In the spring of 1648, when Charles I was in the possesion of the Parliamentarians - under arrest at Carisbrooke Castle, on the Isle of Wight - riots broke out in support of the Royalist cause across the South East. In Kent, rebels quickly seized many key towns, and their position was reinforced when the royalists took possession of three key 'castles of the Downs', at Walmer, Deal and Sandown. Moreover, the crews of ships at the Downs naval base, at Chatham on the River Medway, also mutinied, and helped the Kentish rebels to besiege Dover Castle.
General Fairfax, who had been heading north to deal with the Scottish threat, was forced to divert to face this new challenge. However, the Parliamentarians-turned-Royalists were no match for the New Model Army, and when the two forces met at the
179 words