This is a timeline of events leading up to, culminating in, and resulting from the English Civil Wars.

Events prior to the English Civil War

• 1625 - Charles I of England accedes to the English throne, and shortly after marries a French Roman Catholic princess, Henrietta Maria
• 1626 - Parliament dismisses George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham from command of English forces in Europe; Charles, furious, dismisses Parliament.
• 1628 - Charles recalls Parliament; Parliament draws up Petition of Right which Charles reluctantly accepts. John Felton murders George Villiers in Portsmouth.
• 1629 - Charles dismisses Parliament and does not call it again until 1640.
• 1633 - William Laud appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
• 1637 - Charles attempts to impose Anglican services on the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, Jenny Geddes reacts starting a tumult which leads to the National Covenant.
• 1639-1640 - Bishops' Wars in Scotland.

1640

• Charles recalls Parliament to raise funds: this was the Short Parliament, which was promptly dismissed by Charles.
• October 26 - Charles forced to sign the Treaty of Ripon.
• November - Charles again summons Parliament; this was the Long Parliament.

1641

• December - The Grand Remonstrance is presented to the King.

1642 until the outbreak of the war

• February 23 - Henrietta Maria goes to the Netherlands with Princess Mary and the crown jewels.
• June 2 - The Nineteen Propositions rejected.

The First English Civil War

Events of 1642

• July Charles I of England besieges the city of Kingston upon Hull in order to secure its arsenal.
• 22 August, Charles I of England raises his standard at Nottingham and the war commences
• 23 September, Battle of Powick Bridge.
• 23 October, Battle of Edgehill
• 12 November, Battle of Brentford.
• 13 November, Battle of Turnham Green

Events of 1643

• 19 January, Battle of Braddock Down
• 19 March, Battle of Hopton Heath
• 30 March, Battle of Seacroft Moor
• 16 May, Battle of Stratton
• 18 June, Battle of Chalgrove Field John Hampden killed in the skirmish
• 30 June, Battle of Adwalton Moor
• 5 July, Battle of Lansdowne (or Lansdown) fought near Bath.
• 13 July, Battle of Roundway Down fought near Devizes
• 20 September, First Battle of Newbury
• 11 October, Battle of Winceby

Events of 1644

The Scots marched South and joined Parliament's army threatening York.

• 26 January, Battle of Nantwich
• 29 March, Battle of Cheriton
• 29 June, Battle of Cropredy Bridge
• 2 July, Battle of Marston Moor
• 27 October, Second Battle of Newbury
• 13 September, Second Battle of Aberdeen

Events of 1645

• 9 May, Battle of Auldearn
• 16 June, Battle of Naseby
• 2 July, Battle of Alford
• 15 August, Battle of Kilsyth
• 13 September, Battle of Philiphaugh
• 24 September, Battle of Rowton Heath
• Surrender of Leicester
• October fear of Royalist attack in south Lincolnshire
• Charles went to Welbeck, Nottinghamshire
• 17 December Siege of Hereford ended with the surrender of Royalist garrison.

Events of 1646

• 18 January, Siege of Dartmouth ended with the surrender of Royalist garrison.
• 3 February, Siege of Chester ended with the surrender of Royalist garrison after a 136 day siege.
• 16 February, Battle of Torrington victory for the New Model Army
• 10 March, Ralph Hopton surrenders the Royalist army at Tresillian bridge in Cornwall.
• 21 March, Battle of Stow-on-the-Wold the last pitched battle of the First Civil War is a victory for the New Model Army
• 5 May Charles surrendered to a Scottish army at Southwell, Nottinghamshire
• 13 April Siege of Exeter ended with the surrender of Royalist garrison.
• 6 May Newark fell to the Parliamenterians
• 24 June, Siege of Oxford ended with the surrender of Royalist garrison.
• 22 July, Siege of Worcester ended with the surrender of Royalist garrison.
• 27 July after a 65 day siege Wallingford Castle, The last English royalist stronghold, surrenders to Sir Thomas Fairfax.

Events of 1647

• 19 August Royalist garrison of Raglan Castle surrendered
• 31 August Montrose escaped from the Highlands
• 13 March Harlech Castle the last Royalist Stronghold surrendered to the Parliametry forces.

The Second English Civil War

Events of 1648

• 8 May Battle of St. Fagans
• 16 May(?) – July 11 Siege of Pembroke
• 24 June Battle of Maidstone
• 13 June – August 28 Siege of Colchester
• 17 August – August 19 Battle of Preston
• December – Pride's Purge, when troops under Colonel Thomas Pride removed opponents of Oliver Cromwell from Parliament by force of arms
• August 28 On the evening of the surrender of Colchester, Royalist Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle were shot

Events of 1649

• 20 January 1649, The trial of Charles I of England by the High Court of Justice begins
• 27 January 1649, The death warrant of Charles I of England is signed
• 30 January 1649, Charles I of England executed by beheading
• 5 February 1649, The eldest son of Charles I, Charles, proclaimed King of Scots in Edinburgh, Scotland
• 9 March 1649, Engager Duke of Hamilton, Royalist Earl of Holland, and Royalist Lord Capel were beheaded at Westminster
• 24 March 1649, The capitulation of Pontefract Castle which, even after the death of Charles I, remained loyal to Charles II

Third English Civil War

1650

• 1 December, Battle of Hieton, Scotland (skirmish)
• 3 September, Battle of Dunbar, Scotland

1651

• 1 January, Charles II crowned King of Scots at Scone, Scotland
• 20 July, Battle of Inverkeithing, Scotland
• 25 August, Battle of Wigan Lane (skirmish)
• 3 September, Battle of Worcester, England
• 16 October, Charles II landed in Normandy, France, after successfully fleeing England

Events after the English Civil War

• 1650-1660, English Interregnum
• 1649-1653, The first period of the Commonwealth of England
• 1653-1658, The Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell
• 3 September 1658, Death of Oliver Cromwell
• 1658-1659, The Protectorate under Richard Cromwell
• 1659-1660, The second period of the Commonwealth of England
• 1660, English Restoration and the return of King Charles II of England
• July 1660, Richard Cromwell left England for France where he went by a variety of pseudonyms, including “John Clarke”
• 1660-1662, The trials and executions of the regicides of Charles I
• 30 January 1661, On the 12th anniversary of the beheading of Charles I, the exhumed remains of Oliver Cromwell were posthumously executed (Cromwell's severed head was displayed on a pole outside Westminster Abbey until 1685)

Links to other English Civil War timelines

• A national Civil War timeline
• Events in and around Lincolnshire
• Cornwall in the English Civil War