Hopwood & Heywood Nov 2020

So, 2000 roundheads were mustered
in Rochdale to set up defences against
possible attacking forces from Yorkshire,
the town being only a day’s march away
from the Royalists. 800 men were sent
to the moors at Blackstone Edge on a
front line which had become the division
between the two armies regionally.
Tension in the area was on the rise by
1643 with Royalists as close as Halifax
and looking to attack Lancashire.
Streets in Rochdale were barricaded and
roads blocked with felled trees. Such
was the violence at the time that many
Parliamentarian supporters from Halifax
fled to Rochdale to avoid the pillaging
of Royalists troops under Sir Francis
Mackworth. In order to counter the
potential attack, there was in Rochdale
a defensive gathering in October of two
companies of roundheads commanded
by Colonel Bradshaw in addition to
volunteers from the Yorkshire refugees.
Meanwhile, two cannons were set
up and trenches dug on Blackstone
Edge under the supervision of Colonel
Rossworm, a German engineer who
was an expert at fortifications and had
worked on both sides of the conflict.
The expected attack took place on July
14th, an alarm being raised when 200
Royalists cavalry came over the moors
from Yorkshire to try to break through to
Rochdale and
Lancashire.
Not so much
a battle
occurred,
more a
skirmish,
but there
was fighting
with swords
and some
cannon fire.
The Royalist
cavalry found
the ground
too soft for their horses and fell foul of
the fortifications on the moors. It was
reported that a few men were killed and
many injured but the roundheads were
victorious and took prisoners back to
Rochdale.
Following this, and to ensure that the
area remained safe from attack, men
marched from Rochdale to Heptonstall
near Hebden Bridge, chosen as a good
defensive position and there engaged in
four months of siege and conflict, the
Royalists eventually being repulsed and
retreating to the north east and Hull.
Following the Battle of Heptonstall 35
Royalists were taken prisoner under
guard to Rochdale.
If you have any comments about the Civil War in Rochdale, I’d be delighted
to hear from you and add them to a growing Rochdale archive on the subject.
Please contact Gary Heywood-Everett at garyheywoodeverett@yahoo.co.uk
or leave your comments by text or by recorded message at 07745201263.
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