Battle of Turnham Green The Battle of Turnham Green occurred 13 November 1642 near the village of Turnham Green , at the end of the first campaigning season of the First English Civil War . On the battlefield , the engagement resulted in a standoff between the forces of King Charles I and the much larger Parliamentarian army under the command of the Earl of Essex . However , in successfully blocking the Royalist army ' s way to London , the Parliamentarians gained an important strategic victory because the standoff forced Charles and his army to retreat to Oxford for secure winter quarters . Background . After the Battle of Edgehill ( 23 October ) King Charles captured Banbury ( 27 October ) and was greeted by cheering crowds as he arrived in Oxford on 29 October . Charles ' nephew and cavalry commander , Prince Rupert of the Rhine , swept down the Thames Valley , capturing Abingdon , Aylesbury and Maidenhead , from where he attempted to capture Windsor , although he failed in that attempt because of Parliamentary strength there . After this , many officers wanted to open peace negotiations , contrary to Rupert ’ s desire to carry on to London , but the king agreed with the officers and so the Earl of Essex managed to overtake them and reach London with his Parliamentary army by 8 November . Prelude . On the 12 November Rupert with a large cavalry detachment stormed Brentford and then proceeded to sack the town . This action encouraged those Londoners who feared for their property to side with the Parliamentarians . On 13 November Essex ' s army , with the London trainband s and other London citizenry , assembled as an army of about 24 , 000 on Chelsea Field . They advanced to Turnham Green in the vicinity of the main body of the Royalist army . Battle . The Royalist army of 7 , 000 - 12 , 000 was short of ammunition and probably too small to attack the 24 , 000 strong Parliamentarian army . Also the King was advised that to engage such an oddly assorted army containing what was obviously a large contingent of armed civilians ( namely the Trained Bands under Philip Skippon ) , would not endear him to London , and it was too early in the war for the Royalists to contemplate taking London without the support of a sizable part of London ' s population . With the end of campaigning season close at hand , Charles decided not to press the issue and withdrew . So after a slight cannonade , the Parliamentarians secured a victory without engaging in the battle , which was fortunate for them , as many of their number had never seen a battle before and were not used to army discipline formations and deployments . John Hampden , with something of the fire and energy of his cousin , Oliver Cromwell , urged the Earl of Essex to turn both flanks of the Royal army via Acton and Kingston ; experienced professional soldiers , however , urged Essex not to trust the London men to hold their ground , while the rest manoeuvred . Hampden ' s advice was undoubtedly premature . A Battle of Worcester ( 1651 ) was not within the power of the Parliamentarians of 1642 . In Napoleon ' s words : " one only manoeuvres around a fixed point " , and the city levies at that time were certainly not , " vis - à - vis " Rupert ' s cavalry , a fixed point . Aftermath . Charles ( once more contrary to Rupert ' s advice ) retreated back up the Thames Valley towards Oxford ( losing the possible chance for a flanking movement through loyal Kent ) , where Charles set up his headquarters for the rest of the war . Never again during the Civil War would the Royalists come as close to capturing London and without London they could not win the war .