Siege of Reading

Siege of Reading
Part of First English Civil War
Date 14–25 April 1643 Location Reading, Berkshire 51°27′26″N 0°57′59″W / 51.4572°N 0.9665°W / 51.4572; -0.9665 Result Parliamentarian victory
Belligerents
Royalists	Parliamentarians
Commanders and leaders
Sir Arthur Aston Richard Feilding	Earl of Essex
Strength
c. 3,300	c. 19,000

Reading

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Berkshire and Reading

The siege of Reading was an eleven-day blockade of Reading, Berkshire during the First English Civil War. Reading had been garrisoned by 3,000 Royalist troops under Sir Arthur Aston in November 1642. On 14 April 1643, Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex led a Parliamentarian army of 19,000 troops to lay siege to the town, and began bombarding it two days later.

During the siege, Aston was wounded and command of the garrison passed to Richard Feilding. On 25 April, Feilding requested a truce in order to negotiate the town's surrender. Despite a Royalist relief force commanded by Charles I of England and Prince Rupert of the Rhine arriving the following day, Feilding held to the truce, and Essex's army was able to repel the relief army. The surrender terms were agreed on 26 April, and the next day the Royalists left the town for Oxford.