Our March 2026 Evening Talk: A Profile of Thomas Fairfax

Here is a summary of key Civil War events with a focus on the role of Thomas Fairfax. The summary includes the milestones in Geoff’s presentation.

Fairfax and His Role in the Civil War

When the guns fell silent in 1646, Thomas Fairfax stood at the height of his fame. He had commanded the New Model Army with a steadiness that made victory seem almost inevitable, though nothing about the Civil War had been easy.

He was the conqueror of Naseby, the man who had taken Bristol, and the general to whom Oxford surrendered. Yet the moment the war ended, Fairfax found himself entering a different kind of battlefield—one in which clarity of purpose dissolved into faction, ideology, and the slow corrosion of trust.

Nothing strained Fairfax’s conscience more than the trial of Charles I. He had fought the King’s armies, but he had never sought the King’s death. When the High Court of Justice convened, Fairfax refused to attend. His wife, Lady Anne, famously cried out from the gallery, “He is not here, and he will never be here,” a protest that echoed her husband’s own silent refusal.

Fairfax did not obstruct the trial, but neither did he lend it his authority. It was an act of quiet dissent—one of the few available to a man who had no taste for political theatre. After the execution, he withdrew further from the centre of power, his sense of purpose dimmed by the knowledge that the war’s end had brought not settlement but a new and harsher uncertainty.

The Scottish Question and Fairfax’s Resignation

The final break came in 1650. The Scots had crowned Charles II and prepared to invade England. Cromwell urged a pre-emptive strike into Scotland. Fairfax, who had fought to defend the rights of Parliament and the liberties of England, could not bring himself to wage war on a nation that had once been an ally in the struggle against tyranny. He believed the conflict unnecessary, unjust, and contrary to the principles for which he had taken up arms.

Rather than lead a campaign he could not support, Fairfax resigned his commission.

It was a moment of profound moral clarity. He stepped away from power at the very moment when power was most within his grasp. Cromwell marched north without him, won at Dunbar and Worcester, and soon ruled as Lord Protector. Fairfax returned to Yorkshire, to live quiety in retirement.

However, Fairfax’s had a role in the Restoration, coming out of retirement during these crucial times. He had fought a king, refused to join the regicides, resigned rather than wage an unjust war, and finally helped restore the monarchy in a constitutional form when the nation needed peace more than principle. His actions were never driven by ambition, ideology, or self‑interest.

Geoff’s talk thus enabled us to follow the role of Fairfax throughout the war. The talk offered a revised perspective, one that has been lost over time to the focus on Oliver Cromwell’s role during the conflict and particularly in its aftermath.

About Geoff Bayley

Geoff Bayley is a graduate of Manchester University and has held a strong interest in the history of the 17^th century for many years. Semi-retired from a role as Company Director in the automotive industry he decided to undertake a course at Oxford University about the English Civil war.

It was during this studying that he became increasingly aware of this man named Fairfax, so he decided to find out more about him. He discovered that this modest man was in fact the most influential figure in the outcome of the war and also in the subsequent creation of our constitutional monarchy.

Sadly Fairfax has been overlooked by history in favour of Cromwell so Geoff decided to try to put the record straight and give him the recognition he deserves.

Geoff has given numerous presentations on the subject and written a historical novel based on the life of Fairfax.