The Westminster Trained Bands were a part-time military force in the City of Westminster from 1572 until they were reconstituted as conventional Militia regiments in 1662. They were periodically embodied for home defence, for example during the Armada Campaign of 1588. They saw a great deal of active service during the English Civil War, including the battles of Alton, Cropredy Bridge, and Second Newbury, and Siege of Basing House. Throughout their history they were used to suppress civil disorder and insurrection around the palaces of Westminster and Whitehall.