Keep Your Powder Dry

After visiting Adwalton Moor and Rowton Heath battlefield sites, I've started to get the bit between my teeth for visiting and documenting local Civil War battlefields. The latest instalment saw me visit Hopton Heath in Staffordshire, where Sir John Gell (Parliament's Derbyshire commander) possibly took a marginal victory*. This is the same John Gell whose infantry standard is proudly exhibited at the  National Army Museum and whose buff coat is on display at the  Royal Armouries in Leeds Sir John Gell Gell's buff coat, Leeds Early 1643, the war was at a hiatus, the Royalists were under siege at Lichfield, and Parliament wanted to take control of the Midlands (and thereby disrupt the King's supply route north from Oxford). Gell took Lichfield in early March, the Earl of Northampton was tasked to retake Lichfield, but had to respond to Gell's march on Stafford. They met on the heathland outside the village of Hopton. Gell had been joined by a fo...

On the 373rd anniversary of the battle, it's only right and proper to visit, isn't it? Well that's my argument for going, and I'm sticking to it. Civil War window, St Chad's 1645 the war is going badly for the King, Rupert has just surrendered Bristol to Parliament and is now in disgrace. Charles has pinned his hope on Scots and Irish troops bolstering his army. Unfortunately he only has one port left under his control - Chester, and Chester is under siege. Charles marched into Chester with 600 soldiers, whilst the remains of the northern horse, under the command of Sir Marmaduke Langdale, were ordered to camp outside the city. Charles believed that he had outwitted his pursuer Poyntz, and had out run him to Chester. Big mistake. Poyntz met Langdale in the early hours of 24th September. Langdale originally repulsed Poyntz, but Parliamentarian reinforcements from the besieging army arrived and Langdale retreated to Rowton Heath to await his own reinforcem...

Where I hear you ask?   Adwalton Moor fought on 30th June 1643, was a battle which was thought to be of little importance, on the moors outside Bradford.  Recent reappraisals by historians have led English Heritage to describe it thus: "with the exception of Marston Moor... Adwalton Moor was the most important battle fought north of the Trent during the First Civil War".*  Lobster pot on display at Bolling Hall Adwalton Moor is a reasonably well-documented battle.  Accounts of the fighting survive from both the Parliamentarian and Royalist viewpoints.  The course of events is easy to reconstruct and, with the help of the original Ordnance Survey map of the area, can be matched to features of the terrain mentioned by participants. Information board at the library Lord Ferdinando Fairfax decided to meet The Earl of Newcastle in open battle rather than be besieged in Bradford, which he deemed undefensible. They met by chance at Adwalton. Both sides seemed...