Worcestershire in the English Civil War the Royalists towards London was that the Parliament troops evacuated Worcestershire. 1643. The King established his headquarters at Oxford, and was most anxious to win the highlands of the Cotswolds and the line of the river Severn. The Parliamentarians had two armies. Their plan was that the two armies, one of which was engaged before Reading under Essex, the other under William Waller had its headquarters at Bristol, should unite and take Oxford. Essex took Reading. Waller, operating from Gloucester, cleared the county, and by taking Hereford cut off communication with Wales. To make all safe in the Severn Valley,
Stuart London the City made an important contribution to the parliamentarians victory in the war. The civil war ended in defeat for the Royalists. The execution of King Charles on 30 January 1649, heralded Oliver Cromwell's short lived Commonwealth. In contrast to the common view of the period as being one of Puritan repression. Some music and opera flourished in London under Cromwell's patronage. In 1656 "The Siege of Rhodes" the first true English opera was performed in London. In 1655 Cromwell allowed Jews to return to London, ending a 365-year banishment. They built their first Synagogue in 1657 at Creechurch Lane.