In 1642 the English Civil War was picking up momentum. The Parliamentarians had begun to building an army and securing strongholds in strategic towns throughout England. King Charles 1 and the Royalists were keen to stop the Parliamentarians before they grew stronger, and throughout 1642 there were a number of skirmishes between the two armies.
One of the first engagements of the English Civil War was at the Battle of Powick bridge near Worcester, where the Royalist cavalry, under command of King Charles’ nephew Prince Rupert, fought a Parliamentary force of similar size. The battle ended in a Royalist victory.
In the weeks following the battle, King Charles 1 had been travelling through Birmingham when his coaches were ambushed. Rupert, who was in Stourbridge following the Battle of Powick Bridge, headed to Birmingham to restore order. On the way, Prince Rupert’s army, numbering about 800 cavalry and 300 infantry, encountered a force of 800 Parliamentarian troops in Kings Norton.
A skirmish ensued resulting in a Parliamentarian victory, killing 80 Royalists and taking others prisoner.
Following the skirmish, both sets of troops rejoined their respective armies and only 5 days later the first large scale battle of the English Civil war would take place at Edgehill in Warwickshire, with 25 thousand troops involved.
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Kings Norton, due to its location, would see activity throughout the civil war. Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of King Charles 1, stayed at the Saracens Head in Kings Norton whilst travelling south later in the war, with an army of 5 thousand soldiers who camped on what is today Kings Norton Park.
Today, the Saracens Head is still standing in Kings Norton, and Camp Lane is another reminder of the armies campsite in the area.
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