Battle of Langport

The Battle of Langport was a Parliamentarian victory late in the First English Civil War which destroyed the last Royalist field army and gave Parliament control of the West of England, which had hitherto been a major source of manpower, raw materials and imports for the Royalists. The battle took place on 10 July 1645 near the small town of Langport, which lies south of Bristol.

Campaign

Taunton had been captured by the Parliamentarian army under the Earl of Essex in June 1644. After Essex's army was forced to surrender at Lostwithiel in Cornwall in September, the Royalists maintained a siege of Taunton, although the town was briefly relieved by Sir William Waller in late November.

When determining strategy for 1645, King Charles I had despatched George, Lord Goring, the Lieutenant General of Horse (cavalry), to the West Country with orders to retake Taunton and other Parliamentarian outposts in the area. Although Goring briefly rejoined the King's main 'Oxford Army', tensions between him and Prince Rupert, the King's captain general and chief adviser, resulted in Goring's force returning to the west.

Langport

Coordinates: 51°02′15″N 2°49′39″W / 51.037625°N 2.827454°W / 51.037625; -2.827454

Langport is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The parish (which covers only part of the town) has a population of 1,081. The parish includes the hamlets of Bowdens and Combe. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, a separate parish which includes much of the town's outskirts.

History

Langport (old forms are "Langeberga", "Langeport") consists of two parts, one on the hill and one by the river. The former owed its origin to its defensible position, and the latter its growth to its facilities for trade on the chief river of Somerset. Its name looks like Anglo-Saxon for "long port", but it may well be "long market place" which could have been on the causeway which is now Bow Street. Many of the houses in Bow Street tilt backwards due to settlement of the land behind the causeway. It is speculated that Langport is the place mentioned in old Welsh sources as "Llongborth" = "Ship-port", where the Battle of Llongborth happened. "Longphort" is a term used in Ireland for a Viking ship enclosure or shore fortress, using an identical etymology. Langport was previously also known as Langport Eastover, with the part on the western bank being Langport Westover, now known just as Westover. Langport is on the ancient way from Glastonbury to Taunton.