ground, but contained by an ancient boundary hedge around Sulby to the west and a rabbit warren (on today’s Lodge Hill) and boggy ground to the east. Lieutenant General of Horse Oliver Cromwell put dragoons behind Sulby Hedges. Their musket fire caused the royalist cavalry on the western flank to charge, forcing many of parliament’s horses to flee. The Royalist foot attacked and almost broke Fairfax’s line but it stubbornly resisted. Cromwells trouper routed the horse opposing them and fell on the left flank of the royalist foot. Despite Rupert’s Bluecoat Regiment ’standing like a wall of brass’ on the slope just to the west of the road to the north, Fairfax’s counter-attacks succeeded in driving the royalists back. Part of the royalist army went on fighting, all the way they had come that morning, in a battle reaching a climax at Wadborough Hill

*From a signboard next to the Windmill Obelisk
**From a signboard next to Cromwell’s position on the day of the battle

After breakfast we loaded the car and made our way to reception to settle the bill. As we suspected they had added the Champagne to the bill twice although it was shown in two different ways so we nearly missed it. It took the staff some time to figure out what was amiss but they got there eventually. We headed into Cambridge arriving at G. David’s antiquarian bookshop just as it opened. We browsed around for a while but on this occasion I wasn’t tempted to buy a book but Mr C was.

Once we had finished browsing we made our way to St Bene’t’s church. In the church’s entrance porch a homeless guy had made his bed and was trying his best to keep out of sight and not be a ‘nuisance’.

On our way back to the hotel car park we stopped off at Patisserie Valerie for a quick drink, which turned out to be not very quick at all. Although the place was almost empty, the service was painfully slow.

When we got into the car it was like stepping into a freezer. There had been a respectable frost overnight and the car park was in shadow so it had not warmed up in the sunshine. We set off towards home with the intention of taking a diversion when we saw a brown sign. We didn’t see one for some time and began to think we might be out of luck when we saw a signpost for The Battle of Naseby. We visited two monuments to the Parliamentarian generals Fairfax and Cromwell and then headed towards Market Harborough for lunch where along the way we spotted a third related site for the Royalist general Prince Rupert and stopped to have a look at that too.

In Market Harborough we stopped off in a delightful tea shop for lunch. The food was delicious when it arrived but the service (in keeping with the weekend) was again rather slow. Afterwards we visited the town square, St Dionysius church and the war memorial before continuing on our homeward journey.