Plaque to mark Battle of Coleford in Gloucestershire against Welsh Royalists.

[Neil]

Courtesy of BBC Online - 21st February 2010

A plaque has been laid to commemorate the historic Battle of Coleford in Gloucestershire. Members of English Civil War re-enactment group the Sealed Knot joined forces with Coleford Town Council to unveil the plaque.

On 20 February 1643, Welsh Royalists fought Parliamentarians defending the town, in the Forest of Dean. The Welsh Army over-ran Coleford but was eventually destroyed at Highnam, near Gloucester. The town's residents took on 1,500 cavalry and foot soldiers who were on their way from Monmouth to take part in the siege at Gloucester.

After a two-hour defence, which saw three Royalist officers killed, the local militia evaded capture by disappearing into the nearby forest. The Royalist force continued on to Highnam, where they were captured.

The plaque, designed and made locally, was laid in the town centre by Mark Harper, the Forest of Dean's MP, and Arthur Jackson, from the Sealed Knot at 1430 GMT on Saturday. A council spokesman said a total of about 200 people had attended.

Sounds like a good location for a DW Rally if we could pinpoint the fields!

Neil