Lord Aston’s Regiment of Horse

Short-lived Royalist regiment of horse in garrison at Lichfield in early 1643

• March: Besieged at Lichfield
• March: Surrender of Lichfield

Lord Aston’s Horse appear to have been besieged in Lichfield, probably in the first siege of early March 1643. Lichfield was held by the Earl of Chesterfield and, lacking town walls, the Cathedral Close was used as a strongpoint. Lord Brooke’s Parliamentarian forces laid siege, but Brooke was killed by a sniper, ‘Dumb Dyott’, firing from a Cathedral spire. Sir John Gell then took over the siege, reinforced by Sir William Brereton, and the Royalists swiftly surrendered.

Lord Aston served in Ashby de la Zouch, again at Lichfield and finally at Oxford, being present at the surrender in 1646 before going into exile. Whether he retained the services of his regiment after 1643 is unclear.

A list of the regiment's officers is shown in Officers and Regiments of the Royalist Army by Stuart Reid (Partizan Press).

Walter Aston, Second Lord Aston of Forfar (1609-1678) lived at Tixall Hall in Staffordshire, despite being a peer of Scotland. He was a Catholic and a staunch Royalist and was involved in the first siege of Lichfield in 1643. He was also besieged again at Lichfield in 1646, then at the surrender of Oxford¹⁾.

• 1643: Referred to as two flying colours implying a small regiment of only 2 companies