Aldwalton Moor, Yorkshire, 30 June 1643

The Earl of Newcastle continued to dominate Yorkshire and northern England during the first six months of 1643. Newcastle's secret negotiations with the governor of Hull, Sir John Hotham, came close to bringing about the complete ruin of the Parliamentarian cause in the north, but on 28 June 1643, the mayor of Hull discovered the plot to betray the port to the Royalists and placed Hotham and his son under arrest.

Undeterred, Newcastle gathered his forces to strike a final devastating blow against the Yorkshire Parliamentarians. On 22 June 1643, he stormed Howley House then marched on Bradford, defended by Lord Ferdinando Fairfax and his son Sir Thomas. With provisions for no more than twelve days, the Fairfaxes realised that they could not withstand a siege at Bradford.

On 30 June, they marched out with 4,000 men to give battle to the advancing 10,000 strong Royalist army. The Fairfaxes hoped to mount a surprise attack to compensate for their inferior numbers, but Newcastle learned of their approach and deployed his troops on the heights of Adwalton Moor. The Parliamentarians were initially successful, however, driving back Royalist skirmishers and establishing a defensive line within the hedges and enclosures on the edge of the moor. This forced the Royalists to attack at a disadvantage between gaps in the hedges lined with Fairfax's musketeers.

After repulsing several Royalist assaults, the Parliamentarians advanced to pursue the Royalists as they fell back onto the heights of the moor. Once clear of the enclosures, however, the Royalists made use of their greater numbers to launch a counterattack. Outflanked by the Royalist horse and their lines broken by the advancing pikemen, the Parliamentarian advance turned into a bloody retreat.

Unable to hold on to Bradford, the Fairfaxes fell back to the vital port of Hull - the only place in Yorkshire still under Parliamentarian control. Queen Henrietta Maria moved south with her munitions convoy and was reunited with the King on 13 July. King Charles made the Earl of Newcastle a Marquis in recognition of his services.

Material courtesy of D.Plant www.british-civil-wars.co.uk