ABSTRACT
Undeniably, the collapse of royalist fortunes after the relative successes of 1643, may be traced to the arrival in England of a Scottish invasion army in January 1644. Despite every effort by the marquess of Newcastle to bring the enemy to battle, he had been outmanoeuvred, and after parliamentarian encroachment in Yorkshire, had been forced to retire on York and send appeals for military aid to Oxford. This resulted in the eventual despatch of Prince Rupert to relieve York in the spring, and although at first staggeringly successful, overrunning Lancashire and causing the allied armies to retire from York, it had ended in disaster at Marston Moor (2 July). This battle had destroyed the northern royalist army, handed the northern counties over to the allies, and effectively deprived the King of a major fighting force which had long kept parliamentary forces pinned down, particularly in the Eastern Association. Thereafter, apart from a few die-hard garrison commanders in the north, the royalist war effort had been confined to the West Country, Wales and the west Midlands. However, the successes in Somerset in late 1643 had been capitalised upon, and the thrust eastwards from Cornwall had brought much of the West Country under royalist military control. This had in no way made up for the loss of the North, however, nor could it offset the military advantage accruing to Parliament by the presence of the Scottish army.
