Battle during the First English Civil War on 23 January 1643, when a Parliamentarian force attacked the Royalist garrison of Leeds, Yorkshire
The Parliamentarian capture of Leeds in January 1643 checked Royalist dominance in Yorkshire during the First English Civil War.
Key Facts
- Date
- 23 January 1643
- Parliamentarian force
- ~3,000 men
- Royalist garrison
- ~2,000 men
- Prisoners captured
- ~500
- Parliamentarian fatalities
- ~20
- Royalist fatalities
- ~40
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Earl of Newcastle had reinforced the Royalist position in Yorkshire with an 8,000-strong army, sending Sir William Savile to seize Leeds. This shift threatened Parliamentarian support in the cloth-trading West Riding, prompting Ferdinando, Lord Fairfax to authorize his son Sir Thomas Fairfax to mount a counter-attack rather than allow the region to fall further under Royalist control.
On 23 January 1643, during a heavy snowstorm, Sir Thomas Fairfax led roughly 3,000 Parliamentarian troops in a three-pronged assault on Leeds, which Savile had fortified with trenches and reinforced bridge defenses. After approximately two hours of fighting, the Parliamentarians broke through and secured the town, capturing around 500 prisoners.
The Parliamentarian victory at Leeds halted the immediate Royalist advance in the West Riding of Yorkshire and helped sustain local support for the Parliamentary cause. With some 500 prisoners taken and Royalist casualties roughly double those of the attackers, the result demonstrated that Newcastle's forces could be resisted in the region.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Sir Thomas Fairfax, Ferdinando, Lord Fairfax.
Side B
1 belligerent
Sir William Savile.