Key Facts
- Duration
- September 1644 – July 1645
- Number of sieges
- 3
- Royalist troops tied down
- 10,000–15,000 under Lord Goring
- Parliamentary commander
- Robert Blake (all three sieges)
- Final relief date
- 9 July 1645
Strategic Narrative Overview
Three successive Royalist sieges tested Taunton's defenses between September 1644 and July 1645. The first, led by Edmund Wyndham, was lifted in December 1644 by a relief force under James Holborne. The second, the bloodiest, began in late March 1645 under Sir Richard Grenville and later Sir Ralph Hopton, driving Blake to a small central perimeter before Ralph Weldon's Parliamentarian relief army forced a Royalist retreat. Lord Goring immediately renewed the blockade but conducted it loosely.
01 / The Origins
Taunton, in Somerset, held strategic value as the town controlling the main road linking Bristol to Devon and Cornwall. During the First English Civil War, Parliament and the Crown competed for control of key regional strongholds. Parliamentarian forces garrisoned Taunton under Robert Blake, making it a target for Royalist forces seeking to neutralize Parliamentary presence in the West Country and secure lines of communication.
03 / The Outcome
Goring's third siege proved ineffective, as lax enforcement allowed provisions into Taunton. The diversion of his 10,000–15,000 troops away from the main Royalist army is considered a factor in Parliament's victory at Naseby in June 1645. Thomas Fairfax, following that triumph, marched to Taunton and relieved the town on 9 July 1645, ending the sieges and consolidating Parliamentarian control of Somerset.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Edmund Wyndham, Sir Richard Grenville, Sir Ralph Hopton, Lord Goring.
Side B
1 belligerent
Robert Blake, Ralph Weldon.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.