Bolton Massacre

3 min readMay 28, 2022

Prologue

This is the story of the famous event of the First English Civil War, the Storming of Bolton. The massacre reports claim that there were about 1,000 Parliamentarian casualties, along with 50 officers and 600 prisoners. The Royalists also captured 20 standards, 20 barrels of powder and many weapons. However, it is alleged that up to 1,600 defenders and inhabitants at Bolton were slaughtered in total, making the Bolton Massacre a staple of Parliamentarian propaganda. Let’s explore the backstory of this brutal episode in the Civil War.

Backstory

The backstory of the event begins with the economic and social tensions that rose in Lancashire before the civil war. The tension rose mainly between the towns which supported the Parliament, and on the other side, the landowning gentry and aristocracy that supported the king became the Royalists. The tensions were backed by the religious divide in some towns. Bolton held importance as, being the ‘Geneva of the north’, it was the center of Calvinism.

The 1644 attempt wasn’t the only capture attempt on Bolton; there had been attempts to capture the city in the previous years as well, although all those attempts were in vain.

Narrating the story, it is important to note that the situations in May 1644 were apt for the Royalists. Although, at the beginning of the year, the King’s capital was in threat and the northern stronghold of the royalists at York was besieged. However, the picture changed after the entry of the king’s young nephew, Prince Rupert. He struck out the ‘York March’ on May 16 1644; a decision based on the ultimate aim of heading there through Lancashire, gathering reinforcements and securing the county for Royalist troops returning from the fighting in Ireland, before marching to York. Moving further after successfully storming the Parliamentarian outpost at Stockport on 25 May, the Prince headed towards Bolton.

On the Fateful Day

On 28 May 1644, the Parliamentarian town was stormed and captured by the Royalist forces under Prince Rupert. On the fateful day, Prince Rupert was approaching Bolton, and meanwhile, he sent Colonel Henry Tillier, his quartermaster-general, to secure the town. This only increased the chances of him achieving his goal. Further, the news of Parliamentarians retiring from Lathom House only solidified his intentions and he hastened his march in the pouring rain.

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The prince immediately advanced his attack, however, the Parliamentarians too were prepared and manned a defensive line around the town with 4,000 men. The first attack was repulsed with more than 300 casualties. But the king didn’t go there just to return with nothing. He ordered the regiment of Colonel Broughton to renew the attack. This attack came out to be a success and the fighting continued in the streets until the Parliamentarian forces were overcome or had fled.

Aftermath

A question that might have sprung into your mind would be regarding the causes of the dreadful event. Well, not only but many factors, in some way or the other, contributed to the nature of the action. Sieges had been done priorly as well, however, this one was different for it had no possibility or scope for negotiation; and the attack by Prince Rupert caught the Parliamentarians in temporary disarray. In addition to this, there was little protection from the “laws” or contemporary conventions of warfare for any of the garrison who did not surrender or flee immediately.

But the story doesn’t end here, Bolton got its way back at the royalists in 1651 after the Third English Civil War and the final defeat of the Royalists. On 15th October, the Earl was beheaded in Bolton, the town whose infamous sacking surely sealed his fate.

References and Attributions