The Battle of Naseby fought in June 1645 was one of the seminal moments in English history. It was an overwhelming victory for Parliament, and Charles I’s principal army was eliminated. The King’s cabinet and incriminating papers were captured and within a year, the Civil War was over. The victory established Parliament’s right to a permanent role in the government of the kingdom. Naseby was a victory for the new model army – Britain’s first regular, red-coated soldiers and is, for many, the birth place of the British Army. As a national monument, Naseby is unmatched.
Despite the addition of farm buildings and the enclosing of fields, the landscape remains intact and has not been built over. Today’s visitors can stand on the ground where democracy was won, confident of how the action unfolded. There are two stone memorials here one, an obelisk on the Clipston road put up in 1823 and the other, a column topped by a ball in 1936. In the church at Naseby (All Saints) you will also find the so called ‘Cromwell’s table’.
