Historical Documentary: In 1648, after two years of ‘near peace’, the English Civil War was on the verge of re-erupting. Kent was in open rebellion. Dover, Rochester, Gravesend and Maidstone had been seized. On June 1st, Thomas Fairfax’s New Model Army — the most battle-hardened professional soldiers England had ever produced — stood outside Maidstone in the gathering dark. Inside, 3,000 Royalist soldiers had barricaded every street. They knew every alley, every rooftop, every doorway. And they were fighting for their King, their homes, and their right to think as they pleased. Then the storm broke. In torrential rain, lightning and gun smoke, five hours of the nastiest urban combat of the entire English Civil War played out in these streets. And what happened next would seal the fate of a King.

*In this episode:*

• The petition that made thought itself illegal in Kent
• How 10,000 Royalists became 3,000 — and why that decision haunted a general
• The medieval bridge that changed everything
• The shot that started a battle nobody planned to fight that night
• Five hours of street-by-street carnage in lightning and rain
• The last stand in a churchyard
• The escape north — and the city that shut its gates
• The Mayor of Maidstone who read a King his death sentence

*Further Reading:*

• Trevor Royle, Civil War: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms 1638–1660 (Abacus, 2004)
• BCW Project (British Civil Wars, Commonwealth & Protectorate 1638–1660) — comprehensive scholarly resource covering the military, political and biographical history of the period.
• British History Online: Rushworth Papers, June–July 1648 — contemporary Parliamentary accounts of the defeat of the Kentish rebellion, published by the Institute of Historical Research.

Secret Bonus Facts:

1. The defenders of Maidstone were not, for the most part, professional soldiers. Contemporary accounts describe them as “cavaliers, citizens, seamen and watermen” — men drawn largely from the Medway ports, which goes some way to explaining why they fought with such tenacious, unconventional ferocity against one of the most professional armies England had ever produced.
2. Fairfax didn’t simply march on Maidstone. He deployed a deliberate feint towards Aylesford, drawing Royalist attention while his main force swung south and crossed the Medway at East Farleigh almost entirely unopposed. The Earl of Norwich was looking the wrong way when it mattered most.
3. You can still see a physical relic of the battle today. The doublet Sir Thomas Fairfax wore during the storming of Maidstone survives, and is currently on display at Leeds Castle — a few miles down the road from where he wore it. Want to know more about Leeds Castle? Check out our video on: The Fate of the Witch Queen!
4. Despite five hours of brutal street fighting, Fairfax showed remarkable restraint in victory. Around a thousand Royalists emerged from St Faith’s Chapel to surrender after midnight. He held them in All Saints Church, then released 1,300 men to return to their homes — on the condition they play no further part in the rebellion.

You’ve scrolled too far. There is nothing down here. But… since you’re here… Andrew Broughton did not escape the consequences of reading Charles I his death sentence. At the Restoration in 1660 he was specifically excluded from the general pardon, fled to the continent, and spent 25 years in exile. He died peacefully in Vevey, Switzerland — where his tomb, in the church of St Martin, still marks his act of regicide.