Key Facts
- First siege dates
- 2–8 May 1643
- Second siege dates
- November 1643 – March 1644
- Parliamentarian attackers (1st siege)
- ~1,300 men
- Royalist defenders (1st siege)
- 25 soldiers
- Parliamentarian garrison after 1st siege
- 75 men
- Demolition method (2nd siege)
- Mines exploded under castle walls
Strategic Narrative Overview
Lady Blanche Arundell commanded a garrison of just 25 soldiers against Hungerford's 1,300-strong force, holding out for a week before surrendering on 8 May 1643. The Parliamentarians then garrisoned the castle with 75 men under Colonel Edmund Ludlow. By November 1643, Henry Arundell, 3rd Baron, returned with a Royalist force and established a tight blockade. After conventional methods failed, the Royalists detonated mines beneath the walls, creating breaches that compelled the garrison to surrender.
01 / The Origins
During the First English Civil War, Old Wardour Castle in Wiltshire was the home of Thomas Arundell, 2nd Baron Arundell of Wardour, a prominent Catholic and Royalist. With Arundell away fighting for King Charles I, the castle became a target for Parliamentarian forces seeking to reduce Royalist strongholds across England. In May 1643, Sir Edward Hungerford led a force of approximately 1,300 Parliamentarians against the largely undefended estate.
03 / The Outcome
The second siege ended in Royalist success, but the mine explosions left the castle structurally ruined and uninhabitable. The Arundell family never reoccupied Old Wardour Castle. More than a century later, they commissioned the construction of New Wardour Castle nearby. The ruined old castle stands as an enduring reminder of the Civil War's destructive impact on English noble estates and Catholic Royalist families.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Sir Edward Hungerford, Colonel Edmund Ludlow.
Side B
1 belligerent
Lady Blanche Arundell, Henry Arundell, 3rd Baron Arundell of Wardour.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.