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Tuesday, 29th July 2003

English Civil War

Town Hall mural depicting the assault on Deangate and Salford Bridge in 1642

During the Civil War Manchester was one of very few towns in Lancashire to support Parliament against King Charles I. Indeed it bears the dubious distinction of claiming the first casualty of the whole war. In a melee on Market Street in 1642 Richard Percival, linen weaver, was shot dead. In September of the same year Lord Strange, in command of between 3,000 and 4,000 Royalists attacked the town along Deansgate and across Salford Bridge (the Town Hall Mural shown depicts this assault). When Strange had demanded that the town give up its store of gunpowder and its weapons, he received the reply that he would get "nothing, not even a rusty dagger". The defenders were led by Robert Bradshaw and William Radcliffe under advice from Colonel Rosworm, a German Mercenary. At the battle's height two barns caught fire, the smoke of which caused confusion. As the smoke cleared it became clear that the assault had failed. Strange lifted the siege on 1st October. As a consequence of the victory Parliament gave the town its first MP. The new representative was one of the local Parliamentarian gentry: Sir Charles Worsley from Platt Hall in Fallowfield. When a vengeful monarchy was restored in 1660 Manchester's support for Parliament was remembered and it lost its MP. It didn't get one back until 1832.

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