294 



Chippenham, and the Neighbourhood, 



Parliament, and sent them to pay the King's troops at Malmesbury. 

 The men of Wootton Bassett also made some emphatic demonstra- \ 

 tions of attachment to the throne, and other towns in the county 

 showing a similar spirit, the hostile militia disappeared, and nearly 

 the whole of Wiltshire for a time was free from Parliamentary 

 troops. 



In March, 1643, Sir W. Waller entered Wilts; and this county 

 for two years was the arena of several hard conflicts, in which he 

 was one of the chief actors. As Wiltshire also lay in the main 

 line of march between London, Oxford, and the west, it was crossed 

 and recrossed by friend and foe in all directions, and the un- 

 garrisoned towns, as was frequently the case with Chippenham, 

 changed masters once or twice in the same day, and suffered severely 

 in the miseries of this unnatural war. Waller, as Clarendon 

 significantly notes, was not an enemy who was wont to tarry by 

 the way longer than was needful. Passing through Salisbury, 

 March 22nd, 1643, and leaving Devizes, as too strong, for another 

 visit, he scattered the weak detachment in Chippenham, drove Luns- 

 ford out of Malmesbury, by a masterly movement captured Lord 

 Herbert's army under the walls of Gloucester, and then summoned 

 by startling news from Devon, turned westward, and for the first 

 time met those gallant cavaliers of Cornwall, who were destined to 

 inflict on him, in this neighbourhood, such signal disaster. After 

 strenuous but vain attempts to prevent the advance of the Cornish 

 army into Wilts, as they moved round by Bradford to Marsh field, 

 Waller, too wary to give his foe the least advantage, and now 

 having learnt by experience what he had before heard by report, 

 that these western men hit very hard, posted himself on command- 

 ing ground on the north slope of Lansdown. Here he was attacked 

 by Prince Maurice and the Cornish infantry, and a bloody struggle 

 ensued, in which, amongst many other valuable officers, Sir George 

 Vaughan, High Sheriff of Wilts, fell mortally wounded. Waller 

 fell back on Bath, and the royal forces, seriously shattered, and 

 anxious as early as possible to reach Oxford, broke up from Marsh- 

 field, and avoiding Malmesbury, where Devereux the Parliamentary 

 general was watching to spring out on any passing foe, moved on 



