War in the South: A multidisciplinary analysis of the fighting in Hampshire and Sussex between 1642-1644, examining the region’s relevance to discussions of the first of the British Civil Wars.

Abstract

The first of the British Civil Wars immediately touched upon Hampshire and Sussex in 1642. Between the Siege of Portsmouth in August-September, to the Siege of Chichester in late-December, these counties saw the war up close. By 29 March 1644 and the Battle of Cheriton, there had been sieges at Arundel, Chichester, and Winchester, battles at Alton, Cheriton, and Haywards Heath, and skirmishes across the two counties. However, the Royalist strategies for its active armies, whether Sir Edward Ford’s army of pressed West Sussex militia, or Baron Ralph Hopton’s sober and professional army, was to capture or pass through East Sussex. This leads to the question of why?

By examining the region of Hampshire and Sussex, of looking at its topography, road networks, industries, and the people themselves, a contextual understanding is built in which the fighting can be analysed and understood. From the importance of Portsmouth as the nation’s naval base, to the quiet fields by the village of Cheriton where the fate of the south coast was decided in 1644, this thesis is intended to understand why the Royalists wanted to reach East Sussex. In addition, it examines how Sir William Waller stopped this from happening in 1643-44, at a crucial moment in the war. A new examination of Waller’s activities in Hampshire in late-1643 assesses the use of Farnham as a fortified base in the face of Hopton’s victorious Royalist army, how Waller was able to completely reverse the campaign situation at the Battle of Alton, and how he was able to rescue the overall dire situation the Long Parliament had been in that November winter in the south, by becoming the victor at Alton, Arundel, and Cheriton.

Date of Award	30 Oct 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Winchester
Supervisor	Simon Sandall (Supervisor) & Phil Marter (Supervisor)