Page 7 - TIMES AND PLACES IN CONTEMPORARY PAPERS

here that at Thame, 7.00am (EEL)

Some of Parliament’s soldiers or villagers escaped the carnage and by 7am had taken the alarm to Sir
Philip Stapleton in Thame. Running or riding 4 miles across country at 10 MPH average would take
about 25 minutes.

‘Captain Sanders Troop, and Captain Buller, with 50 commanded men, 7.30am. ( EEL )
which were sent to Chinner - by Sir Philip Stapleton,...’(arrive at Chinnor )

Chinnor being 4 miles from Thame it would have been difficult for the guards there to discern the
seriousness of any fires, from the background smoke. Sanders and Buller arrived at Chinnor about
7.30am. The Royalists by 7.30am had covered 2 miles and were approaching Aston Rowant as Sanders
and Buller got to Chinnor. They sent a detachment back to Thame, which arrived a little before 8.00am
and reported their findings to Stapleton. Meanwhile Sanders & Bullers troops chased off in the footsteps
of the Royalists.

‘Sir Philip Stapleton, who had the Watch here that night at Thame, when hee 7.45am. ( EEL )

discovered the fire there, to know the occasion of it, he likewise sent one
Troope of Dragoones under the command of Captain Dundass,...’

Stapleton sent out Dundass’ Dragoons at around 7.45am to gather more information. Dundass’ troopers
meet with Sanders, Buller, Gunter, Crosse and Sheffield’s troops at South Weston around 8.15am, but

before the second skirmish..

Scratch force of 7/800 troopers leave Thame at 8.00am to be 6 miles 8.00am Calculated
away at Clare Crossroads by 8.30am

The ‘True Relation’ states, ‘and some other Colonels and Captains came with a considerable party of horse with all

expedition to assist the rest of their forces, which aforesaid were quartered at Chinner.’

Stapleton raised a scratch force of 7/800 troopers. When intelligence came back from Chinnor he sent

them to Chalgrove via Tetsworth, Stoke Talmage and Clare Crossroads. The calculation of 7/800 men
comes from Essex’s own admission by the naming of 10 captains and the LBU stating that 13 Cornets

took the field plus 50 dragoons. Stapleton, a Yorkshire man, was unfamiliar with the area unlike his

adversaries who had been plundering Oxfordshire since November 1642. The Royalists had an intimate

knowledge of the region which became a decisive factor when they met at Chalgrove. All the participants

that will take part in the Battle pass through Clare Crossroads. Although the participants come together
at this point from various directions each of their ‘Time & Place’ parameters concur.

The Royalists’ perspective of the march from Chinnor to Clare Crossroads.

The Royalists left Chinnor at 6.30am for Aston Rowant, a distance of just over 2 miles, which at slow
march would take around an hour.

‘newes being brought us betwixt 7 and 8 a clock, that a body of the Btwn 7&8 am. P. 5 ( LBU )
Rebells were discovered in the village hard upon the left hand of us’

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