The Events of 1642.

Birmingham, like many other industrial towns, was a centre of opposi-tion to the King. It was placed geographically in a "tongue" of Parliamen-tary territory, which made it cosier for Parliamentary support to be called. It lost no time in declaring itself for Parliament. When the King moved south from Nottingham to recruit troops, he rode towards Coventry, marching into Warwickshire on August 18th and 19th. On the 19th Coventry, reinforced by men from Birmingham, closed its gates and manned its walls, so giving the Royal force no alternative but retreat, since it was not equipped for siege.

Let a contemporary pamphlet take over: "The inhabitants of the town were they who first stirred up those of Coventry to resist the King; and about 300 from thence went into Coventry to defend it against the King's forces; from thence they sent 15,000 swords to the Earle of Essex his forces, and the ayd of that party, and not only refused to supply the King's forces with swords for their money, but imprisoned divers who bought swords upon suspicion that they intended to supply the King's forces with them."

In October 1642, the King, marching from Shrewsbury towards London, advanced slowly through the Midlands, taking 10 days to travel less than 100 miles to Banbury. The King's troops moved at the pace of the Train of Artillery, for if they had moved ahead, the Artillery might have fallen to the Roundheads of Coventry, Warwick or Birmingham. En route, the King spent two days as the guest of Sir Thomas Holte, at Aston Hall, and while it is believed that the Royalist forces on the march behaved with commendable discipline, the same could not be said for the citizens of Birmingham, who, having waited until the bulk of the King's Troops had passed, proceeded to capture part of his baggage train, and sent it to Warwick Castle, and to Coventry.

Clarendon summarises admirably: "At Bromwicham, a town so generally wicked that it had risen upon small parties of the king's men and killed or taken them prisoners, and sent them to Coventry, declaring a more peremptory malice to his majesty than any other place." Birmingham was to regret its hasty actions within a year.

Another aspect of the King's march is revealed by a unique pamphlet in the Birmingham Reference Library {A True Relation of a Great & Cruell Battell} The King's army, a total of 13 regiments of foot, 10 of horse, three of dragoons and an Artillery Train of 20 guns, was almost certainly split into two or three parts. One of those parts, that of Prince Rupert, was engaged in a skirmish about 3 miles from Birmingham. Rupert had about 8 troops of horse and 300 foot, and his opponent, Lord Willoughby of Potham, about 800. The fight probably took place at what is now known as Moseley, close to King's Norton, and a suburb of Birmingham.

One of Lord Willoughby's men was Robert Graves (or Greaves), a native of the area, and a local gentleman of King's Norton, who was able to distinguish himself in this affair. At any rate, it did not prevent Prince Rupert from making for Solihull, and thence to the King, who had reached Meriden Heath (between Coventry and Birmingham) by the 20th. Willoughby proceeded to Worcester to join the Earl of Essex, and reached him on the 23rd just too late for the Battle of Edgehill.

The pamphlet (a copy is included) is a typical example of Roundhead propaganda. S.R. Gardiner claimed that "Parliamentary newspapers invent freely": so apparently do the pamphleteers. There are no references to this skirmish anywhere else, and if Clarendon does not mention the incident, it must have been insignificant indeed. Even a first reading of the pamphlet reveals its disparities - for example, Prince Rupert is variously credited with 8 and 9 troops of horse, casualty figures of the Roundheads range from 17 to 20, the dates conflict strangely, and if the "Prince's souldiers retreated and fled", they fled in the direction in which they wanted to go.

Perhaps a more interesting aspect of this incident is the progress of Graves. With Willoughby he joined Essex, and during the winter was made a captain and sent to Birmingham to raise levies of troops and prepare the defences of the area.