Sieges of Bradford

Sieges of Bradford
Part of English Civil War
Bradford parish church before extensions were added. This is mostly how the church would have looked in 1642.
Date December 1642 (first siege) July 1643 (second siege) Location Bradford, West Yorkshire 53°47′42″N 1°44′49″W / 53.795°N 1.747°W / 53.795; -1.747 Result Parliamentary victory (1642) Royalist victory (1643)
Belligerents
Royalists	Parliamentarians
Earl of Newcastle (1643)	Sir Thomas Fairfax (1643)
Strength
Approximately 800 (1642)	Approximately 400 (1642)
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown
class=notpageimage| Location of Bradford in West Yorkshire

The sieges of Bradford (also known as the Battle of the Steeple), were two very short-lived sieges that took place separately in the town of Bradford, Yorkshire, in December 1642 and early July 1643, just after the Royalist victories in Pontefract (1642), and the Battle of Adwalton Moor (1643) respectively. In the second siege, with the Parliamentarian forces dispersed to the west in and around Halifax, the Earl of Newcastle subjected Bradford to a brief siege to enforce rule and allegiance to the king.

The first siege gave rise to the term "Bradford Quarter", apparently a misinterpretation by the defenders of Bradford who, on hearing a Royalist officer asking for quarter, assured him that they would "quarter him". The term "give them Bradford Quarter", was used by the Royalists against the defenders of the Bradford during the second siege. The second siege was noted for its apparent salvation from slaughter after the Earl of Newcastle was visited by a wraith-like figure imploring him to "pity poor Bradford...".

The sieges were also notable in that to protect the church and steeple, bales of wool were hung from the tower in an effort to deflect, or deaden the impact of cannon-fire from the Royalists. The siege was said to have decimated Bradford and afterwards, famine and pestilence followed in its wake which affected Bradford for a hundred years. Some even state that as Bradford was withered, it allowed Leeds to flourish as the powerhouse in the region.