The Battle of Cheriton
In 1644, Alresford found itself in the thick of the English Civil War. Lord Hopton had secured the town for the Royalists, but the battle of Cheriton — just south of Alresford — was to be a catastrophic defeat for Hopton’s army. In recent years, the battle has been re-enacted by the Battle of Cheriton Project.
Some 20,000 Royalist and Parliamentarian troops did battle at Cheriton. Though Hopton’s army had been joined by a detachment of King Charles’ main army led by the Earl of Forth, the Royalist forces were still far outnumbered by Sir William Waller’s Parliamentarian forces.
The Parliamentarians had already got the better of Lord Hopton at the Battle of Alton the previous year, and the renewed defeat at Cheriton put Royalists on the back foot for the rest of 1644.
More information
- For more on the Civil War in Hampshire and the south of England, see the British Civil Wars website.
- For more details of re-enactments of the Battle of Cheriton, see the Battle of Cheriton Project website.
- The Battle of Cheriton Walk is one of the main fascinating walks. you can undertake in the Alresford area.