Battle of Reading ( 1688 ) The Battle of Reading took place on 9 December 1688 in Reading , Berkshire . It was the only substantial military action in England during the Glorious Revolution and ended in a decisive victory for forces loyal to William of Orange . It was celebrated in Reading for hundreds of years afterwards . Prelude . On Wednesday 5 November 1688 William , then the Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of the Holland , Zeeland , Utrecht , Gelderland , and Overijssel provinces of the Dutch Republic , landed in Devon at the head of a Dutch army in an attempt to wrest control of the country . Five weeks later , on 7 December , the Prince of Orange and a strong body of troops had reached Hungerford . After retreating from Salisbury James II ' s main force was stationed on Hounslow Heath . James posted an advance guard of 600 in Reading to stop the march of the Dutch towards London . These 600 troops were composed of Irish Catholics under Patrick Sarsfield , who wild rumour asserted were planning to massacre the townsfolk . While the Prince of Orange was in Hungerford , his English supporters came into the town , including a body of several hundred cavalry headed by northern lords . On Saturday 8 December , James sent Lord Halifax , Lord Nottingham , and Lord Godolphin to Hungerford to confer with William . Halifax presented James ' proposals : that the points of dispute would be laid before Parliament ; and that while Parliament deliberated , William ' s army would not come nearer than 30 miles from London . Halifax then handed a letter from James to William . William asked his English advisers to discuss the proposals . They met under the chairmanship of Lord Oxford , and after a long debate they advised the rejection of James ' s proposals . William decided to negotiate with James and put his own counter proposals in writing for Halifax to deliver to James . Battle . James II sent part of his army to Reading to stop the march of the invasion force . The people of Reading had already sent a messenger to William who was at Hungerford to ask for help . On Sunday 9 December a relief force of about 250 Dutch troops was sent to the town . Warned in advance of the Royalist positions in the town they attacked from an unexpected direction , and got into the centre of Reading , where Broad Street gives rise to one of the alternate names for this encounter . Forcing the Irish troops back , the Dutch attack was supported by Reading men shooting from their windows . The Dutch soon forced the Irish troops to retreat in confusion leaving a number of their side slain , twenty to fifty depending on the account . There were few deaths on the Dutch side , one being a Catholic officer . Many of the dead were buried in the churchyard of St Giles ' Church . Aftermath . James was already convinced that only Irish troops could be relied on to defend him , but this defeat by an inferior force and the willingness of the people of Reading to support a Dutch invasion further signalled the insecurity of his position . Thus on Tuesday 11 December James fled London in abortive attempt to escape . He eventually escaped to France , where he found the support of Louis XIV and then Ireland , where most of the population supported him . His last hopes of regaining the throne were dashed with his defeat in the Williamite war in Ireland . In light of proposals he had received from James while in Hungerford , William decided not to immediately proceed to London , but to accept an invitation from the University of Oxford . On 11 December , William set off for Abingdon , but on hearing of James ' s flight , he turned and headed down the Thames valley through Wallingford and Henley , accepting the submission of the Royalist troops he met on the way , arriving at Windsor on 14 December 1688 .