Editing Cirencester (section)

===Civil War===
The [[English Civil War|Civil War]] came to Cirencester in February 1643 when [[Cavalier|Royalists]] and [[Parliament of England|Parliamentarians]] came to blows in the streets. Over 300 were killed, and 1,200 prisoners were held captive in the church. The townsfolk supported the Parliamentarians but [[gentry]] and clergy were for the old order, so that when [[Charles I of England]] was executed in 1649 the minister, Alexander Gregory, wrote on behalf of the gentry in the parish register, "O England what did'st thou do, the 30th of this month".

At the end of the war, King [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] spent the night of 11 September 1651 in Cirencester, during [[Escape of Charles II|his escape]] after the [[Battle of Worcester]] on his way to France.