Storming of Bristol The Storming of Bristol took place on 26 July 1643 , during the First English Civil War . The Cavalier ( Royalist ) army under Prince Rupert of the Rhine , King Charles ' s nephew and Lieutenant General , captured the important city and port of Bristol from its weakened Roundhead ( Parliamentarian ) garrison . The city remained under Royalist control until near the end of the war . Background . During the mid - 17th century , Bristol had been one of the most important cities in England , second only to London in wealth . The Royalists had failed to secure it when the Civil War began , leaving it under Parliamentarian control although there were many Royalist sympathisers within the city . In July 1643 , the city ' s garrison was weakened when several of its units were detached to reinforce a Parliamentarian field army under Sir William Waller . On 13 July , Waller ' s army was destroyed at the Battle of Roundway Down . The Royalists quickly realised that this presented them with a great opportunity to capture important Parliamentarian - held towns in the south - west of England . Only two days after the battle , Prince Rupert marched from Oxford , the Royalists ' wartime capital , with a large army . He also sent orders to the Royalist Western Army which had been victorious at Roundway Down , now under the command of his younger brother Prince Maurice , to march against Bristol from the south while he himself advanced on the city from the north . Defences . The Parliamentarian defenders of Bristol were commanded by Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes . His garrison consisted of 300 cavalry and 1 , 500 infantry , plus some badly - armed town militia . The fortifications consisted of an inner line immediately surrounding the city and resting on the River Avon and River Frome , and an outer line about 500 yards outside the inner line . To the south and east the outer line was a continuous curtain wall and ditch on low - lying ground ; to the north and west , it consisted of a chain of forts and batteries resting on the high ground overlooking the city , linked by a low earth wall . A total of 100 guns were distributed along the defences . Royalist plan . Rupert personally led a reconnaissance of the defences to the north of the city on 23 July . There were some clashes between Royalist parties left on Clifton Hill and Parliamentarian sorties . The Parliamentarians were beaten off . The Royalists invested Bristol on the morning of 24 July . Rupert formally summoned the city to surrender , but the summons was refused . He then crossed the Avon to confer with Maurice and his officers . There was some dissension . Maurice , with his Cornish infantry faced the stronger defences south of Bristol and preferred to undertake a formal siege and bombardment . Rupert however , believed that the defences to the north were vulnerable to a storming attempt , given the weak state of the garrison . Eventually , Rupert prevailed , and the attack was planned to begin early on 26 July . The signal for the attack would be a salvo from a Royalist battery facing the Prior ' s Hill Fort at the northern point of the defences . Attack . In the event , the attack was disjointed . The eager Cornish infantry attacked prematurely at 3 a . m . , forcing Rupert to fire the signal to attack earlier than he intended . South . The Cornish infantry attacked in three columns . They rolled carts and wagons into the ditch in front of the wall to fill it and allow them to cross . The ditch was too deep for this to succeed , but the Cornish used faggots and scaling ladders to continue the attack . They nevertheless suffered heavy casualties , all three attacking column commanders being killed , and were eventually driven back . North . Rupert ' s attackers consisted of three brigades of infantry , with some dragoons . Lord Grandison ' s brigade attacked the Prior ' s Hill fort and a nearby redoubt at Stokes Croft , but was repulsed . Grandison himself was killed . Sir John Belasyse ' s brigade also was unsuccessful at Colston ' s Mount . Rupert had a horse killed under him while rallying some of Belasyse ' s infantry . The brigade under Colonel Henry Wentworth was more successful . Led by dragoon s under Colonel Henry Washington , they penetrated up a re - entrant between the Brandon Hill and Windmill Hill forts and found that once against the defences between these two forts they were in " dead ground " , safe from fire from the forts . They threw grenade s over the wall to drive back the defenders , while they pulled down the wall using halberd s and partisans . Once they were inside the defences , Fiennes ' s cavalry tried to counter - attack , but flinched when they faced Royalists wielding " fire - pikes " ; pikes to which large fireworks were attached , an early form of flamethrower . Wentworth ' s brigade pushed forward towards the inner defences , followed by Belasyse ' s brigade and Colonel Arthur Aston ' s regiment of cavalry . They captured another strongpoint , the " Essex Work " , when the defenders panicked . There was severe fighting for two hours around the Frome Gate , part of the inner defences , as some of the townswomen tried to improvise a barricade of woolsacks behind the gate . Surrender and Aftermath . Rupert had sent for the Cornish infantry to reinforce the attack , but at about 6 : 00 pm , Fiennes asked for terms . Rupert granted easy conditions ; the defenders were allowed to march out with their personal property , while their officers ( and the cavalry troopers ) were allowed to keep their arms . Undisciplined Royalists nevertheless plundered the defenders when they marched out on 27 July . The Royalists secured immmense amounts of booty , in particular munitions of war . Eight armed merchant ships were captured , which later formed the nucleus of a Royalist fleet . The workshops of Bristol eventually re - equipped the entire Royalist army with muskets . Nathaniel Fiennes was tried by Parliament and sentenced to death , but reprieved .