Village History

Directories

Other Information

Sir Edwin Sandys 1561-1629

Colonel Edwin Sandys

The Battle of Powick Bridge - 23rd Sept. 1642

The battle at Powick Bridge near Worcester was really a skirmish; the first substantial engagement of the English Civil War. Also called the Battle of Wick Field; Prince Rupert defeated a detachment of the Earl of Essex’s Parliamentary troops. Colonel Edwin Sandys,^[1] who was with the Parliamentarian detachment, was one of the  casualties.

On 9 September 1642 Essex departed from London with the intention of confronting the King at Nottingham, but on 13 September Charles I's army moved out of Nottingham.

On 12 September Sir John Byron^[2] left Oxford with a small Royalist force and a large amount of silver 'donated' by the Oxford Colleges. Two days later, Byron's treasure convoy arrived at Worcester, where Prince Rupert joined him with 1,000 cavalry and dragoons.^[3]

On 23 September, Essex's advance guard of about 1,000 horse, commanded by Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes,^[4] approached Worcester having ridden through the night in an attempt to catch up with Byron's convoy.

The Royalists realised that Worcester was indefensible against Essex's army, so Sir John Byron left with the convoy for Shrewsbury, while Prince Rupert's force stayed behind to cover his withdrawal.

At around midnight the Parliamentarians were about five miles from Worcester. It seems that Colonel John Brown - a Scotsman - along with Colonel Sandys, were eager to press on to Worcester and seize Powick Bridge. It appears the other officers were uneasy about this course of action, no doubt because they knew they might meet up with Prince Rupert's Horse. After the night march the Parliamentarians arrived just south of Powick Bridge. Although tired, cold and wet, they remained mounted in Powick Hams. At daybreak Colonel Brown deployed a line of dragoons from Ham Hill to Powick church; the rest probably retired to the village. 

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon on 23 September they received a despatch announcing that their main army was approaching. There was some discussion amongst the officers about the next course of action. Colonel Fiennes and Captain Edward Wingate were intending to send forward scouts and commanded men to gauge the situation and prepare for an advance to the city. However, Colonel Sandys and Colonel  Brown wanted to engage the Royalists and did not wait for such cautious preparations; before some had finished singing a psalm, Colonel Sandys had advanced and crossed the narrow medieval bridge which was only eight feet wide.

The road leading from the bridge across the River Teme was also narrow; they passed 'The Chequers' public house and hedged enclosures before entering the open meadows at Lower Wick north-east of the bridge.

Prince Rupert had deployed dragoons along a hedge and he seems to have had a well prepared plan and allowed most of the parliamentarian troops to enter the open field. He then opened fire from the cover of a small valley before more than half of Colonel Fiennes men were fully deployed. A contemporary account by William Bowen says 'their Dragoners playing upon us all the while'. Colonel Sandys' Troop took the full force of the Royalist charge. William Bowen gave this casuality list:

... the Colonell himselfe was dangerously wounded in three places, his Cornett slaine, his Leiutenant dangerously wounded; Sergeant Major Douglas a brave Souldier was slaine, Captaine Berry slaine, his Cornett wounded, Captaine Aston, his Leiutenant slaine, his Cornett slaine, his Quarter master dangerously wounded, 6 of his troopers slaine and 16 hurt. Captain Lidcotts Cornett slaine, his Quartermaster dangerously wounded, his Corporall slaine....^[5]

It was said that Sergeant Major Byron shot Serjeant Major Douglas in the stomach and that Colonel Wilmot had singled out Colonel Sandys. Although there are a number of eyewitness accounts they may not be reliable, especially since some of the Parliamentarian statements, were trying to play down the defeat. It seems some of the the Parliamentarians fought off the charge by Sir Lewis Dive's Troop by firing at the last moment at close range. Although the flanks seemed to have given way and so weakened the situation; according to some accounts Colonel Brown and a half a dozen Parliamentary dragoons stationed at the bridge, prevented the Royalist pursuit, allowing those who were retreating to cross the bridge.

The Parliamentarians fled in disarray; many of the Parliamentarian cavalry did not stop until they had reached the main army at Pershore some miles to the south. Powick was a major propaganda victory for the Royalists and a serious warning for the Parliamentarians, although they also claimed a victory. The outcome had a profound psychological effect on both sides. It demonstrated that, although Parliamentarian troopers might be better equipped, they lacked the training, commitment and leadership seen amongst their Royalist opponents. An account of the engagement, from the Royalist side, is included in Memoirs and Reflections by Sir Richard Bulstrode, published in 1721.

... we met Prince Rupert with some Troops of Horse, with whom we joined and drew up in the Fields, not far from Powyck Bridge, upon the Severn, where we stood very quietly for some time, being informed that the Earl of Essex was marching after us. We had not been long in this Posture, before some Troops of Horse, commanded by Collonel Nathaniel Fiennes, who lay on the other Side Powyck Bridge, expecting to meet the Vanguard of Essex's Army, passed the Bridge, and having passed the Defiles, he drew up his Troops not far from ours, which the Prince gave him Time to do; but then the Prince charged and routed them, and sent them back over the bridge, in great Confusion and Disorder. In this Action we took several Prisoners, amongst was one Collonel Sandys, who was mortally wounded, ... Major Douglass, and several others, were killed upon the place. This was the first Action I was ever in, and being upon an unruly Horse, he ran away with me amongst the Enemy, while we pursued them to the Bridge, in which Hurly I lost my Hat; by my Horse's Courage being somewhat abated, I stopp'd him before we came to the Bridge, and so returned with our own Troops. We retired that Evening into the City of Worcester, …

Rupert did not pursue the success of his charge; his priority was to join with Byron and escort the treasure convoy. The action only lasted about 15 minutes. Prince Rupert received a sword cut leading the charge and won a reputation as a dashing cavalry commander. The Parliamentarian losses were 30-40 killed and up to 100 wounded; there were very few killed on the Royalist side. Prince Maurice had received two or three cuts on his head and Colonel (Lord Wilmot) had a sword slash down his back and Sir Lewis Dives was shot in the arm. The Royalists captured 30-40 prisoners, including the badly wounded Colonel Edwin Sandys, who was taken to Worcester.

He spent one month ranting in pain and then Colonel Sandys died. His son caught smallpox visiting him and also died. If this wasn't enough, the Royalists published a statement that on his deathbed he repented of his adoption of the Parliamentary cause. In October Sandys published two vindications denying the allegations (see below).

By the time Essex’s army finally arrived to occupy Worcester the Royalists were long gone. The Parliamentary forces briefly occupied the city of Worcester, defiling the Cathedral, before leaving on 19 October to confront Charles I at Edgehill on 22 October.

Battle of Powick Bridge -– The Aftermath

The skirmish at Powick Bridge is often briefly mentioned in books about the English Civil War, but is not usually discussed in much detail. Charles (Earl) Spencer in his book on Prince Rupert writes:

Their commander, Colonel Sandys, his life ebbing away, repented his disloyalty to the king: Dr. Watts, Rupert’s chaplain, received his dying words, which were full of regret.^[6]

Unfortunately this interpretation of the events is based only on the Royalist version of the story. Both the Royalists and Parliamentarians recognised the value of publicity and they produced numerous battlefield accounts in pamphlets and newspapers. The reliability of the information is often difficult to gauge; it was not uncommon for opposing reports to contradict one another or descend into outright propaganda.

Incidentally there is a connection between the Spencer and Sandys families; Mary Sandys, around 1627, married Richard Spencer. Mary was one of Sir Edwin Sandys’ daughters and hence sister to Colonel Edwin Sandys. Sir Richard was the son of Robert Lord Spencer of Wormleighton, 1st Baron (1570–1627). In fact Sir Robert Spencer became Lord Spencer in 1603 at the same time as Sir Edwin Sandys was knighted, while James VI was making his progress from Scotland to London to become James I of England.^[7]

The Royalist version includes some details about the colonel directly after the battle. It states a minister ‘was advised to visit Colonel Sandys, and to exhort him to report his sins’, he found ‘the wounded colonel in a little house’. It goes on to say the minister dissuaded the people of Worcester from stripping him, and ‘contented one of them’ by giving him the colonel’s spurs. The minister borrowed a sheet from the house to carry him into the town. Present during all this was his cousin, master John Sandys who went with the colonel when he was moved to the Green Dragon in Worcester. There the minister left him for a while: Not long after came Sergeant Major Francklin to the colonel, and brought master Gatenby the surgeon to dress him.^[8]

On the 7 October 1642 Edwin wrote a letter to be passed on to the Earl of Essex, who was with the Parliamentary army at Shrewsbury, and also to the House of Commons: ‘wherein colonel Sandys doth declare his resolution to maintain the cause he hath begun’ and to state ‘manifestly to the world, that those reports of his being slain, [along] with the contents of the Lord Falkland’s letter, be false and scandalous.’

The account by William Bowen (see above) states Edwin was dangerously wounded in three places. In the letter of 7 October Edwin outlines his condition:

The wounds I received are dangerous but the surgeons put me in comfort [they are] not mortal, but within some time of rest, I may again recover my strength, I have been in much anguish and pain, but am of the mending hand, thanks be to God …. This expression of my resolution is to vindicate a most scandalous aspersion of late raised and cast upon me, by the wicked and envious party, that I should be dead and before my death did much repent me of taking up arms against his Majesty, on the Parliament’s side.^[9]

The Royalist news sheet Mercurius Rusticus gave a graphic recollection of the colonel’s wounds; presumably an infection had set in:

In his thigh the flesh did daily rot and putrefy and was cut away by degrees even to bearing the bone naked, and stunk in so loathsome a manner that he was a burden even to himself and to his friends too, ... so intolerable was the stench, and so offensive.

On 11 October the colonel was repeating his vindication and outlines how he has been misrepresented. These tracts often had long detailed titles; in this case it is:

The declaration of Col. Edwyn Sandys in vindication of himself from those calumnious aspersions cast upon him by the Lord Falkland and Secretary Nicholas. Published and subscribed with his own hand at the Rendezvous at Worcester, Octob. 11, 1642. in the presence of Sergeant Major Berry, Thomas Cox, Doctor of Physic; Captain Walter Long; Captain Robert Long; Lyonell Copley, Mustermaster General; John Rushworth, Clerk, Assistant to the Commons House of Parliament.^[10]

In it he says:

It pleaseth God yet to detain me in that condition, that my pen, and not my sword must vindicate me from the aspersions which the letters of the Lord Falkland and Secretary Nicholas have cost on my reputation, and fidelity in that cause, in which I was lately, and still stand engaged. Both these persons charge me that I should say, that death did not so much trouble me, as that I had endeavoured to defend so bad a cause, which I was driven unto, as well by my own ambition, as by persuasion of other men; and that I wished that all actions of Parliament’s forces might hereafter be unsuccessful; and especially, that I should desire God and the king to forgive me this great sin of rebellion.

Edwin also counters some of the Royalist propaganda about the Battle of Powick Bridge:

But I wonder they should write there are so many hundreds of our men slain, when it is most apparent, that the number both of them that died in the place, and since, never amounted to thirty persons; & their loss no way inferior to ours, considering their great advantage of place and that they were at least double for number.

Viscount Falkland

‘Lord Falkland’ was the 2nd Viscount Falkland (Lucius Cary 1610–43). During the 1630s, Falkland presided over a celebrated philosophical and literary circle at Great Tew in Oxfordshire. Falkland was elected MP for Newport (Isle of Wight) in 1640. In January 1641, King Charles offered Falkland the post of Secretary of State and he worked actively to facilitate peace negotiations with Parliament in September 1642 and February 1643 but fell into deep depression when the negotiations failed. Falkland took part in the fighting at the siege of Gloucester in August 1643, where he behaved with manic, reckless courage. At the first battle of Newbury in September 1643, he volunteered to ride with Sir John Byron’s cavalry. During the battle Falkland charged alone through a gap in a hedge lined with Parliamentarian musketeers. He was killed; his action was regarded as an act of suicide brought about by despair at the horror of civil war. Sir Edward Nicholas (1593–1669) was appointed Secretary of State to Charles I in 1641. He went into exile after the king surrendered, and later served as secretary of state in exile to Charles II. He regained his post at the Restoration but retired to Surrey shortly after.

Thomason Tracts

Most of the details above are only known from civil war tracts. These only survive because of George Thomason (c.1602–1666) who systematically collected this fleeting literature. The tracts, mostly issued in London from 1640 to 1661, include accounts of the turbulent period of the English Civil Wars, the Commonwealth, and the Restoration of the monarchy. By 1661 he had acquired some 22,000 pamphlets and other ephemera, including around 7,200 news pamphlets, news books and early newspapers.

Edwin Sandys eventually succumbed to his wounds and was buried in Worcester cathedral.

NB. I have made some very minor changes to the 17th century text to make it more readable, as well as modernising some of the the spelling. Any significant changes or additions are shown in brackets [ ].