FOOTNOTES:[137]"Cambridge Modern History," Vol. 4, pp. 320, 321; "C.S.P.," pp. 35, 39.[138]Derby to Rupert, Chester, March 7, 1643‑4: "I have received many advertisements from my wife of her great distress and imminent danger, unless she be relieved by your Highness, on whom she doth more rely than any other whatever, and all of us consider well she hath chief reason so to do" ("Rupert MSS.," Add. MSS. 18980, fol. 81). Derby's information was that there were only 50 men each in the towns of Liverpool and Warrington, the garrisons having been withdrawn to the siege of Lathom.Sir John Byron to Rupert, Apr. 7, describes Lathom as in danger of being lost: "The constant intelligence from that county every day is that if your Highness only appear there, the greatest part of the rebels' forces will desert them and join you, and that county being once reduced, all this part of England will presently be clear." "Rupert MSS.," fol. 137; "Clarendon" (Macray), Vol. 3, p. 339 (book 8, par. 17).[139]Assheton to Moore, March 18 (Stewart MSS., "Hist. MSS. Com.," rep. 10, app. 4, p. 71). He has heard that the Princes are joined, and fears that their objective may be Lancashire by way of Hale Ford or Liverpool. In the meantime Derby continued to address urgent appeals to Rupert. He has not been able to raise the regiments which the Prince had required in order to raise the siege, "and the time is now past, for the enemy is so close to the House that it is impossible for that design to take effect which might have been some relieving of a distressed woman whose only hope, next to Almighty God, is in your Highness's help." ("Hist MSS. Com.," report 9, app. 2, p. 437.)[140]Newspapers in "C.W.T.," 187; "C.S.P.," 173, 174.[141]"C.S.P.," 1644, pp. 206, 207. They urged that there were only two ways for Rupert to go, either through Warrington or Stockport; and that both should be well guarded.[142]Lancashire Committee to the Earl of Denbigh, May 16: "They profess willingness to send some troops, but that if the older soldiers are withdrawn the new recruits are not to be trusted" ("C.S.P.," 1644, p. 164). The regiments intended for Denbigh were Holland's and Booth's (ibid., pp. 111, 123). Cf. also H. L. Calendar, "Hist. MSS. Com.," report 6, p. 13.[143]"C.S.P.," pp. 173, 200. Cf. Rosworm's "Good Service," "C.W.T.," pp. 230-232. Some action of Fairfax's, it does not appear what, had evidently provoked resentment. Dodding afterwards marched with his regiment into Yorkshire, and fought at the battle of Marston Moor, where he lost many of his men ("Discourse," p. 50).[144]"Perfect Diurnall," June 3 ("C.W.T.," p. 188).[145]Rosworm's "Good Service," "C.W.T.," p. 229. But cf. "C.S.P.," 1644, p. 205, where a reference is made to a letter from Col. Moore before Lathom on May 9, stating that Heywood's plot had then been discovered and that he had fled. Rosworm says that Heywood was captured, but released through Holland's influence.[146]"Discourse," p. 49. The details are probably correct, though all the dates in this narrative during May, 1644, are a fortnight too early.[147]"C.W.T.," pp. 183, 188; "Seacome," p. 93; "Discourse," pp. 50, 51.[148]For a full and thoroughly sound discussion of this incident,vide"Discourse" note, pp. 134-142. The only possible doubt of Derby's innocence of the crime is that the charge is made with great detail by the author of the "Discourse," who is an unusually impartial writer, and had, moreover, a high opinion of Derby.[149]Arthur Trevor to Ormonde, June 29: "My Lord of Derby is now sending over to your excellency to barter for or buy arms and ammunition. I shall, on his lordship's behalf, desire he may pay well. I promise he is well able to do it, for upon the relief of Lathom he presented the Prince with a ring worth twenty pounds sterling at most; Sir Richard Crane, who carried the 22 colours to be left as trophy in his house, a ring price 40 shillings, and W. Legge with four candlesticks worth £10 in all." ("Carte MSS.," Vol. II, fol. 315.) The rather cynical tone of this letter may be taken as an example of the Earl of Derby's unpopularity with the royalist leaders. The ford at Hale was for a long time the principal pass over the Mersey between Liverpool and Warrington. It ceased to be generally used about 150 years ago; but almost within living memory horses were taken over by this way for hunting in Cheshire. It is now impossible to get across.[150]"Baillie's Letters" (ed. Laing, 3 vols., 1841-2), Vol. 2, p. 203.[151]"C.W.T.," p. 199.[152]"C.S.P.," 1644, pp. 192, 200, 207, 223-225.[153]"C.S.P.," 1644, p. 217.[154]Videp. 37. "Discourse," p. 52; "C.W.T.," p. 199; "Seacome," p. 95. Ramsay Muir, "History of Liverpool" (1907), chap. 9, p. 16. Legge to Trevor, June 13: "And now Liverpool is in our hands, I hope we shall have a freer intelligence from Ireland than before we had. I assure you that was the end we stopped ther for." In spite of this advantage, the siege of Liverpool was not worth while, and the royalists admit that the 100 barrels of powder which it cost, left Rupert but ill provided. ("Carte MSS.," Vol. II, fol. 184, 313.) "Seacome," p. 96, says that the siege lasted nearly a month, but this is evidently an error, for it cannot have begun before May 30.[155]"Seacome," p. 97. "July 30, 1644: My wife landed in the Isle of Man." Derby's Diary, "Stanley Papers" (C.S. 70), ed. Raines, pt. 3, Vol. 3, p. 4.[156]"Discourse," p. 52.[157]"C.S.P.," 1644, pp. 231, 248, 272, 292.[158]Trevor to Ormonde, Chester, June 26, 1644 ("Carte MSS.," Vol. 11, fol. 312, 313; "Discourse," p. 52.[159]Baillie to Spong, June 9 ("Letters," Vol. 2, p. 193). Col. R. Byron to Ormonde, July 5 ("Carte MSS.," Vol. 11, fol. 495).[160]"Discourse," pp. 57, 58; "C.W.T.," p. 204; "Denbigh MSS.," Vol. 1, p. 275. It seems evident that if Meldrum had been better informed of the fords across the Ribble below Preston, he might have caught the royalists a day before he did. In the Parliamentarian newspapers the number of prisoners taken was placed as high as 1,000 men. On July 15, Sir George Booth at Dunham was informed that Prince Rupert was still at Preston with 6,000 horse and some foot.
[137]"Cambridge Modern History," Vol. 4, pp. 320, 321; "C.S.P.," pp. 35, 39.
[137]"Cambridge Modern History," Vol. 4, pp. 320, 321; "C.S.P.," pp. 35, 39.
[138]Derby to Rupert, Chester, March 7, 1643‑4: "I have received many advertisements from my wife of her great distress and imminent danger, unless she be relieved by your Highness, on whom she doth more rely than any other whatever, and all of us consider well she hath chief reason so to do" ("Rupert MSS.," Add. MSS. 18980, fol. 81). Derby's information was that there were only 50 men each in the towns of Liverpool and Warrington, the garrisons having been withdrawn to the siege of Lathom.Sir John Byron to Rupert, Apr. 7, describes Lathom as in danger of being lost: "The constant intelligence from that county every day is that if your Highness only appear there, the greatest part of the rebels' forces will desert them and join you, and that county being once reduced, all this part of England will presently be clear." "Rupert MSS.," fol. 137; "Clarendon" (Macray), Vol. 3, p. 339 (book 8, par. 17).
[138]Derby to Rupert, Chester, March 7, 1643‑4: "I have received many advertisements from my wife of her great distress and imminent danger, unless she be relieved by your Highness, on whom she doth more rely than any other whatever, and all of us consider well she hath chief reason so to do" ("Rupert MSS.," Add. MSS. 18980, fol. 81). Derby's information was that there were only 50 men each in the towns of Liverpool and Warrington, the garrisons having been withdrawn to the siege of Lathom.
Sir John Byron to Rupert, Apr. 7, describes Lathom as in danger of being lost: "The constant intelligence from that county every day is that if your Highness only appear there, the greatest part of the rebels' forces will desert them and join you, and that county being once reduced, all this part of England will presently be clear." "Rupert MSS.," fol. 137; "Clarendon" (Macray), Vol. 3, p. 339 (book 8, par. 17).
[139]Assheton to Moore, March 18 (Stewart MSS., "Hist. MSS. Com.," rep. 10, app. 4, p. 71). He has heard that the Princes are joined, and fears that their objective may be Lancashire by way of Hale Ford or Liverpool. In the meantime Derby continued to address urgent appeals to Rupert. He has not been able to raise the regiments which the Prince had required in order to raise the siege, "and the time is now past, for the enemy is so close to the House that it is impossible for that design to take effect which might have been some relieving of a distressed woman whose only hope, next to Almighty God, is in your Highness's help." ("Hist MSS. Com.," report 9, app. 2, p. 437.)
[139]Assheton to Moore, March 18 (Stewart MSS., "Hist. MSS. Com.," rep. 10, app. 4, p. 71). He has heard that the Princes are joined, and fears that their objective may be Lancashire by way of Hale Ford or Liverpool. In the meantime Derby continued to address urgent appeals to Rupert. He has not been able to raise the regiments which the Prince had required in order to raise the siege, "and the time is now past, for the enemy is so close to the House that it is impossible for that design to take effect which might have been some relieving of a distressed woman whose only hope, next to Almighty God, is in your Highness's help." ("Hist MSS. Com.," report 9, app. 2, p. 437.)
[140]Newspapers in "C.W.T.," 187; "C.S.P.," 173, 174.
[140]Newspapers in "C.W.T.," 187; "C.S.P.," 173, 174.
[141]"C.S.P.," 1644, pp. 206, 207. They urged that there were only two ways for Rupert to go, either through Warrington or Stockport; and that both should be well guarded.
[141]"C.S.P.," 1644, pp. 206, 207. They urged that there were only two ways for Rupert to go, either through Warrington or Stockport; and that both should be well guarded.
[142]Lancashire Committee to the Earl of Denbigh, May 16: "They profess willingness to send some troops, but that if the older soldiers are withdrawn the new recruits are not to be trusted" ("C.S.P.," 1644, p. 164). The regiments intended for Denbigh were Holland's and Booth's (ibid., pp. 111, 123). Cf. also H. L. Calendar, "Hist. MSS. Com.," report 6, p. 13.
[142]Lancashire Committee to the Earl of Denbigh, May 16: "They profess willingness to send some troops, but that if the older soldiers are withdrawn the new recruits are not to be trusted" ("C.S.P.," 1644, p. 164). The regiments intended for Denbigh were Holland's and Booth's (ibid., pp. 111, 123). Cf. also H. L. Calendar, "Hist. MSS. Com.," report 6, p. 13.
[143]"C.S.P.," pp. 173, 200. Cf. Rosworm's "Good Service," "C.W.T.," pp. 230-232. Some action of Fairfax's, it does not appear what, had evidently provoked resentment. Dodding afterwards marched with his regiment into Yorkshire, and fought at the battle of Marston Moor, where he lost many of his men ("Discourse," p. 50).
[143]"C.S.P.," pp. 173, 200. Cf. Rosworm's "Good Service," "C.W.T.," pp. 230-232. Some action of Fairfax's, it does not appear what, had evidently provoked resentment. Dodding afterwards marched with his regiment into Yorkshire, and fought at the battle of Marston Moor, where he lost many of his men ("Discourse," p. 50).
[144]"Perfect Diurnall," June 3 ("C.W.T.," p. 188).
[144]"Perfect Diurnall," June 3 ("C.W.T.," p. 188).
[145]Rosworm's "Good Service," "C.W.T.," p. 229. But cf. "C.S.P.," 1644, p. 205, where a reference is made to a letter from Col. Moore before Lathom on May 9, stating that Heywood's plot had then been discovered and that he had fled. Rosworm says that Heywood was captured, but released through Holland's influence.
[145]Rosworm's "Good Service," "C.W.T.," p. 229. But cf. "C.S.P.," 1644, p. 205, where a reference is made to a letter from Col. Moore before Lathom on May 9, stating that Heywood's plot had then been discovered and that he had fled. Rosworm says that Heywood was captured, but released through Holland's influence.
[146]"Discourse," p. 49. The details are probably correct, though all the dates in this narrative during May, 1644, are a fortnight too early.
[146]"Discourse," p. 49. The details are probably correct, though all the dates in this narrative during May, 1644, are a fortnight too early.
[147]"C.W.T.," pp. 183, 188; "Seacome," p. 93; "Discourse," pp. 50, 51.
[147]"C.W.T.," pp. 183, 188; "Seacome," p. 93; "Discourse," pp. 50, 51.
[148]For a full and thoroughly sound discussion of this incident,vide"Discourse" note, pp. 134-142. The only possible doubt of Derby's innocence of the crime is that the charge is made with great detail by the author of the "Discourse," who is an unusually impartial writer, and had, moreover, a high opinion of Derby.
[148]For a full and thoroughly sound discussion of this incident,vide"Discourse" note, pp. 134-142. The only possible doubt of Derby's innocence of the crime is that the charge is made with great detail by the author of the "Discourse," who is an unusually impartial writer, and had, moreover, a high opinion of Derby.
[149]Arthur Trevor to Ormonde, June 29: "My Lord of Derby is now sending over to your excellency to barter for or buy arms and ammunition. I shall, on his lordship's behalf, desire he may pay well. I promise he is well able to do it, for upon the relief of Lathom he presented the Prince with a ring worth twenty pounds sterling at most; Sir Richard Crane, who carried the 22 colours to be left as trophy in his house, a ring price 40 shillings, and W. Legge with four candlesticks worth £10 in all." ("Carte MSS.," Vol. II, fol. 315.) The rather cynical tone of this letter may be taken as an example of the Earl of Derby's unpopularity with the royalist leaders. The ford at Hale was for a long time the principal pass over the Mersey between Liverpool and Warrington. It ceased to be generally used about 150 years ago; but almost within living memory horses were taken over by this way for hunting in Cheshire. It is now impossible to get across.
[149]Arthur Trevor to Ormonde, June 29: "My Lord of Derby is now sending over to your excellency to barter for or buy arms and ammunition. I shall, on his lordship's behalf, desire he may pay well. I promise he is well able to do it, for upon the relief of Lathom he presented the Prince with a ring worth twenty pounds sterling at most; Sir Richard Crane, who carried the 22 colours to be left as trophy in his house, a ring price 40 shillings, and W. Legge with four candlesticks worth £10 in all." ("Carte MSS.," Vol. II, fol. 315.) The rather cynical tone of this letter may be taken as an example of the Earl of Derby's unpopularity with the royalist leaders. The ford at Hale was for a long time the principal pass over the Mersey between Liverpool and Warrington. It ceased to be generally used about 150 years ago; but almost within living memory horses were taken over by this way for hunting in Cheshire. It is now impossible to get across.
[150]"Baillie's Letters" (ed. Laing, 3 vols., 1841-2), Vol. 2, p. 203.
[150]"Baillie's Letters" (ed. Laing, 3 vols., 1841-2), Vol. 2, p. 203.
[151]"C.W.T.," p. 199.
[151]"C.W.T.," p. 199.
[152]"C.S.P.," 1644, pp. 192, 200, 207, 223-225.
[152]"C.S.P.," 1644, pp. 192, 200, 207, 223-225.
[153]"C.S.P.," 1644, p. 217.
[153]"C.S.P.," 1644, p. 217.
[154]Videp. 37. "Discourse," p. 52; "C.W.T.," p. 199; "Seacome," p. 95. Ramsay Muir, "History of Liverpool" (1907), chap. 9, p. 16. Legge to Trevor, June 13: "And now Liverpool is in our hands, I hope we shall have a freer intelligence from Ireland than before we had. I assure you that was the end we stopped ther for." In spite of this advantage, the siege of Liverpool was not worth while, and the royalists admit that the 100 barrels of powder which it cost, left Rupert but ill provided. ("Carte MSS.," Vol. II, fol. 184, 313.) "Seacome," p. 96, says that the siege lasted nearly a month, but this is evidently an error, for it cannot have begun before May 30.
[154]Videp. 37. "Discourse," p. 52; "C.W.T.," p. 199; "Seacome," p. 95. Ramsay Muir, "History of Liverpool" (1907), chap. 9, p. 16. Legge to Trevor, June 13: "And now Liverpool is in our hands, I hope we shall have a freer intelligence from Ireland than before we had. I assure you that was the end we stopped ther for." In spite of this advantage, the siege of Liverpool was not worth while, and the royalists admit that the 100 barrels of powder which it cost, left Rupert but ill provided. ("Carte MSS.," Vol. II, fol. 184, 313.) "Seacome," p. 96, says that the siege lasted nearly a month, but this is evidently an error, for it cannot have begun before May 30.
[155]"Seacome," p. 97. "July 30, 1644: My wife landed in the Isle of Man." Derby's Diary, "Stanley Papers" (C.S. 70), ed. Raines, pt. 3, Vol. 3, p. 4.
[155]"Seacome," p. 97. "July 30, 1644: My wife landed in the Isle of Man." Derby's Diary, "Stanley Papers" (C.S. 70), ed. Raines, pt. 3, Vol. 3, p. 4.
[156]"Discourse," p. 52.
[156]"Discourse," p. 52.
[157]"C.S.P.," 1644, pp. 231, 248, 272, 292.
[157]"C.S.P.," 1644, pp. 231, 248, 272, 292.
[158]Trevor to Ormonde, Chester, June 26, 1644 ("Carte MSS.," Vol. 11, fol. 312, 313; "Discourse," p. 52.
[158]Trevor to Ormonde, Chester, June 26, 1644 ("Carte MSS.," Vol. 11, fol. 312, 313; "Discourse," p. 52.
[159]Baillie to Spong, June 9 ("Letters," Vol. 2, p. 193). Col. R. Byron to Ormonde, July 5 ("Carte MSS.," Vol. 11, fol. 495).
[159]Baillie to Spong, June 9 ("Letters," Vol. 2, p. 193). Col. R. Byron to Ormonde, July 5 ("Carte MSS.," Vol. 11, fol. 495).
[160]"Discourse," pp. 57, 58; "C.W.T.," p. 204; "Denbigh MSS.," Vol. 1, p. 275. It seems evident that if Meldrum had been better informed of the fords across the Ribble below Preston, he might have caught the royalists a day before he did. In the Parliamentarian newspapers the number of prisoners taken was placed as high as 1,000 men. On July 15, Sir George Booth at Dunham was informed that Prince Rupert was still at Preston with 6,000 horse and some foot.
[160]"Discourse," pp. 57, 58; "C.W.T.," p. 204; "Denbigh MSS.," Vol. 1, p. 275. It seems evident that if Meldrum had been better informed of the fords across the Ribble below Preston, he might have caught the royalists a day before he did. In the Parliamentarian newspapers the number of prisoners taken was placed as high as 1,000 men. On July 15, Sir George Booth at Dunham was informed that Prince Rupert was still at Preston with 6,000 horse and some foot.
There was now no longer a royalist army in Lancashire; the only places which still held out were Liverpool, Lathom House and Greenhalgh Castle. Clitheroe Castle had been deserted by its garrison a few weeks after the battle of Marston Moor; but Skipton, over the Yorkshire border, was for some time longer a source of apprehension to the Parliamentarians in Blackburn Hundred. After the defeat of the royalists at Ormskirk, Meldrum at once laid siege to Liverpool; but the fortifications were strong, and the town resisted for ten weeks, being at last surrendered on Friday, November 1st. Colonel Rosworm directed the ordnance at the siege, and Colonel Moore commanded some ships from the river. But Meldrum was called away for service in North Wales, and during his absence the siege was not conducted with any vigour. "I have had much ado," he wrote to the Committee of Both Kingdoms from Liverpool on October 2nd, "to bring back the Lancashire foot to their quarters before Liverpool, in regard to their want of obedience even to their own officers, the unseasonableness of the weather, and the time of harvest. They have had no pay for 18 weeks, and have been much pinched for want of victuals ever since they have been under my charge, the country being so wasted and spoiled by Prince Rupert's two journeys through Lancashire.... During my being abroad the enemy has taken divers of our men while sleeping upon their guard, and by what is intercepted I find them reduced to great extremities by inviting the garrison of Lathom House, consisting of 200 horse and 300 foot under Colonel Vere, who since the rout at Ormskirk hath been there, to fallupon some of our quarters upon Thursday next and in the meantime those within the town resolved to fall desperately upon some of our quarters and to make their retreat to Lathom House."[161]The Earl of Derby was also reported to be gathering troops in Cheshire for the relief of the town; but he was defeated by Sir William Brereton, and the intended attack from Lathom House never took place. But no breach could be made in the walls of Liverpool, and in the end it was starved into surrender. The circumstances were peculiar. In the last days of October 60 English soldiers of the garrison escaped, driving away with them some of the cattle, and surrendered to the besiegers, many of them taking service under the Parliament. The officers in the town realising that resistance was useless after this occurrence, attempted to make their escape by sea as Colonel Moore had done when Liverpool was captured by Prince Rupert. But the remainder of the garrison, who were Irish troops, feared that they would be excepted from quarter; they therefore secured their officers, and opened the gates to the Parliamentarians on promise that their own lives should be spared. Colonel Clifton and 20 other officers with many arms were captured; Clifton was taken to Manchester and afterwards died. The capture of Liverpool was important enough to be made the occasion of a public thanksgiving on November 4th.[162]
Differences, however, again broke out among the Lancashire leaders, and it was difficult to find a Governor for Liverpool who would be generally acceptable. Meldrum himself was in favour of leaving the town inthe hands of Colonel Moore, of whose ability he had evidently formed a high opinion. Moore seems to have acted as Governor for a time, but in May, 1645, John Ashhurst, now Major, was appointed. There was at first some doubt about the continuance of the garrison. The Committee of Both Kingdoms were of opinion that the works had better be demolished on the ground of expense, though it would be necessary to keep a small vessel to guard the harbour. But the position of Liverpool as a port forbade its being left without a garrison, and a force of 300 foot and 1 troop of horse was ordered to remain there. In March, 1646, the House of Commons ordered that the Liverpool garrison should consist of 600 foot.[163]
The siege of Greenhalgh Castle was entrusted to Col. Dodding and Major Joseph Rigby, younger brother of the better known Colonel Rigby. It was garrisoned by a number of royalist refugees, the Governor being Mr. Anderton, probably Christopher Anderton of Lostock. The castle stood on a little hill about half a mile south-east of Garstang; it was very strongly built, and having only one entrance was difficult of approach. Probably only a few troops were told off for the siege, for the garrison could sally out to plunder the countryside, and for a time at least had the better of the Parliamentarians. The sandy nature of the soil made mining operations difficult, and on one occasion the garrison countermined and captured five barrels of powder. At length Anderton died, and the garrison surrendered on promise of their liberty. The Castle was demolished and all the timber sold; only a part of one tower now remains.[164](June 10th, 1644).
During the autumn of 1644 negotiations were opened with the Earl to induce him to surrender. These were conducted by Sir John Meldrum, who employed as his agent Major Ashhurst, the only Parliamentarian officer at the first siege of Lathom House for whom the royalists had a good word to say. In October Meldrum wrote twice to Derby, and early in the following month William Farington and John Greenhalgh came into Lancashire under safe conduct to discuss terms. What exactly the propositions were is not stated, but Meldrum told the Committee of Both Kingdoms that he would only begin to treat on condition that Lathom and Greenhalgh were surrendered. In spite of this, however, he was of opinion from notes of a private interview which Ashhurst had with the Earl, that Derby would be "found inclinable to any course which may give the Parliament contentment." A fortnight later he writes more decidedly:
"I find the Earl inclinable to give all satisfaction to both Houses of Parliament, if he may have the least testimony under the hands of the Earls of Pembroke and Salisbury that upon demolishing the fortifications and removal of the garrisons of Lathom House and Greenhalgh Castle, he may expect to have fair and noble dealings." (Nov. 21st, 1644.)
"I find the Earl inclinable to give all satisfaction to both Houses of Parliament, if he may have the least testimony under the hands of the Earls of Pembroke and Salisbury that upon demolishing the fortifications and removal of the garrisons of Lathom House and Greenhalgh Castle, he may expect to have fair and noble dealings." (Nov. 21st, 1644.)
Later still it seemed as if an agreement had nearly been reached. Meldrum writes:—
"I desire to know your pleasure whether the Earl after the full accomplishment of the Treaty may not begin his journey to London, and stay at St. Alban's till he shall receive an order from both Houses or from your Lordships to come to London." (Dec. 16th, 1644.)
"I desire to know your pleasure whether the Earl after the full accomplishment of the Treaty may not begin his journey to London, and stay at St. Alban's till he shall receive an order from both Houses or from your Lordships to come to London." (Dec. 16th, 1644.)
It is not quite clear what led to the breaking off the negotiations; but the Parliament would be almost sure to ask more than Derby was willing to yield, and the longer the strongholds in Lancashire held out the more severe might the Parliament terms be expected to become. Twelve months later they made a proposal which could only have been intended as an insult. He was required as the price of his reconciliation to give up Lord Digby, the Earls of Nithsdale and Carnwath, Sir Marmaduke Langdale, Sir William Huddleston, and other royalists who had found refuge in the Isle of Man when the King's cause in England was entirely lost, "otherwise your Lordship is not to expect from us any further invitation." As might have been supposed, Derby returned an indignant refusal.[165]
The defeat of Rupert at Marston Moor completely destroyed the King's chances of victory in the Civil War, but less than two months later his triumph over Essex at Lostwithiel, where all the Parliamentarian foot were obliged to surrender, gave his cause a new lease of life in the south of England. The winter was passed in fruitless negotiations; when they had broken down the New Model Ordinance was passed through Parliament,and in the spring of 1645 the toils began to close round the King who left Oxford and marched northwards with Rupert.
Thus once more Lancashire was brought into the general course of events. It was feared that Charles would try to break through to join the Earl of Montrose in Scotland; instead of advancing Leven retreated, notwithstanding remonstrances from Sir Thomas Fairfax. The Fairfaxes themselves were at York, and thus Lancashire was left completely undefended. The leaders were in great consternation. Already in the middle of March, 1645, it was feared that the King would march on Shropshire and Cheshire, and the Committee of Both Kingdoms wrote to Sir George Booth to be careful to guard Warrington.[166]Two months later the danger was acute; if the King could enter Lancashire he might indefinitely increase his forces. Charles penetrated into Cheshire in May, and obliged Sir William Brereton to raise the siege of Chester and draw his men into garrisons. Fairfax promised to send 1,500 men in order to hinder the King's advance, and the Lancashire leaders were urged to keep careful watch over all the passes into that county, and to have 200 horse and 1,000 foot ready to send to any rendezvous which Fairfax and Leven might appoint. Colonel Assheton's regiment was recalled in haste from Cheshire. The ford at Hale was guarded by 1,100 foot and 4 troops of horse, and the general rendezvous was appointed at Barlow Moor, near Manchester, on Thursday, May 19th. The Lancashire troops, however, attended in small numbers. They were greatly disorganised and the county much wasted by three years of war; and they complained of the place chosen for the rendezvous as being too near to plague-stricken Manchester. Lathom was still a thorn in theside of the Parliamentarians of the county, and they were obliged to leave some troops at Ormskirk to continue the siege; there remained only one company of foot to defend both Liverpool and Warrington, and one of Egerton's regiments flatly refused his order to march. On May 22nd the Lancashire Committee wrote to London that they had obeyed the orders regarding the disposition of troops, "but it is more difficult to defend the country near Manchester, the river being shallow, and the Scots and Cromwell both marching further off than was expected." Next day Sir William Brereton wrote from Manchester, giving a very gloomy picture of affairs. "The forces assigned for the passes are inconsiderable, the passes many and indefensible." All the men he could spare were on the borders of Cheshire but they were quite inadequate to oppose the King if he should try to enter Lancashire. A few days before the Earl of Callander had sent a letter to the Scotch Commissioners in London to the same effect. "If we should abandon Yorkshire to go into Lancashire, this county would lie open to the King, and York will probably be lost; if we stay here the King is at liberty to enter Lancashire and increase his army, because of the many disaffected persons in that county. It is impossible to defend both places which is a line of 80 miles, at once, the ways and passages also between those counties being such as the forces in one county cannot without very great difficulty and marching a long way give assistance to the other."[167]
All this may have been exaggerated, but there is no doubt that Lancashire was in a state of great distress. Fortunately for the Parliamentarian party, however, the King's position was even worse than their own. Weak as they were, he was in no condition to force an entrance into hostile territory. The resistance offered may have been inadequate, but the appearance of force was enough to turn him in another direction. On May 21st he was at Whitchurch, 'not 24 miles from Hale Ford'; but he came no nearer to Lancashire than Market Drayton, but turned eastwards into the Midlands, and on May 31st took Leicester by storm.[168]
There were further fears of Charles in September when he was in Cheshire; but his defeat at Rowton Heath disposed of that danger. Even in October when he was at Welbeck, it was feared that his plan was to march northwards to relieve Skipton and Lathom, and to recruit his foot in Lancashire, "where Manchester will be as easily entered as attempted"; but the defeat of Langdale, near Pontefract, removed this danger too.[169]
Meanwhile the siege at Lathom House dragged on. During the winter of 1644 the garrison was practically unmolested, so that they were able to make little plundering expeditions, riding out after nightfall and returning to the house before daylight. Sometimes they even ventured further afield into the Fylde country. So great was the nuisance occasioned by their plundering and that of the royalists at Greenhalgh, that in December a local "cessation" was effected; but the Parliament promptly annulled it. At length the Committee at Manchester decided to re-form the siege, and ColonelEgerton was chosen for command. (January, 1644‑5.) Troops were provided out of all the county, but no serious attempt was made to storm, the object being rather to starve out the garrison. In the House were a numerous garrison under Colonel Rawsthorne and Colonel Vere, who had with them Charnock, Key, Molyneux Radcliffe, Farington and other Captains who had taken part in the first siege. There seem to have been three divisions of the royalists, the main guard being in Lathom itself, and others at New Park; while the third division consisting of the Irish troops who had been at Liverpool during the previous summer occupied the Lodge.
The Parliamentarian engineer was Colonel Morgan, who had also taken part in the first siege. No trenches were made close to the house, but under his direction a deep ditch was drawn round the wall at some distance, and the attacking force lay on the outer side of that. There would only be fighting when the garrison sallied out for stores. The siege made very slow progress. On March 25, 1645, Egerton writes very despondently to the Speaker concerning the state of the siege and the discipline of his troops. It was now nearly three months since he had first advanced, and in spite of promises his force was so small that he dared not approach nearer than four or five miles from the House. Most of the troops had been got together by his own efforts. He had at first advanced to within two miles, but finding that he could not stop the garrison plundering, he had retired again and spread out his men, who only numbered 100 foot and 400 horse. Even these were constantly deserting, and trying to take their colours with them.[170]Some months before this Meldrum had writtenthat the Colonels of three regiments "told me plainly that if I should press the soldiers to an approach which would require them to lie in the trenches without shelter, where there was neither money nor victuals, they would all be gone do what we could to prevent it."[171]
By the middle of July, however, the Parliamentarian troops had made a considerable advance, for they carried the Lodge by storm, forty of the defenders being killed and sixty taken prisoners; and soon afterwards the garrison at New Park also surrendered, after which the royalists were confined to Lathom itself. In August, two of the Earl of Derby's servants named Sharples and Moreau, came over from the Isle of Man, and were captured in trying to get through the besiegers' lines. Sharples was sent into the House that he might explain the hopelessness of resistance, but in vain. The garrison refused to be convinced, and Sharples was allowed to return to the Earl of Derby. For three months more the royalists held out. But it was an unnecessary display of courage, and was bound to have disastrous results for Lathom House. This second siege was very different from the first. The glamour of Lady Derby's presence was gone. Instead of a numerous garrison well armed and provisioned, making successful sorties at intervals, and hopeful of release from without, there were only a few irreconcilables being gradually starved into submission. And they had nothing to gain by prolonging the war, for after the Battle of Naseby the royalist cause was dead.
After the defeat of Charles at Rowton Heath in September, 1645, he sent word to Lathom that there was no longer any prospect of relief from him, and the garrison had better therefore surrender. It would appear, however, that negotiations had already beenentered into. Very favourable terms were at first offered. The House with all its contents were of course to be surrendered; but the garrison might freely depart, and Lady Derby and her children were to be allowed to live at Knowsley House with one-third of the Earl's estate for their support. Seacome states that these terms were freely offered by Egerton, and were only broken off by the obstinacy of one of the royalist Commissioners, who absolutely refused to agree unless the cannon were allowed to remain at Lathom for its defence. Actually, however, it would seem that the Committee of Both Kingdoms interfered, and forbade the conclusion of the negotiations. If suitable terms should be proposed, they professed to be willing to consider them.[172]
By the middle of November the shortage of provisions of the garrison had become so great that another parley was requested. A place was appointed, and the two sides again met; but even now they could not agree, the royalists refusing to accept any terms except those which they themselves proposed. The conference was broken off and they returned outwardly confident to Lathom; but their action was really just as much a piece of bluff as Rigby's last demand for surrender during the first siege in May, 1644. The tables were now turned, and it was Rigby's shrewdness which perceived how desperate the condition of the garrison was. When they were gone, Colonel Alexander Rigby said to the rest of the Colonels and Commanders then present that "he was persuaded that notwithstanding their seeming stoutness and highness of stomacke they could not holdout long, the smell and taste of their garments bewraied it."[173]Nevertheless the garrison did hold out for three weeks longer, and it was the beginning of December before the great House was at last starved into surrender. The final agreement was made between Colonel Booth on one side, and Colonel Nowell, Colonel Vere, and two others on behalf of the royalists. The terms were as follows:—The House with all its plate and furniture, and all the horses and arms of the garrison were to be delivered up to the Parliament; only the Governor might take his horse and pistols and £10 in money. Officers above the rank of Lieutenant were allowed their swords, but all below that rank and all the common soldiers were to depart unarmed. Convoy was to be provided for them to Aberconway, which was the nearest royalist garrison not besieged.[174]
There were said to be about 200 common soldiers still remaining in Lathom, but few of them took advantage of the opportunity to lay down their arms 'being old blades and mercenaries.' Some 15 guns and 400 smaller arms were captured, with some ammunition and stores of provision of several kinds. It was chiefly the deficiency of bread which had compelled the garrison to surrender. Lathom was finally given up to the Parliament at 3 p.m. on December 3rd, 1645, and the King had now no garrison left in Lancashire.
"This evening," says the "Perfect Diurnall" of December 6th, "after the House was up, they came letters to the Speaker of the Commons House of the surrender of Lathom House in Lancashire belonging to the Earl of Derby." All the newspapers for that weekare full of references to the event.[175]At Castle Rushen, when at length the news reached the Isle of Man, there was great distress. Lord Derby's "Book of Private Devotions" containsA Meditation which I made when the Tidings were brought to me of the Delivering up Lathom House to the enemy, which consist of a long series of texts chiefly from the book of Job and from Jeremiah.
"Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me." (Job 29, v. 2.)"But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock." (Job 30, v. 1.)"Oh how sits the city solitary which was full of people? How is she become a widow? She that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary."[176](Lam. 1, v. 1.)
"Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me." (Job 29, v. 2.)
"But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock." (Job 30, v. 1.)
"Oh how sits the city solitary which was full of people? How is she become a widow? She that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary."[176](Lam. 1, v. 1.)
It is impossible not to fully share his grief for the destruction of this magnificent fortress, "a little town in itself." "It was the glory of the county," wrote one who fought against the Earl in the civil war. This great House, whose Lords had enjoyed almost royal power for centuries was now a ruin. Splendid in loyalty, supreme among the nobility of the North of England, generous to their tenantry, the Lords of Lathom had a great record of honour and service. This was now at an end. The demolition of their House was complete. Everything moveable and saleable was stripped off and sold, the walls were cast down into the ditch; and it wasnever rebuilt.[177]And with old Lathom House departed much of the glory of the House of Stanley. Before the end of the civil war the Earl of Derby was beheaded at Bolton, and his descendants never recovered the state which had been his. In the following century the direct male line of his House died out, and the title passed to another branch.
This ended the fighting in Lancashire for the present; but the King's standard still floated over a few isolated towns and fortresses, and one of these was Chester, which had long been invested by Sir William Brereton, but still held out. The Cheshire Committee appealed to the neighbouring county for assistance in the autumn of 1645, but there was little help to spare from Lancashire then. In October, however, when there was a prospect of a royalist attempt to raise the siege of Chester, 200 horse and all the forces of Lonsdale Hundred were sent to Brereton's help. But he still appealed for more men (Oct. 27), and on November 7th more troops of horse were despatched under Major Clarkson and Major Robinson. Five hundred men had recently gone out of Lancashire to assist in the blockade of Skipton Castle, and the siege of Lathom House was still a heavy drain on the resources of the county. When Lathom fell, the troops there were set free for other service, but so wearied and insubordinate were they that they would not move without a fortnight's pay, and pay Brereton had none to give. Protests were of no use. At length Colonel George Booth was sent to Bolton to negotiate with the Lancashire Committee and succeeded in persuading their troops to march by promising them'the same pay as other auxiliaries.' On December 11th the Lancashire Committee issued an order for all the available men to march, the horse under Colonel Nicholas Shuttleworth, Colonel John Booth and Colonel Assheton to command their own regiments of foot; and companies of foot not in either of these regiments might choose in which they would serve. The commanders at Chester, however, had still to endure some delay. Colonel Assheton had only just returned from London, and his regiment was very late in starting. Shuttleworth, with nine troops of horse, reached Tarporley about December 21st, and the others followed soon after.[178]The Lancashire horse were kept before Chester to strengthen the siege, and the foot, together with the Cheshire foot, were sent out to Whitchurch to intercept a possible royalist advance. When the royalists retreated all were brought back to the siege. Loud complaints were made by the Cheshire Committee of the insubordination of the Lancashire troops, but as they were paid more than any of the other auxiliaries they were probably more valuable. Brereton, however, continued to send appeals for help into Lancashire until nearly the middle of January, but on February 3rd, 1645‑6, Chester was finally surrendered. The Lancashire troops returned home and were mostly disbanded; there were now no soldiers in arms in the county excepting the garrison at Liverpool.[179]
There was now some years' quiet in Lancashire, and the stricken county was able to recover slowly from its devastation and misery. The general course of affairs was briefly as follows. After Sir Thomas Fairfax had beaten Goring at Langport in July and Rupert had surrendered Bristol in September, the royalist resistance was practically at an end though Raglan Castle held out until August, 1646. The King surrendered to the Scots at Southwell in May, 1646, and was sent to Newcastle; and there then began the long series of negotiations in which Charles showed all the duplicity and untrustworthiness and lack of judgment which was the worst side of his nature. First the joint offer of the Scots and Parliament was refused because the King would not abandon episcopacy; when the Scots went home in January, 1646‑7, he continued to play off the Independents against the Presbyterians. Circumstances favoured him to an extraordinary degree, but it was only a waste of time because he never really desired to come to any agreement, but continued to believe that he could regain his position by refusing all the terms which were offered. Then followed the open breach between Parliament and the army, the carrying off of the King from Holmby House, and the extremely moderate demands made by the Army in the Heads of the Proposals. These provided by far the best solution of the difficulty if only both sides could have accepted and kept them. In all this Lancashire had no part. The leaders were interested, particularly in Ecclesiastical affairs, but the people in general cared less about the negotiations than about the recovery of their own position. There can never be war, and especially civil war, without much misery; and though the Civil War in England was on the whole conducted with moderation, it inevitably brought in its train, want, loss of trade, and the dislocation of ordinary modes of life. The proportion of the population who actually fought in the war was very small, but in countieswhere fighting was carried on there can have been few if any of the inhabitants who were not indirectly affected by it. The graphic account of Adam Martindale of the disaster which it brought upon his family may be quoted.
"Things were now woefully altered from the worst from what I had formerly known them. My sister was married to a noted royalist, and going to live about two miles from Lathom which the Parliament forces accounted their enemy's headquarters, they were sadly plundered by those forces passing along the road wherein they dwelt. The great trade that my father and two of my brothers had long driven was quite dead; for who would either build or repair a house when he could not sleep a night in it with quiet and safety? My brother Henry, who was then about 24 years of age, knew not where to hide his head; for my Lord of Derby's officers had taken up a custom of summoning such as he and many older persons upon pain of death to appear at general musters, and thence to force them away with such weapons as they had if they were but pitchforks to Bolton, the rear being brought up with troopers that had commission to shoot such as lagged behind; so as the poor countrymen seemed to be in a dilemma of death either by the troopers if they went not on, or by the great and small shot out of the town if they did."[180]
"Things were now woefully altered from the worst from what I had formerly known them. My sister was married to a noted royalist, and going to live about two miles from Lathom which the Parliament forces accounted their enemy's headquarters, they were sadly plundered by those forces passing along the road wherein they dwelt. The great trade that my father and two of my brothers had long driven was quite dead; for who would either build or repair a house when he could not sleep a night in it with quiet and safety? My brother Henry, who was then about 24 years of age, knew not where to hide his head; for my Lord of Derby's officers had taken up a custom of summoning such as he and many older persons upon pain of death to appear at general musters, and thence to force them away with such weapons as they had if they were but pitchforks to Bolton, the rear being brought up with troopers that had commission to shoot such as lagged behind; so as the poor countrymen seemed to be in a dilemma of death either by the troopers if they went not on, or by the great and small shot out of the town if they did."[180]
This is probably not an isolated but a typical case. If the families of the gentry were divided among themselves, so also would be those of the yeomen and the villagers. Royalists in Parliamentarian country, and Parliamentarians in the royalist districts, would have an unhappy time. The royalists in Manchester would no doubt be liable to plunder. The estates of Parliamentarian partisans which lay in the west of the county, as that of the Ashhursts' near Lathom, and of Rigby near Preston, were fair game for the royalists, and became quite worthless to their owners. In addition to local burdens there came, as the war proceeded, pressure from headquarters. The royalists' estates were sequestered, and for the Parliamentarians the Assessments became a growing burden. As a local means of raising resources the most obvious was the levying of contributions on estates, and this was the means first resorted to. The Order authorising it in Lancashire was made by the House of Lords on January 26th, 1642‑3. Twelve of the leaders were named assessors, any three of whom had power to assess the inhabitants of the county at a sum not greater than that of one-twentieth of their estate; resistance might be met by the sale of the objector's goods, and if necessary by the use of force.[181]In the following August an Order was for the first time passed for raising money for the payment of the army by a weekly assessment on the whole country. The list is composed of 52 counties and towns in England and 12 in Wales, Lancashire being assessed at £500 weekly, Yorkshire at £1,060/10/- (York £62/10/- in addition), and Cheshire at £175 (Chester £62 in addition). The weekly sums were to be paid for two months "unless the King's army shall be disbanded in the meantime."[182]
In February, 1644‑5, an Ordinance was passed for the maintenance of the Scotch army at £21,000 per month for four months, to begin on March 1st. This time Lancashire was assessed at £730 and Cheshire at £255; on August 15th the Ordinance was continued for four months dating from the 1st July. The reason for this assessment of the money was that the Sequestrations, on which it had originally been charged, were quite unable to bear their share.[183]
By the time that the fighting in Lancashire was over the financial exhaustion of the county was extreme. "That country (England) is in a most pitiful condition, no corner of it free from the evils of a cruel war. The case is like the old miseries of the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Every shire, every city, many families divided in this quarrel, much blood and universal spoil made by both armies where they prevail," wrote Baillie.[184]And in the same strain a letter of Egerton's to the Speaker may be quoted:—
"Sequestrations which are looked upon to bring great things are well known to us to be of no considerable respect, for the sequestered estate which was heretofore worth £600 per annum is now scarce sufficient to discharge those lays and taxations which are imposed upon it according as those estates are managed. So that from them we expect very little. The whole country is extremely exhausted, and they have been plundered of horse and cattle by both sides; and land is so cheap by the great quantity of sequestered land untilled and unstocked that the well affected from whom we receive our greatest relief can make very little of their estates."[185]
"Sequestrations which are looked upon to bring great things are well known to us to be of no considerable respect, for the sequestered estate which was heretofore worth £600 per annum is now scarce sufficient to discharge those lays and taxations which are imposed upon it according as those estates are managed. So that from them we expect very little. The whole country is extremely exhausted, and they have been plundered of horse and cattle by both sides; and land is so cheap by the great quantity of sequestered land untilled and unstocked that the well affected from whom we receive our greatest relief can make very little of their estates."[185]
The Lancashire Committee protested bitterly against the new assessments in 1645. They declared that they could not possibly bear any more levies, and complained that after their stand for the Parliament's cause and all the help which they had sent into other counties, it was unreasonable to impose a fresh tax upon them. If they even attempted to raise it all the troops would disband; and instead of paying, they urgently demanded a largecontribution from Parliament which they hope would not be long delayed. "This (however strange reports have been or may be made of our condition by such as know little of it) is nothing but real truth."[186]Parliament did have some consideration for Lancashire, for on September 11th, 1644, the House of Commons ordered that on the following day which was a Fast, half the collections in the churches of London and Westminster should be devoted to the relief of that county.[187]
As the commercial centre of the county, and the base of the Parliamentarian operations, Manchester naturally suffered severely. After the siege in 1642, Parliament ordered a fund to be opened for its benefit, any one who would make subscriptions to have public faith for repayment at the then usual rate of interest of 8 per cent. (October 24th). In addition to its other miseries, the town was in the summer of 1645 visited by plague, which was very severe, and reached its height in August and September of that year. In July 172 persons were buried at the Parish Church, in August 310, and in September 266; the numbers in ordinary months ranging from 6 to 30. Moreover in August and September there were no christenings, and in September no marriages "by reason of the sickness being so great." All those who could left Manchester, and the Committee of Both Kingdoms became concerned for the safety of their headquarters in Lancashire. The outworks had been defended chiefly by volunteer soldiers from the country adjacent, and now no one would go near the town for fear of infection. The country people declared that "they would rather be hanged at their own doors than enter such an infected town." As Manchester had been the place of meeting of the Lancashire Committee therehad never been any Governor there, and as the Committee had now removed elsewhere there was no one left to direct affairs. The Committee of Both Kingdoms wrote to the Deputy-Lieutenants to ask their opinion about appointing a Governor, and also whether they thought it desirable to keep a garrison in Manchester any longer, and if so "by what means a constant maintenance may be had for them in regard of the decay of trade, and the impoverished condition of the town and parts adjacent." It was suggested that the works might be reduced and so kept with fewer men. Under the circumstances it was feared that the store of arms and ammunition in Manchester might be in considerable danger. The town was once more indebted to the engineer Colonel Rosworm, who had refused to leave his post when so many of the richer people had departed, even though Warden Heyrick had tried to persuade him to withdraw with the others. Though only in command of 12 musketeers, the other soldiers having removed some distance from the town, he was able to frustrate a plot made to seize all the valuables in Manchester.[188]
With the approach of winter, however, the plague slackened, and the inhabitants began to return to their homes. On December 9th Parliament directed that a collection should be made on the following Sunday, December 11th, in all the churches and chapels in London and Westminster for the relief of Manchester, "one of the first towns in England that in this great cause stood for their just defence against the opposition and attempts of a very powerful army, and hath for a long time been so sore visited with the pestilence that for many monthsnone were permitted either to go in or to come out of the said town, whereby most of the inhabitants (living upon trade) are not only ruined in their estates, but many families like to perish for want, who cannot be sufficiently relieved by that miserably wasted country." In the following May, Heyrick, preaching before the House of Commons on a Fast Day, referred to Manchester as "the only town untouched by the enemy, the only town stricken by God."[189]
In 1646 Presbyterianism was set up by the Parliament. A petition had been presented to Parliament on August 31st of that year by more than 12,500 "of the well affected gentlemen, ministers, freeholders, and others of the County Palatine of Lancaster," in favour of Presbyterianism, "against sectaries, heretics and schismatics." The petition was urged for the reason that the petitioners, who numbered 12,578 in all, were those who had won the county of Lancaster for the Parliament; more than 6,000 of the signatures came from Salford and Blackburn Hundreds, which out of the six Hundreds of the county had been mainly active in the Parliament's cause. Many of them were among those who had also signed the Petition to the King at York in 1642 to return to Parliament, "which evidenceth that the petitioners attend a golden mediocrity." No malignants had been allowed to sign, and the names of some who were in favour of the Covenant were removed because they rested under a suspicion of royalism.[190]
Parliament promised to take the Petition into consideration, and the Ordinance for division of Lancashire into nine classical Presbyteries was brought before the House of Commons on September 15th, 1646, though it was not finally sanctioned until December. As is well known, Lancashire furnished the most completelyorganised system of Presbyterian government in the whole country; and the system continued in force until the Restoration.
A year or two after the surrender of Lathom House, however, things had returned to a more normal condition in Lancashire. "Some malignant enough were fled where they could get to be safe. Others that had been abroad were come home again and glad to live quietly though in a meaner condition. So that the county was in a reasonable quiet posture for a long space corn and all things plenty and cheap."[191]But a new storm now appeared on the horizon.