ABSTRACT
The situation in the North-West almost paralleled that in the North-East. Whilst Cumberland and Westmorland remained more or less under royalist control, the battleground was Lancashire. Numerous incidents in the county during the summer had paved the way for something more dangerous after August 1642, but the royalist commander, the earl of Derby, was deprived of most of his best regiments for service with the King elsewhere. Consequently, he was unable to offer resistance to the parliamentary forces based on Manchester. A siege of that town, begun on 24 September, was abandoned by the earl on 2 October, and tentative truce talks were initiated. These failed, and a series of localised skirmishes ensued. The royalists consolidated around Preston, Wigan and Warrington, setting up headquarters in the latter town. Whilst busy recruiting in November, the earl raided into Cheshire without success, and a form of stalemate prevailed in Lancashire until early into 1643. An indecisive encounter at Leigh early in December followed a royalist defeat on nearby Hinfield Moor on or around 27 November. The royalist commanders were more concerned about their financial position, and the need to repair losses in men before launching a general war. On 15 December they won a small action on Houghton Common, but on 24 December a royalist garrison put hastily into Leigh was driven out by troops from Manchester. On the same day an attempt by Sir Gilbert Houghton to assault the parliamentarian town of Blackburn was defeated.
