#375Edgehill: The Battle of Edgehill, 23rd October 1642

375 years ago today, the Battle of Edgehill took place just outside of Kineton, Warwickshire. It was the first of many pitched battles of the English Civil Wars that took place between 1642 and 1651.

Regimental Member Anne has written a follow up to her piece about the road to rebellion that was published a couple of days ago and has written all about what happened 375 years ago.

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The Road to Rebellion: Why did England go to war with itself?

In just a couple of days time, it will be the 375th Anniversary of the Battle of Edgehill. This was the first pitched battle of the English Civil Wars that took place across the British Isles from 1642 to 1651.

Although Edgehill is often considered the start of the wars, there was obviously a series of events that led the country to go to war with itself. Regimental member Anne has written the following piece exploring what happened in the run up to the first battle.

‘Raising the Royal Standard’ painted in 1874 by Reuben Bussey. Image source

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Tankersley Moor: The Lost Battle

In Mrs Newcastle’s somewhat starry eyed biography of her husband, she mentions that his forces defeated a significant Parliamentarian force at Tankersley Moor which is between Sheffield and Barnsley. It is also mentioned in his patent for Marquess.

wentworth
Re-enactment at Wentworth Castle of the Battle of Tankersley, which Newcastle’s Regiment organised in July 2013.

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The Battle of Adwalton Moor – June 1643

Battle Plaque at Adwalton Moor
The Battle Plaque at Adwalton Moor

Introduction:  Following his defeat at Wakefield, Newcastle determined to finish off the Parliament Forces (commanded by Lord Fairfax and his son,  Sir Thomas Fairfax) once and for all. He gathered a force of about 7-8000 and marched for the Parliament strongholds of Leeds and Bradford. The Fairfaxes set out to try and catch Newcastle on the march and fight him on ground of their choosing (Adwalton Moor). This did not quite work as Fairfax found Newcastle ready for him. Fairfax was able though to get his troops in position.

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A Potted History of The Marquess of Newcastle’s Regiment of Foote

Histories of the Civil War are readily available which detail either military actions or the careers of individual officers. These can be referred to if you wish to find out more about William Cavendish, Marquess of Newcastle and/or the course of the war in the North. The aim of this section is to give a short overview of Newcastle’s own Foote Regiment, and some of the actions in which they were engaged. It is necessarily a ‘potted history’ as direct references to Newcastle’s are few and somewhat patchy, mainly due to the fact that history in the seventeenth century was seen either as one of individuals, or else one of events. We can surmise that the Regiment was involved in certain actions, even justify this with some arguments, but it remains that this is a somewhat suspect way of producing a history and thus must be used with great care.

Stanford hall

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