News to 14 February 1644

In the north the Scots advance on England is extremely slow. Heavy snow and rain impedes movement but eventually the army arrives in Eyemouth close to Berwick. The Marquess of Newcastle has sat quivering in York awaiting the Scots. His army has been swelled by reinforcements drawn from Newcastle and Derby.

In early Feb Byron’s army also arrived in York, swelling the troop count but also rapidly depleting food stocks in the area.

Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester have been content to let their men rest in winter quarters in Lincolnshire, although some troop movements have been made east from Lancashire. Parliamentary cavalry has also roamed unthreatened across East Yorkshire.

In the Midlands Rupert has marched east with a strong cavalry force and was last seen in Loughborough.  

The Earl of Essex has left his troops in winter quarters at Windsor leaving the King to march his troops from Oxford northwards to Coventry.

In the south east Waller for Parliament and Hopton for the King have both been content to keep their troops in winter quarters.

Prince Maurice in the south west had a spat with his brother Rupert but backed down and sent 2000 cavalry northwards rather than into Devon and Cornwall. Maurice’s army was gathered slowly from varying towns and was around Salisbury by 14 Feb.

 The weather has been mixed meaning that roads are muddy and marching times extremely difficult to predict. The trained bands in many areas have refused to leave the comfort of their homes despite the best entreaties of their lords and generals.   

29 Feb

The sack of Wooler on 22 Feb was a terrible thing to see. Those Scots are making things miserable for the border towns as they rape and pillage southward.

In the south, the Earl of Essex's army is at Reading, Parliamentary forces are in Knottingley in West Yorkshire and Selby too. Prince Maurice sits outside Poole with a substantial army. There are rumours of Irish reinforcements for the King landing in Devon.

The King's army appears to be at Banbury in the midlands
Little has been seen or heard of Fairfax or the Earl of Manchester's men.

24 Feb update

News is filtering across the land that the main Scots army is at Eyemouth just outside Berwick.

Byron and Newcastle appear to have 15,000 men under arms at York and have been in York since mid Feb

The Earl of Essex's army is at Reading

Tavern talk

Recently overheard in a midlands tavern

Is there any clarification from my spies that Essex has moved SW from Windsor to Reading but thence to London docks?

meeting of the 3 generals in York mid feb

Rumours are spreading across the country of a meeting of three important Royalist leaders in York during mid February. The only quote overheard from the meeting so far is

"Ok, so three commanders, three different plans preferred.... almost
inevitable!"

News to 21 january 1644

Terrible weather has made marching conditions extremely difficult. The Scots army remained bogged down in snow drifts somewhere in Scotland. In the north little seemed to stir except Byron took several thousand men from Chester and marched slowly through the peak district.
In the East Midlands, Fairfax and Manchester lay low but sent cavalry patrols north and west.
Maurice took several thousand cavalry south from Shrewsbury.

Elsewhere troops shivered and waited. And ships risked sailing north into the Scottish highlands and islands....

Revenue coming in....

It appears that the Royalist towns of Bristol, Newcastle, York, Newark, Chester, Oxford and Exeter hold the key to their morale and revenue.

Parliamentary towns of  Manchester, Northampton, London, Hull, Plymouth and Portsmouth also appear to have similar importance.

Irish support for the King

News is filtering through that Irish reinforcements are making their way across the channel into Devon and Cheshire; with Bristol and Chester being their points of arrival.