Worcestershire in the English Civil War Worcestershire in the English Civil War Worcestershire was the county where the first battle and last battle of the English Civil War took place. The first battle, the Battle of Powick Bridge, fought on 23 September 1642, was a cavalry skirmish and a victor for the Royalists (Cavaliers). The final battle, the battle of Worcester, fought on 3 September 1651, was decisive and ended the war with a Parliamentary (Roundhead) victory and King Charles IIa wanted fugitive. During the First Civil War the county was under the control of the Royalists although many of their fortified garrisons were besieged by
Worcestershire in the English Civil War to the City of Worcester hoping that English Cavaliers would rally to his banner. While a few did, Charles's army was surrounded by a much larger Parliamentary army under the command of Oliver Cromwell and comprehensively defeated in what Cromwell described as a "Crowning Mercy". Charles I's policies of rule without Parliament forced him to raise taxes on imports of goods known as 'tonnage and poundage'. Policies like these particularly reduced the profitability of trade and created opposition in urban centres including Worcester. Similarly, the Ship Money taxation levied in 1636 fell heavily on Worcester, which was the sixteenth highest