Battle of Marston Moor 1644
Outline: officially registered battlefield boundary.
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1644 | Historic England NHLE name |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 17th century | derived |
| Period | Civil Wars | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| War / conflict | English Civil War | Wikidata |
| Participants | Cavalier, Covenanters, Roundhead | Wikidata |
| Registered area | 657.7 ha | Historic England |
| Grid reference | SE 48727 52446 | Historic England |
| Historic England list entry | 1000020 | Historic England |
| Designated | 1995-06-06 | Historic England |
About the battle
The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639–1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters under the Earl of Leven defeated the Royalists commanded by Prince Rupert of the Rhine and the Marquess of Newcastle.
During the summer of 1644, the Covenanters and Parliamentarians had been besieging York, which was defended by the Marquess of Newcastle. Rupert had gathered an army which marched through the northwest of England, gathering reinforcements and fresh recruits on the way, and across the Pennines to relieve the city. The convergence of these forces made the ensuing battle the largest of the civil wars.
On 1 July, Rupert outmanoeuvred the Covenanters and Parliamentarians to relieve the city. The next day, he sought battle with them even though he was outnumbered. He was dissuaded from attacking immediately and during the day both sides gathered their full strength on Marston Moor, an expanse of wild meadow west of York. Towards evening, the Covenanters and Parliamentarians themselves launched a surprise attack.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- OS grid reference: SE 48727 52446
- Approximate centre of registered area: 53.9656, -1.2587
- Registered area: 657.7 hectares
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Marston Moor (revision 1370449166), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations removed. No text added.
Battlefield data © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Nearby battlefields
- Battle of Tadcaster 1642 · 9 km
- Battle of York 867 · 12 km
- Battle of Bramham Moor 1408 · 12 km
- Battle of Fulford 1066 · 13 km
- Battle of Towton, 1461 · 14 km
- Battle of Seacroft Moor 1643 · 16 km
Other battles of the English Civil War
- Battle of Kings Norton 1642
- Battle of Worcester 1651 with Powick Old Bridge 1642
- Battle of Alton 1643
- Battle of Ripple Field 1643
- Battle of Roundway Down 1643
- Battle of Sourton Down 1643
- First Battle of Middlewich 1643
- Battle of Boldon Hill 1644
- Battle of Cheriton 1644
- Battle of Cropredy Bridge 1644
All battles of the English Civil War →
Browse more: battles in England · Civil Wars · 17th century battles