The Civil War in Kingston
In 1642 England fell into Civil War. King Charles 1 and his Royalist troops fought the Parliamentarian Army led by generals such as Oliver Cromwell and Thomas Fairfax.
In January 1642 (even before the war had officially started) some of Charles 1's soldiers and courtiers stayed in Kingston when the King was residing at Hampton Court Palace. Later, Parliamentarian soldiers occupied Kingston under the command of Sir Richard Onslow. A larger force of Parliamentarian troops led by Sir James Ramsey replaced this small army. In 1642, whilst retreating from a battle at Turnham Green, royalist soldiers occupied the town for a few days on their way to Oxford. After this, the Parliamentarian soldiers returned and were quartered here for the rest of the war.
The armies were understandably not popular in Kingston. They would take goods without paying and often 'wreak havoc'. As one contemporary Kingston writer recorded, they would 'plunder', 'burn', and 'use the church as a stable'.
By the end of the firsr Civil War, Kingston was still occupied by soldiers. In 1647 Sir Thomas Fairfax and his army were stationed in Kingston. Fairfax lodged in the Crane Inn in the Market Place. We have a token depicting a crane (bird) issued by innkeeper, Robert Ballard. A year later in 1648, there was a skirmish just outside the town at Surbiton. The Earl of Holland fighting for the King marched an army towards Kingston. Lord Francis Villiers, who was also fighting for the King, led a gallant counter attack that ended with his death when cornered in an orchard not far from the present day Villiers Road.
Our archives contain papers relating to the quartering of troops in the Town during the Cival Wars, and to Borough politics during the Commonwealth and early Restoration period. You can see them in our Local History Room by appointment.