More, more, (Marston) Moor: rain and sun at Scampston Hall

The odd torrential downpour notwithstanding, our Late Bank Holiday weekend was a brilliant mix of campaigning on the field and celebrating off it!

We were reenacting the pivotal Battle of Marston Moor from 1644 in the grounds of Scampston Hall in North Yorkshire. As is usual for a bank holiday event the Saturday was a free day and many of our members headed to nearby Scarborough for a beach day where they enjoyed fish and chips, making sandcastles, and taking in the classic British seaside.

Later on that night we enjoyed a classic Manchester’s party where the theme was, unexpectedly, the 1640s! Regimental members took the opportunity to dust off some less-than-authentic “banqueting” kit, enjoyed a spot of crossdressing, and get stuck in to some very silly games, before heading to the beer tent to dance the night away.

Our luck with the weather stopped there, and the rest of the weekend included downpours, drizzle, wind and occasional sunny spells, but even that couldnt’t dampen our spirits on the battlefield as we sang our way into battle, and were alternately attaked by roaylist musket from the fore, and royalist cavalry from the rear!

The weekend was one of firsts – a great introduction for our new member Anthony, a natural musketeer, and the first firing battle for Musketeer Phil who passed his musket test on day two, and endured a rocky first battle with rain and hang-fires, all handled with aplomb! Meanwhile our pike had a good day as they joined our friends in Lord Fairfax’s Brigade in taking on the Royalists in both ‘point’ and ‘push’.

Day two saw Manchester’s engaging in some pre-battle drill on living history where a few of us sampled some delicious fresh butter from our pals in the Royalist Baggage Trayne, before wading into battle once more, eventually emerging victorious from a pile of our expired Royalist friends.

Overall we got home a bit soggy, a bit bruised, but full of memories of a weekend well spent – lets make it a sunnier one next time though, eh?

 

Marston Moor is a key historical moment for our regiment. The original Earl of Manchester’s regiment played a key role in the battle. It had been helping besiege the northern Royalist capital of York along with Fairfax’s northern army and Lord Leven’s Scottish Covenanter force.

Comprising eighteen companies, Manchester’s marched onto the field under Sergeant-Major General of the Foot Lawrence Crawford and Lieutenant Colonel Clifton, and joined two or three Covenanter brigades as part of the third line of infantry. During the battle, a cavalry charge under Sir William Blakiston and “gentleman volunteers” under the Earl of Newcastle, charged and broke the allied centre. For a time, all seemed lost, as even Fairfax and the Scottish commander Lord Leven fled the field. The Earl of Manchester also left the field but later returned to rally his regiment, which – with Covenanter regiments holding their ground – helped stabilise the situation as his men repulsed and scattered Blakiston’s brigade. Meanwhile, the Eastern Association cavalry under Oliver Cromwell had rallied and charged the Royalist centre, which decisively turned the battle in Parliament’s favour.

The victory at Marston Moor marked not only the high point of Manchester’s military campaign but also the beginning of the end – arguments between Manchester and his Presbyterian allies, and the congregationalist ‘Independents’ such as Oliver Cromwell would soon threaten to pull Parliament’s war effort apart.