| abstract | - The Siege of Oxford was a Parliamentarian victory late in the First English Civil War. Whereas the title of the event may suggest a single siege, there were in fact three individual engagements that took place over a period of three years. The first engagement was in May 1644, during which King Charles I escaped, thus preventing a formal siege. The second (May 1645) had barely started when Sir Thomas Fairfax, who was never much interested in siege warfare, was given permission to stop and pursue the King to Naseby, which was more to his liking. The last siege (May 1646) was actually a formal siege of some duration; but the war was obviously over and negotiation, rather than arms, commanded chief attention. Fairfax was careful not to do too much damage, sent in food to the King's second son, James, and was happy to end it soon with easy and honourable terms before a bombardment occurred.
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