Royalist victory at Braddock Down secured Cornwall for King Charles I during the First English Civil War's south-western campaign.
Key Facts
- Date
- 19 January 1643
- Prisoners taken
- 1,500 captured
- Royalist commander
- Sir Ralph Hopton
- Conflict
- First English Civil War
- Believed battlefield site
- Parkland at Boconnoc, Cornwall
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During the south-western campaign of the First English Civil War, Royalist and Parliamentarian forces contested control of Cornwall. Sir Ralph Hopton led Royalist troops seeking to consolidate the region for King Charles I against a Parliamentary force operating in the county.
On 19 January 1643, Royalist forces under Sir Ralph Hopton engaged Parliamentary troops on open ground in Cornwall, likely near Boconnoc. The battle proved an apparently easy Royalist victory, with 1,500 Parliamentarian soldiers captured during and after the fighting.
The victory secured Cornwall for King Charles I and reinforced Hopton's standing as a capable commander. His treatment of captured enemies with mercy also earned him respect. The precise battlefield location remains disputed, though English Heritage place it within parkland at Boconnoc.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Sir Ralph Hopton.
Side B
1 belligerent