Remaining Events of 1643; and the First Siege of Lathom House.
It was a sign of the complete victory of the Parliamentarian party in
Lancashire that now for the first time troops from this county began to
be sent into Yorkshire and Cheshire. In the middle of June, 1643, before
the surrender of Hornby and Thurland Castles, 2000 men from Manchester
were reported to have joined Lord Fairfax in Yorkshire, and a month or
two after this we find Lancashire troops taking part in the war in
Cheshire.[111]
Fairfax at this time had need of all the help that he could get, for
Newcastle was pressing him hard. The royalists took Leeds, Halifax and
Wakefield in succession. In the last few days of June the Fairfaxes
marched from Bradford against Newcastle, who left his quarters at Howley
and drew up his army on Adwalton Moor, some three miles from Bradford,
to await their attack. The Parliamentarian force consisted of 1,200 men
from Leeds, 500 from Halifax, Pontefract and other places, 7 companies
from Bradford, together with 12 companies from Lancashire under the
command of Colonel Assheton and Colonel Holland. All these were foot;
and there were also 13 troops of horse of which 3 had come from
Lancashire. The royalists on the other hand had 8,000 foot of their
former army, and 7,000 recently raised by Commission of Array, with
perhaps 4000 horse. Newcastle drew up his men on Adwalton Moor, also
occupying some houses in the enclosed ground in front of his position.
The Parliamentarian 'forlorn' was under Captain Milday; the van under
Major-General Gifford consisted of the 1,200 Leeds foot, and the main
battle was formed by the Lancashire foot and the 500 from Halifax under
Lord Fairfax himself; in the rear were the Bradford soldiers under
Lieutenant-Colonel Forbes. Sir Thomas Fairfax commanded all the cavalry.
At first the battle went in favour of the Parliamentarians; they
attacked vigorously, their 'forlorn' driving back the enemy, and their
van then faced the royalists' right wing, while their rear attacked in
the centre. All Newcastle's line began to give ground, but the
Parliamentarians incautiously advanced too far into the open moor; and
Newcastle, who greatly outnumbered them, sent forward a detachment along
a lane to the left of his position which took the enemy in the rear.
Most of the Yorkshire troops had been used only to garrison duty, and
caught thus between two fires, they were unable to execute an orderly
retreat, but began to run. The loss in killed was not very great, but a
large number were taken prisoner, and two of the four guns were lost.
The Parliamentarian centre being strengthened by the Lancashire troops,
was brought off safely by Sir Thomas Fairfax. Lord Fairfax could only be
persuaded to leave the field when the royalists had intercepted his
retreat to Bradford, and he reached the town with difficulty. Sir Thomas
was forced to seek refuge in Halifax for that night, and joined his
father in Bradford the following day.[112]
The defeat was a serious blow to the Parliament's cause in Yorkshire,
and its moral effect was greater still. Moreover the Lancashire troops
at once returned home, with the exception of 200 foot and 20 horse, who
were persuaded to remain on promise of prompt pay. The Fairfaxes were
unable to retain Bradford, and were forced to retreat to Hull, which was
soon practically the only place in Yorkshire in the hands of the
Parliament. It was indeed only by good fortune that they kept Hull, for
Sir John Hotham had declared that he would shut the gates against them;
but the discovery of the Hothams' plot and their arrest gave Fairfax a
place of retreat when he most needed it.
On July 5th, Newcastle dated from Bradford a summons to the town of
Manchester. He offered the townsmen protection and pardon if they would
lay down their arms. But it was not likely that having already driven
the royalists out of their own borders the Manchester garrison would
listen to a summons sent from 30 miles distant; and a defiant answer was
returned two days later. "Sir we are nothing dismayed at your force, but
hope that God who hath been our Protector hitherto, will so direct our
just Army that we shall be able to return the violence intended into
their bosoms that shall essay the prosecution of it." This is, however,
very different language from the urgent letter to Lenthall written the
day before,[113] in which they refer to their loss of men and arms at
the battle of Adwalton Moor, the encouragement which that defeat had
given to the royalists at home, and the great danger in which they were
placed by the retreat of Fairfax to the extreme east of Yorkshire.
Newcastle, however, soon had too much on his hands in Yorkshire to do
more than send a summons into a neighbouring county. But the Lancashire
leaders took the precaution of guarding the frontier against him. They
sent 1200 men to Rochdale, and 800 more to Blackstone Edge, four miles
further on, over which passes the main road into Yorkshire. The garrison
was attacked once at least; and it was kept there most of the winter,
being maintained out of the several Hundreds of the county from
sequestered Roman Catholic estates. Colonel Tyldesley's estate at
Myerscough was one of the first to be sequestered (Oct.). The defences
at Blackstone Edge were constructed under the direction of Rosworm, who
was sent from Manchester for that purpose. The newspapers report that in
the middle of July Newcastle sent 200 horse to break through, but
without success. A few were killed and many taken prisoners, and the
rest retreated; "because it is naturally so strong that 500 men can keep
1000 neither is that way fit either for carriages or ordnance." Indeed
the nature of the ground, which is very rough and covered with heather,
is such as to make it exceedingly difficult for the movements of
cavalry.[114]
The newspapers also mention royalist defeats in July at Colne, where 40
prisoners were taken, and also at Clitheroe, and at Thornton. It would
appear from this that Newcastle continued his attempts to break through
the Lancashire defences. Evidently it was necessary to keep a watch upon
the eastern border of the county during this winter, and it was
fortunate for the Parliamentarian party that the Moors formed such a
strong natural defence. Some troops for a time were kept at Colne and
even at Emmott Lane Head, which is three miles further on just on the
border of the county.[115]
Lancashire forces were also sent to fight under the command of Sir
William Brereton and Sir Thomas Fairfax in Cheshire. They do not seem
to have taken part in any very important engagements in that county; but
they assisted at the siege of Halton Castle which fell on July 22, and
they also fought at Chester. Some time in June, 1643, Alexander Rigby
arrived in Lancashire with a Colonel's commission to raise forces in
Leyland and Amounderness Hundreds. Rigby was not the man to remain idle,
even though the fighting seemed over. He appointed 15 or 20 captains in
Amounderness to raise foot companies and one troop of horse; and a few
also in Leyland. The Order of Parliament for impressing troops was not
passed until the end of October, 1643, but it was easier to raise men
now that they could be provided for out of sequestered estates.[116]
With the troops which he had raised Rigby at once set himself to reduce
Thurland Castle, which had been re-occupied by Sir John Girlington, and
well stored with ammunition and provisions; and early in August he
marched against it. This second siege proved much harder than the first,
and lasted seven weeks. The position of Thurland Castle is a strong one,
and it was surrounded, as it still is, by a moat which made a close
approach to the walls impossible.[117] The Parliamentarian main guard
was at Cantsfield, which is only half a mile from the Castle, but is
hidden from it by a small hill; on the east side of the building in the
field between Thurland and Cantsfield the ordnance was placed in
position. Some of the besiegers lay at Tunstall on the north-west side;
and Rigby himself stayed at Hornby Castle, which is four miles away, and
rode over daily to the siege. The Parliamentarian horse were quartered
up and down the country. During most of the time in which the siege was
in progress the Westmoreland royalists harassed the besiegers. They were
under the command of Colonel Huddleston of Millom, and of two Lancashire
refugees, Roger Kirkby and Alexander Rigby of Burgh. After several false
alarms Rigby heard that Colonel Huddleston had collected a force of
1,600 men in Furness and was about to march to the relief of Thurland.
Without waiting to be attacked Rigby left only as many men before the
Castle as were quite necessary to maintain the blockade, and himself
started with 500 foot, 3 troops of horse and 2 guns to meet them.
Marching 30 miles in one day "over mountains and through sea sands and
waters," he found the royalists on Sunday, October 1, at Lindale, three
miles from Cartmel. The Parliamentarian word was "God with us," and they
charged with such vigour that the enemy began to retreat almost before
the battle was joined, and in a quarter of an hour the royalists fled in
confusion. Few were killed, but the cavalry in pursuit captured Colonel
Huddleston, two of his captains and an ensign, 400 men and the magazine,
which was large enough to take eight oxen to draw it. Hardly stopping to
take food Rigby returned to Thurland as hurriedly as he had come to find
the small force there menaced by the Westmoreland royalists; but on
hearing of his victory at Lindale Sir Philip Musgrave, who was in
command, made negotiations for the surrender of Thurland Castle. The
defenders were to have free passage, but the building was ordered to be
demolished. Rigby says that he endeavoured to save the combustible
materials from fire but without success. In the middle of October he
returned to Preston. Notwithstanding the disorganisation of the
royalists the battle of Lindale was admirably planned and carried out,
and proved that Rigby was a man of considerable military skill.[118]
Shortly after this Colonel Moore came down to Lancashire, and
considerably strengthened the defences of Liverpool by erecting
fortifications and gates, and planting guns in position. He also raised
a few troops of foot in West Derby Hundred. These preparations turned
out to be very necessary, for shortly before Christmas, 1643, seven or
eight royalist warships sailed up the Mersey and lay in the river for
many days; they did not, however, offer to put into the harbour.
Cheshire was at that time mostly royalist, and Sir Thomas Tyldesley kept
some troops at Birkenhead which it was thought were intended for an
attack on Liverpool. Rigby, hearing of this, summoned Captain Pateson
from the Fylde, and called for volunteers to accompany him. There was no
lack of response, and leaving Preston on Christmas Eve they joined some
other troops at Wigan and marched as far as Prescot. The danger was,
however, over; all the ships had gone save one, which put into Liverpool
harbour and surrendered to the Parliament. After remaining five or six
days in Liverpool the Parliamentarian troops returned to Preston.[119]
The Lancashire troops also took part in the critical events in Cheshire
in December, 1643, and January, 1644. The general royalist position was
at this time far other than it was in Lancashire. The King was master of
about two-thirds of the country; and so evenly balanced was the issue in
the summer of 1643, that both sides had summoned outside help,
Parliament the Scots, and Charles the troops from Ireland, which had
been set free by the Cessation. The King's negotiations with the Irish
had been marked by his usual duplicity, for he could have no hope of
keeping the promises he made.
In March, 1643, the Irish had demanded a free Parliament, on promise of
which they would send over 10,000 men. Charles authorised Ormonde to
treat for 12 months Cessation of arms, and at length conceded the demand
for a Parliament. In spite of divisions among the Irish leaders, the
Cessation was concluded on September 15. News of the coming Irish
landing brought back the Lancashire forces from North Wales where they
had marched as far as Wrexham, and the hope of the Lancashire royalists
revived. They secured the King's warrant for the march of the new army
into Lancashire. "I am desired by the Lancashire gentlemen," writes
Abraham Shipman to Ormonde on October 28, "to acquaint your Lordship
that those forces that are to come from Dublin are assigned by His
Majesty for their county, which they are preparing to receive. My lord,
the extreme necessity of that county craves speedy succours and
therefore humbly desire your furtherance"; and Sir Gilbert Hoghton was
ordered to Chester to await the arrival of the troops. The Lancashire
plan was that the Irish regiments should march at once to attack
Liverpool, which was not strongly defended, and was situated in the
royalist part of the county and near Lathom House. It was thought that
some troops could be raised in Lancashire; there were said to be 2000
men ready to invade the county from the north, and help was expected
from Newcastle in Yorkshire. Thus it was expected that the advance of
the Scots would be checked.[120]
These hopes were, however, destined not to be fulfilled. The Irish
troops, to the number of about 5000, landed in North Wales in the middle
of November, and for a time they carried all before them. First they
took Hawarden Castle and then marched on Chester; leaving there
on December 12 they proceeded to Northwich in order to cut off
communications between Manchester and Nantwich, and afterwards summoned
Beeston Castle, which was speedily surrendered. The Parliamentarian
Governor was executed for cowardice. The Cheshire Committee summoned
help from Lancashire, and Colonel Assheton marched to their assistance
with 1500 foot. He had reached Sandbach, when Byron being warned of his
approach detached 4000 men to intercept him. The Parliamentarians began
to retreat towards Middlewich, but the royalists came up with them at
Booth Lane, north of Sandbach, and a retreat against such superior
numbers soon became a rout. The Lancashire men were chased along the
road to Middlewich three miles away, with heavy loss and many prisoners.
At Middlewich 300 of them took refuge in the church and were given
quarter; the rest of them fled through the town and were scattered.[121]
But the tide now turned against the royalists. Byron laid siege to
Nantwich which under the circumstances was a place of very great
importance. Clarendon says "it cannot be denied the reducing of that
place at that time would have been of unspeakable importance to the
King's affairs, there being between that and Carlisle no one town of
moment (Manchester only excepted) against the King; and those two
populous counties of Cheshire and Lancashire (if they had been united
against the Parliament) would have been a strong bulwark against the
Scots."[122] Realising its importance the garrison held out resolutely,
and Sir Thomas Fairfax was sent in haste from Yorkshire to raise the
siege. While he was on his way a royalist force under Sir Richard
Willis, coming from Shrewsbury with ammunition, were defeated by a much
smaller number of Parliamentarians; and several attacks on Nantwich were
beaten off. Sir Thomas Fairfax left Manchester on January 21 with 2,500
foot and 28 troops of horse. His first encounter with the royalists was
near Delamere where he took 30 prisoners; and about six miles further on
another force appeared which was, however, dispersed after half an
hour's fighting. Having reached Acton Church, a mile from Nantwich,
Fairfax found a large detachment of the royalists drawn up; and he at
once attacked these before they could be reinforced. The royalist troops
had besieged Nantwich on both sides of the river, and a flood had
separated their forces. Byron, however, came up before the issue was
decided, and Colonel Holland's and Colonel Booth's regiments were faced
about to meet the attack. The fight lasted for two hours, and Assheton
was particularly praised for his part in it. The Parliamentarian cavalry
were once hard pressed, but being nearest to the town they were assisted
by a sortie of the garrison, and at length both divisions of the
royalists were driven into Acton Church and obliged to surrender. A
large number were taken prisoners, including their Major-General, four
Colonels, many other officers and 1,500 common soldiers. Colonel Monck
was one of those captured. More than half of the prisoners took service
in the Parliamentary army. (January 25, 1644.) The battle of Nantwich
had a decisive effect not only on the war in Cheshire but to some extent
on Lancashire also. If the town had been taken all Cheshire would have
been over-run by the Irish troops, and there is no reason why they
should not have carried out their plan for an invasion of Lancashire.
But the victory won by Fairfax and the Lancashire troops restored at one
blow the Parliamentarian cause in Cheshire.[123]
In Lancashire the way was now open for the siege of the last royalist
strongholds. Only two places still held out to the King, Lathom House
and Greenhalgh Castle, and of these the former was much the more
important.
The Earl of Derby was still in the Isle of Man, but Lathom under the
able direction of the Countess of Derby, assisted by such Lancashire
royalists as still remained in the county, had been gradually prepared
for resistance. It being almost the only place of refuge left, many of
the militant royalists had gathered there. The House had been summoned
as far back as May, 1643, after the capture of Warrington; but nothing
had been done towards reducing it. The royalists had been, however,
practically confined to the Park at Lathom, and Rigby sent what troops
he could spare to harass them at intervals. The garrison on their part
plundered all they could. Early in February, 1644, the royalists had the
better of a skirmish with some Parliamentarian horse under Captain
Hindley; and when the danger in Cheshire was over the troops from
Cheshire were at liberty to begin the reduction of Lathom.
The first siege of Lathom House is quite the most picturesque incident
of the Lancashire war. More has been written about it, and it is
probably better known than any other event. This has rather served to
disguise the fact that the siege was not very important from a military
point of view. There was no great issue depending upon its capture as in
the case of that of Manchester in October, 1642, or of Warrington in
April, 1643; its resistance for a few months more or less did not affect
the general position. It was a centre of hostile influence, but its
garrison was bound to be only on the defensive and could never hope to
be strong enough to make Lathom the starting point for a re-conquest of
Lancashire for the King. Thus the defence was in the nature of a forlorn
hope, and derived from this greater interest; when it is added that the
defence was directed by a woman after the Earl of Derby and lesser
royalist leaders had been driven out of the county, it easily became
'ever memorable' to the royalists. The attempt to save a splendid and
historic mansion from the destruction which afterwards unhappily
overtook it makes a further appeal to the imagination; and that the
attempt was successful owing to the appearance on the scene of the
chivalrous figure of Prince Rupert, supplies the last touch of
sentimental interest.
Nothing now remains of old Lathom House and no picture of it is known to
exist. Its situation and appearance was accurately described by Seacome,
but it is impossible now even to identify the site.[124] Lathom House in
those days was strong not only from its situation but from its
structure. It stood upon marshy ground in a hollow surrounded by small
hills which made it very difficult to effect an approach to the walls.
The wall itself was six feet thick, and the whole was surrounded by a
moat twenty-four feet across and six feet deep; a palisade between the
walls and the water provided a further defence. On the wall were nine
towers upon each of which were planted six guns, three turned one way
and three the other, and in the centre of the building was a higher
tower called the Eagle Tower. The gate house, which was a strong and
lofty building, stood at the entrance to the first court.
On Saturday, February 24, 1644, it was decided at a meeting of the
Committee at Manchester that Colonels Assheton, Rigby and Moore should
undertake the siege of Lathom House.[125] News of this came to Lathom on
Sunday, and the Countess of Derby at once sent out to obtain information
from a friend which she had in the enemy's camp, while hastening on the
reinforcement and provisioning of the garrison. The messenger returned
on the following day with the news that the Parliamentarian troops had
already marched as far as Bolton, Wigan and Standish. On Tuesday,
February 27, they had taken up their quarters round the house at a
distance of from one to three miles from it. The rest of the week was
spent in negotiations. A formal summons of surrender was first brought
on Wednesday by Captain Markland from Sir Thomas Fairfax, who further
promised that he would use his influence with Parliament if the Earl of
Derby would submit himself to their mercy. Lady Derby asked for a week's
delay in which she might send a message to the Earl to know his opinion.
This was refused, and Fairfax then requested her to come in her coach to
New Park, a house about a quarter of a mile from Lathom, in order to
have a personal interview with himself and his Colonels. But the
Countess remembering her birth, returned a haughty refusal, "conceiving
it more knightly that Sir Thomas Fairfax should wait upon her than she
upon him." After two more days of messages Assheton and Rigby entered
Lathom with propositions, which as might have been expected were severe.
The House and all arms and ammunition were to be delivered up, the
garrison having leave to depart to Chester or elsewhere; Lady Derby was
to reside at Knowsley, being allowed 20 musketeers for her protection,
or she was to join the Earl in the Isle of Man. These conditions were
refused "as in part dishonourable in part uncertain." On Monday, March
4, Assheton came again alone in order to receive the royalist proposals.
These required a month's delay for the removal of Lady Derby and her
family to the Isle of Man, during which time the royalist garrison was
to be kept at Lathom; but afterwards none of the arms were to be
employed against the Parliament. After her departure none of the tenants
of the Earl were to be molested. It was evident, however, that all
negotiations were useless. On their own confession the royalists did not
believe that Fairfax's promises were genuine, nor did they intend to
keep their own. The Parliament referred to in their proposals was
understood by them to mean the King's Parliament at Oxford. The only
object of allowing negotiations at all was in order to gain time to put
the House into a better state for defence. The besiegers, however, made
one final offer which was brought by Colonel Morgan, the assistant
engineer, "a little man short and peremptory";[126] they allowed the
time which had been asked for to evacuate Lathom, but the cannon were
to be left for its defence and not removed with the rest of the arms and
goods. By 10 o'clock the following day all the royalist garrison was to
be disbanded and 40 Parliament soldiers to be received as a guard. The
royalists, however, seeing that there was now no more time to be gained,
formally broke off all negotiations. The defiant answer was at length
given which had been kept in the background for a week. The Countess of
Derby refused all their articles, and declared "That though a woman and
a stranger, divorced from her friends, and robbed of her estate, she was
ready to receive their utmost violence trusting in God both for
protection and deliverance."
Seacome states that at some point in the negotiations Sir Thomas Fairfax
himself visited the House, and that Lady Derby drew up all her garrison
in an imposing array, from the main guard in the first court to the
great Hall where she herself received him. This ruse had its desired
effect; so impressed was Fairfax with the strength of the garrison that
he dissuaded the other leaders from making an immediate attack, which
was just what the garrison most feared.[127] The besiegers now moved
their lines nearer to the walls. But even now all treaty was not at an
end. Nothing much was done during the rest of the week; but on Sunday,
March 10, a deputation of tenants was persuaded to enter Lathom to plead
with Lady Derby to surrender; but once inside the gates their royalism
was apparent and the pleading was not very powerful. Yet once more,
however, on the day following (Monday, March 11) Captain John Ashhurst,
whom the royalists praise for his courtesy, came in with a last proposal
from Fairfax. All former conditions were to be waived; the Countess,
all the garrison and all the household were to have liberty to depart
wherever they pleased with all their arms, ordnance and goods, yielding
up the house to Sir Thomas Fairfax. The arms, however, were never to be
employed against the Parliament; and everyone must leave the house at
once excepting a hundred people who might remain ten days. This was of
course refused, and all negotiations were now at an end.
The siege now began to be pressed with more vigour. The royalist
garrison consisted of 300 men. Lady Derby was called Commander-in-Chief,
with Mr. Farington as her chief adviser; and the Captains were Farmer,
Ogle, Molyneux, Radcliffe, Chisenhale, Rawsthorne, Charnock, and Fox.
Farmer, who was made Major of the House, was a Scotchman who had seen
service in the Low countries. He was afterwards killed at Marston Moor.
Rawsthorne, then Colonel, was in chief command during the second siege.
The garrison was divided equally among all the Captains, who had
therefore not quite half a company each. Half the garrison was on duty
every night, and 16 marksmen from the whole number kept watch all day on
the Towers.
The Parliamentarian soldiers before Lathom were drawn out of each
Hundred by turns, their whole number being between 2,000 and 3,000. At
first the troops seemed to have come from South Lancashire, those from
the Fylde being called up at the end of a fortnight. The soldiers were
on duty every third day and night, their provision and pay being levied
on the towns in which the companies were raised.[128] Sir Thomas
Fairfax, who conducted the negotiations, left the siege early in March,
and after his departure the chief command seems to have devolved upon
Colonel Rigby, who stayed at Ormskirk, three miles away, and came over
daily to the siege.
The first advance of the Parliamentarians drove out the royalists from
the Stand in the Park which they had occupied; but the besiegers seem at
first to have greatly underrated the difficulty of their task, not
because they expected to take the House by storm, but thinking it was so
poorly provisioned that it might be easily starved into surrender. As a
matter of fact, however, Lathom was well stocked with food, and for a
time at least the blockade was so incomplete that supplies could easily
be brought in. Moreover the difficulty of the ground for siege
operations soon became apparent, and the nearer the lines were drawn to
the walls the more danger was incurred from the marksmen on the Towers.
The garrison was not content merely to look on at the attack but soon
began to make sorties which greatly harassed the besieging force. On
Tuesday, March 12, Captain Farmer led out 100 foot and the 12 horse
which was all the garrison possessed, attacked the besiegers' works, and
slew several of them, taking six prisoners. The following Sunday night,
Captain Chisenhale sallied out from the rear gate with 30 men, and put
the Parliamentarians to ignominious flight. The accounts of these
sorties are probably exaggerated, and the number of the besiegers who
were killed is certainly placed much too high; but the attack was not
pressed with very much resolution. Much of the firing against the House
was wild, and large amounts of ammunition were wasted;[129] though it is
evident that a good deal of damage was done to the buildings by cannon
shots. The besiegers' most successful weapon was a large mortar which
was loaded with grenades or with eight pound stone bullets and did
considerable execution. One shot falling into an old court destroyed
most of the buildings which surrounded it; and another struck one of the
Towers and broke down a large clock.
Towards the end of March a message came from the Earl of Derby to Sir
Thomas Fairfax, desiring free passage for his Lady and children from the
House; but the garrison realising that Lord Derby knew nothing of the
provision which had been made for a siege, or of the successful defence
which was being carried on, resolved to take no notice of it. A formal
acknowledgment was sent to Sir Thomas Fairfax, and a messenger was sent
to Lord Derby who was then at Chester, to acquaint him more exactly with
the state of things in Lancashire.
The besiegers still continued their bombardment of the House but without
much effect; and the garrison continued to have much the best of the
sorties. On the morning of Wednesday, April 11, Captain Farmer and
Captain Radcliffe led out about half the garrison from a postern gate
and drove the Parliamentarians from most of their works, which had now
been formed all round the walls, Radcliffe showing especial bravery. The
retreat was secured by Captain Ogle and Captain Chisenhale. The
royalists declared that they had spiked all the besiegers' guns, but as
the bombardment continued after this without any intermission the
statement must be false. They were evidently obliged to take great
precautions against the cannon shot, and men were constantly on the
watch with damp cloths to prevent the buildings from catching fire.
Towards the middle of April a chance shot entered the window of Lady
Derby's room "but was too weak to fright her from the lodging"; ten days
afterwards, however, two larger cannon bullets broke into the room, and
she was obliged to remove to another part of the building. The royalists
were most in fear of the large mortar piece; and their next expedition
was made with the object of effecting its capture. About 4 a.m. on
April 26th,[130] a sortie in force was made. The walls and gates were
well guarded, and a reserve told off to assist a retreat if necessary;
Captain Chisenhale then issued from the eastern gate, surprised the
besiegers and after severe fighting drove them from their trenches. The
great cannon was placed upon a sledge which had been kept in readiness
and drawn within the walls. The Parliamentarians must have suffered
considerably in this skirmish, and they lost still more in prestige.
Inside Lathom there were extravagant expressions of joy at the capture
of the dreaded mortar; and the royalists boasted that the very day of
its capture Rigby had invited a number of his friends to witness the
surrender of the House. The besiegers were proportionately discouraged
by its loss; and many of their other guns were now removed in order to
prevent their capture.
The Parliamentarians now endeavoured to cut off the water supply from
Lathom and to drain the moat. The first was impossible, as the springs
that supplied the well inside Lathom were drawn from higher ground east
of the House. A trench was begun in order to empty the moat, but it does
not seem to have been proceeded with. The country people of the
neighbourhood were pressed into service, and many weeks' work was spent
in vain. The fidelity of the chief engineer, whose name was Brown, was
by no means above suspicion, and he was at any rate incompetent if not
treacherous. In one of the sorties by the garrison an assistant engineer
was taken prisoner, and he explained the design of the trench.
Colonel Assheton had been called away from the siege early in April.
After the sortie of April 26, the discouragement of the Parliamentarian
troops was great, and Rigby wrote in much depression to the Committee
at Manchester. "We are obliged to repel them five or six times in a
night. These constant alarms, the numbers of the garrison, and our great
losses, compel our men to mount guard every other night and even two
nights in succession. For my part I am spent with anxiety and
fatigue."[131] It is therefore surprising to find that summonses for
surrender were still being sent into Lathom. The very day before the
capture of the mortar a demand was sent to the Countess "to yield up
Lathom House, all the persons, goods and arms within it to receive the
mercy of the Parliament, and to return her final answer the next day
before 2 o'clock." It was to this summons which Lady Derby returned her
famous answer--
"Tell that insolent rebel, he shall neither have persons, goods nor
house; when our strength and provision is spent, we shall find a
fire more merciful than Rigby, and then if the providence of God
prevent it not my goods and house shall burn in his sight; myself,
children and soldiers rather than fall into his hands, will seal
our religion and loyalty in the same flame."
This heroic declaration roused the garrison to wild enthusiasm, and they
broke out into loud exclamations "we will die for His Majesty and your
honour. God save the King."[132]
After this very little was done before Lathom for some weeks, though
skirmishing continued at intervals with varying success. The
Parliamentarians now confined themselves to a blockade of the House, and
even this was not very effective. For five or six weeks before the end
of the siege there seems to have been practically no fighting. The
besiegers continued at work in their trenches, but a heavy fall of rain
which caused some of the earth to fall in and killed three men,
interfered with this undertaking. The royalists stated, and probably
with some truth, that the besiegers were so disheartened that they could
not prevent their men from deserting in large numbers.
At a meeting of the Committee in Manchester on April 23rd, it was
resolved to raise additional troops for the siege at Lathom, and to
assess a weekly amount of £4,627/6/4 on the whole county, except
Lonsdale Hundred and Garstang Parish, which were already being taxed to
maintain the siege of Greenhalgh Castle.[133] It is improbable, however,
that these resolutions were carried into effect, for the attack showed
no more vigour than before; and it had little prospect of success long
before the approach of Prince Rupert effected a complete change in the
position of affairs. It was not till towards the end of May that news
came of Rupert's march, and Colonel Rigby again sent a summons to Lathom
to surrender. This was of course refused; and the same day a messenger
arrived from the Earl of Derby with news of the Prince's approach. This
was, as a matter of fact, only two days before Rupert crossed the
Mersey, and as soon as this was ascertained, the Parliamentarian troops
marched away from Lathom with all haste. (May 27.) The royalists claimed
that the besiegers had lost 500 men during the siege.[134]
NOTE ON THE SITE OF LATHOM HOUSE.
Almost incredible as it seems, not only has old Lathom House completely
disappeared but it is impossible to decide with any certainty where it
stood. The present house is not large and was evidently all planned at
the time it was built, which was early in the eighteenth century. It is
said that it stands on a part of the former site, and certain parts of
it, of darker stone than the rest, are supposed to have come from the
former building; moreover a hundred yards or so before the house (which
faces south) and drawn round it for about three hundred yards is a
shallow depression which is said to be the old moat. This has been
filled in at the back of the present house to make a garden. Excavations
near the present site are said to have discovered human remains.
All this may sound conclusive, but it is impossible to reconcile the
surroundings of the present house with the exact description given by
Seacome. In spite of his usual inaccuracy in recording events it seems
impossible that such a description as he gives, evidently that of an eye
witness, can be incorrect except perhaps in one or two details. His
exact words may be quoted:--
"As to the situation of Lathom House it stands upon a flat, upon a
moorish springy and spumous ground, and was encompassed with a
strong wall of two yards thick; upon the walls were nine towers
flanking each other and in every tower were six pieces of ordnance
that played three one way and three the other; without the wall was
a moat eight yards wide and two yards deep; upon the back of the
moat between the wall and the graff was a strong row of palisades
around. Besides all these, there was a high strong tower, called
the Eagle Tower, in the midst of the house surmounting all the
rest; and the gate house had also two high and strong buildings
with a strong tower on each side of it.... Besides all that has
hitherto been said of the walls, towers, moat, etc., there is
something so particular and romantic in the general situation of
this house as if nature herself had formed it for a stronghold or
place of security; for before the house to the south and south-west
is a rising ground so near it as to overlook the top of it, from
which it falls so quick that nothing planted against it on those
sides can touch it further than the front wall; and on the north
and east sides there is another rising ground, even to the edge of
the moat, and then falls away so quick, that you can scarce, at the
distance of a carbine shot, see the house over that height; so that
all the batteries placed there are so far below it as to be of
little service against it: and let us observe by the way that the
uncommon situation of it may be compared to the palm of a man's
hand, flat in the middle, and covered with a rising round about it,
and so near to it that the enemy, during the siege, were never able
to raise a battery against it, so as to make a breach in the wall
practicable to enter the house by way of storm." ("House of
Stanley," p. 90.)
Either Seacome invented all the above, or the present Lathom House is
not only not on the old site, but it is not anywhere near to it. For it
is impossible to suppose that the nature of the ground can have changed
so entirely. The soil round the present Lathom House is not marshy but
sandy, and it is not hilly but flat. There is a very slight slope away
from the front of the house to the south, and also to the north, but on
no side is there any place which can possibly be supposed to answer to
Seacome's description. Moreover the so-called moat is by no means
convincing. It is conceivable that a moat may have been considerably
filled in since the seventeenth century, but the wall which now supports
the bank is not high and the stone looks new; Seacome's eight yards wide
and two yards deep could hardly have so shrunk.
In the woods recently planted, which began about half a mile south of
the present house, is an evidently artificial ditch, some 250 yards in
length, bending slightly in the middle and running roughly E. and W. and
N.E. and S.W. This is known as Cromwell's Trench, and the tradition is
said to be an ancient one; there is also at some distance a large block
of stone containing on its upper surface two hollows which are said to
have been used for casting bullets; this is locally known as Cromwell's
Stone. It may be noted that Roby's reference to the site, though he
evidently visited it, is not quite accurate. He says "It is said that
the camp of the besiegers was in a woody dell near what is now called
the 'Round O Quarry' about half a mile from Lathom. This dell is still
called 'Cromwell's Trench'; and a large and remarkable stone, having two
circular hollows or holes on its upper surface, evidently once
containing nodules of iron, is called 'Cromwell's Stone,' the country
people supposing these holes were used as moulds for casting bullets
during the siege." ("Traditions of Lancashire," 5th ed., 1811, vol. i,
p. 315.)
Actually the trench is rather more than half a mile from Lathom but the
Stone is a quarter of a mile from the Trench, and the Quarry is at least
a mile further off again. But Roby evidently thought that the old house
was at a considerable distance from the present one, for his imaginary
view[135] is taken "from a hill above the valley or trench where it is
said the main army of the besiegers was encamped." The present house
cannot be seen from the edge of the woods.
Roby's view seems to the present writer to give approximately the site
of the old House. Accepting the Trench tradition as correct, it fixes
the position of the House somewhere in the immediate vicinity, for 17th
century siege guns were so poor that the besiegers' camp must have been
quite close to the walls. It is of course possible that the Trench is
that made during the second siege which the "Discourse" says was a good
distance from the walls, but even so there would be no point at all in
having it more than half a mile away. Moreover the character of the
ground at this point is both hilly and marshy just as in Seacome's
description. It seems, therefore, most reasonable to suppose that the
site of old Lathom House was somewhere in the woods, but on account of
the undergrowth it is not possible to determine its exact position.[136]
In the gardens at Lathom are many pieces of cut stone which have come
from the old building, and in one place has been pieced together the
upper tracery of a large window, perhaps from the chapel.
FOOTNOTES:
[111] Newspapers in "C.W.T.," pp. 152, 153.
[112] "Portland MSS.," Vol. 1, p. 717. T. Stockdale to Wm. Lenthall.
This is a very minute description of the battle.
[113] "A Declaration and Summons sent by the Earl of Newcastle, etc."
("C.W.T.," p. 143): "I cannot but wonder while you fight against the
King and his authority, you should so boldly offer to Professe
yourselves for King and Parliament, and most ignominously scandalize
this army with the title of Papists, when we ventured our Lives and
Fortunes for the true Protestant Religion, established in this Kingdom."
The Lancashire letter to Lenthall is in the "Tanner MSS.," Vol. 62. fol.
152.
[114] Newspapers: Rosworm's "Good Service" ("C.W.T.," pp. 146, 147,
228). The border of Lancashire and Yorkshire about Blackstone Edge is
formed by high moors. The main road over the Edge is 1,269 feet above
sea level; and the summit of the moor 1,553 feet. The next summit to the
south, Bleakedgate Moor, is 1,663 feet; Rosworm says that this too was
fortified. The descent on the Lancashire side is rather steeper than
that into Yorkshire, but the latter is steep enough to make attack very
difficult. Blackstone Edge is 18 miles from Manchester, 6 from Rochdale,
and 11 from Halifax; Rosworm calls Halifax "distant about 16 mile from
us"; but actually it is 28 miles by the nearest way, and over Blackstone
Edge 29. In spite of the fortification of the border, it was thought
advisable to send away the royalist prisoners at Manchester to some more
distant place ("C.W.T.," p. 146).
[115] During these operations the Parliamentarian troops were supported
out of sequestered estates, the Order for Sequestrations being now for
the first time put into force. Tyldesley's estate at Myerscough was
sequestered in October, the first in Amounderness Hundred ("Discourse,"
p. 44).
[116] "L.J.," Vol. 6, p. 279. Order for pressing 3,000 soldiers in
Lancashire, with so many gunners, trumpeters, and surgeons, as the
Committee may think fit.
[117] Thurland Castle is still of much the same extent as formerly, but
the old building only remains in the lower part of the walls. Two
pictures in Philips' "Lancashire Halls," 1822-24, show a very
dilapidated building. The moat is three or four yards wide and seven
feet deep, and is still only crossed by a single bridge.
[118] "Discourse," p. 41. "A True Relation of the great victory, etc."
("C.W.T.," p. 148). "The British Mercury," No. 5, November 27. "The
Weekly Account," No. 7, October 18. Rigby's letter to the Speaker was
read in the House of Commons, and on November 18 he was formally
thanked, and the destruction of Thurland Castle approved ("C.J.," Vol.
3, p. 315). It is evident that in spite of statements to the contrary,
the common soldiers on both sides were alike in the matter of
plundering. There are two places in Furness named Lindale, one near
Cartmel, and one near Dalton. As Rigby says that the royalists were
driven into the sea, it must have been the former of these places where
the battle was fought.
In some resolutions agreed upon at a meeting of the Deputy-Lieutenants
of Lancashire at Preston on October 12, 1643, it was decided that Hornby
Castle should be destroyed according to the Order of Parliament; so that
the Order had evidently not yet been carried into effect. It was also
decided to maintain the garrisons of Warrington and Liverpool ("Hist.
MSS. Com.," Vol. 10, app. 4, pp. 67, 68).
[119] "Discourse," p. 45. Cf. also "Hist. MSS. Comm.," Vol. 10, app. 4,
p. 66, where is given a petition from the town of Liverpool that Colonel
Moore might be Governor in place of Venables, who had been ordered to
Ireland (March, 1643-4). Moore was Governor later in the same year when
the town was taken by Prince Rupert.
[120] "Carte MSS.," Vol. 7, fol. 287. Bridgeman to Ormonde, _ibid_, Vol.
7, p. 638.
[121] "C.W.T.," pp. 152-154. Colonel Robert Byron to Ormonde, January 9,
1643-4. "Carte MSS.," Vol. 8, fol. 464, 465. Byron says that 800 of the
Parliamentarians were killed, and 274 taken prisoners. His own regiment
bore the brunt of the fighting, and he himself was wounded.
[122] "Clarendon" (Macray), Vol. 3, p. 315 (bk. 7, par. 401).
[123] Magnalia Dei ("Cheshire Civil War Tracts," C.S. new series 65, p.
97). Great care must be taken in using this volume, as it is exceedingly
badly arranged. No notice is taken of the fact that in the seventeenth
century March 25 was reckoned as the first day of the year, the Tracts
for January, February and March of each year being placed at the
beginning of the year, instead of at the end as they ought to be. Cf.
also "C.W.T.," pp. 152-154; "Discourse," pp. 44, 45, and notes.
[124] _Vide_ note at the end of the chapter.
[125] The main authority for the first siege of Lathom is a "Journal" by
someone in the House (usually supposed to have been Archdeacon Rutter,
Lady Derby's chaplain), of which two MSS. copies exist, one being
"Harleian MSS.," No. 2074, the other preserved in the Ashmolean Museum
at Oxford. They differ only slightly. The former is printed in "C.W.T.,"
pp. 159-186. _Vide_ also "Discourse," pp. 46-49; "Seacome," pp. 86-93.
Cf. also "Victoria County History of Lancs.," Vol. 3, p. 252. There is
an account of both sieges of Lathom by Mrs. Colin Campbell in "Memorials
of Old Lancashire" (1909), Vol. 1, pp. 107-129: it is not of much
historical value, being apparently based chiefly on Seacome.
[126] Seacome calls this officer Major Morgan. It is somewhat remarkable
that the writer of the "Discourse" does not mention him at all, but
states that the chief engineer was named Brown (_vide_ p. 109). Morgan
was afterwards one of the foremost engineers of his time. He was the
second son of Robert Morgan of Llanrhymny; had served in the Low
Countries before the Civil War broke out, and became Governor of
Gloucester for the Parliament. He was with Brereton when the last
royalist force was defeated at Stow-in-the-Wold in 1646. Later he was
closely associated with Monck; was knighted by Richard Cromwell in 1651,
and continued in the army after the Restoration ("Discourse" note, p.
133). "Dictionary of National Biography," art. by Prof. C. H. Firth.
[127] Cf. however, "Martindale's Life," p. 44: "Had Lathom beene only
blocked up at a distance by small garrisons and forts at considerable
passes (for which there was spare forces enough) and not closely
besieged, perhaps that great storme had not fallen upon Lancashire
(especially Bolton and Liverpool) by Prince Rupert's forces in their
march to York."
[128] "Discourse," p. 47.
[129] "There was needlessly spent against it in shot and powder an
infinite quantity. Some was alwaies shooting at nothing they could see
but the walls" ("Discourse," p. 47).
[130] This is the date given in the Earl of Derby's Diary, "Stanley
Papers," part 3, Vol. 3, p. 3 (C.S. 70), ed. Raines.
[131] Quoted in Marlet, "Charlotte de la Tremoille," p. 117. The
"Mercurius Aulicus" tells a story about one sortie, that "the rebels
held up a shoulder of mutton on a pike, and called to the defenders to
come and dine." The garrison therefore sallied out on them as they were
at dinner and scattered them.
[132] "A Briefe Journall of the Siege against Lathom" ("C.W.T.," pp.
176, 177).
[133] "Stanley Papers," part 3, Vol. 1 (Chet. Soc. 66), p. ci note.
[134] This is the estimate of the "Journall" ("C.W.T.," p. 186. The
numbers in the "Mercurius Aulicus" seem to be considerably more
exaggerated even than are parliamentarian figures of royalist losses.
The only reference to numbers on the part of the besiegers is in a
letter written by Colonel Moore to the Lords Commissioners for England
and Scotland, on April 16: "They sallied forth of the House upon
Wednesday last, and we lost five and they fower. They likewise sallied
forth last evening, but we beat them in without losse, and they lost
two." (Stewart MSS., "Hist. MSS. Com.," report 10, app. 4, p. 472.)
[135] This view is given in "Traditions of Lancashire," 3rd ed., 1843,
Vol. 1, p. 170.
[136] Cf. "Victoria County History of Lancs.," Vol. 3, p. 252, note 3.