THE ATTACK
In February 1644, Roch Castle came under attack during the English Civil War. Parliamentarian troops surrounded the castle, which was being held by Royalist forces under Captain Francis Edwards. For days, the garrison held out as cannon fire battered the castle walls.
A FIGURE IN THE SIGHTS
As the fighting continued, a high-ranking officer outside the castle came within range of one of its narrow eyelet windows. From inside, Captain Edwards is said to have taken his chance. He threw a javelin through the opening, striking the officer’s helmet with such force that it was knocked from his head. The officer was forced to flee the scene, riding away from the castle in haste.
BUT WAS IT CROMWELL?
The story has long claimed that the officer was Oliver Cromwell himself. There is just one problem: Cromwell was not in Wales until 1648. The attack on Roch Castle took place in 1644, led by Colonel Roland Laugharne. An eyewitness account recorded in 1745 described a high-ranking officer riding away without his helmet, leading to the possibility that it was Laugharne who took the javelin, not Cromwell.
