Civil War battle memorial plaque unveiled in village near Banbury

The project to commemorate the fallen soldiers was initiated by local resident Nicholas Haynes, who enlisted the help of local people and the Battlefields Trust.

Nicholas sadly died in an accident in 2019, but his widow, Ulrika, resurrected the project and saw it to completion last Sunday (June 4) at a well-attended ceremony at All Saints Church in the village.

Ulrika Haynes said: "Nick would have very much enjoyed being here today, seeing his project come to fruition with the help of so many local people. Middleton Cheney has no reason now to forget its Civil War history".

Rev. Nicholas Leggett led a short remembrance service for the dead before the Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire, James Saunders Watson, unveiled the memorial plaque.

Along with the memorial plaque, the DHB Group in Chacombe donated an information board explaining what happened, which was unveiled by the county's High Sheriff, Milan Shah, and installed near the battle site.

Members of the Royal British Legion and the Sealed Knot both provided guards of honour during the ceremony, with members of the armed forces also in attendance.

Gregg Archer from the Battlefields Trust paid tribute to the efforts of local people on the project. He said: "This has been a whole community effort to celebrate the village’s battlefield heritage and create a legacy for Nick Haynes, whose project this was".

The battle of Middleton Cheney was fought on 6 May 1643 and saw a parliamentarian force from Northampton defeated by two regiments of royalist cavalry under the command of the earl of Northampton.

For more information on the battle or to download a walking trail of the battlefield area, visit the Battlefields Trust website at https://www.battlefieldstrust.com/resource-