CHAPTER I. Preliminaries.--Petitions.--Seizure of Magazines.--The Array and the Militia.--First Skirmish at Manchester.

The actual fighting of the civil war was preceded by some months during which both parties attempted to seize stores of arms and to win over the local troops; this again followed a long series of proclamations by the King and by Parliament. Many petitions and memorials were presented to both from different parts of the country. A number of these petitions came from Lancashire. The first was presented to the Houses of Parliament in February 1641-2, and represents the wishes of their supporters in the county. It praises the work already done in the reform of civil government and the church, the disposal of the Militia, and in other ways. As far as Lancashire is concerned it is asked that recusants be disarmed and the number of 'preaching ministers' increased, also that provision should be made for the crowds of destitute refugees from Ireland who were daily arriving in the county; and that a fleet of small ships be sent for the defence of the coast. As evidence of the natural but exaggerated fear produced by the Irish rebellion the petitioners described themselves as "seated in the mouth of danger," and evidently expected an invasion from the other side of the channel. This petition was presented to the House of Commons on February 10th, 1642, and the House promised to take it into consideration.[3]

Two petitions were also sent to the King at York in April and May respectively. The first merely urged his return to Parliament, but the other which is much longer and more elaborate, was drawn up by Richard Heyrick, warden of the Collegiate Church at Manchester, and contained nearly 8,000 names. It professes great loyalty to the King's person, and gives him credit for the reforms which had already been carried through; but asks him to find out some way for an accommodation with the Parliament. The signatories of this petition afterwards became the Presbyterian party in the county and five years later they presented the petition to the Parliament for the establishment of Presbyterianism in Lancashire.

A few months after this the Recusants in Lancashire petitioned Charles for permission to take up arms for their own safety, which was very readily given. Recusants were, however, as yet forbidden to serve in the Royal armies.[4]

The next step was the raising of the local trained bands, the winning over of men of influence, and seizing magazines of arms which had been collected in various places in view of the rebellion in Ireland. The famous Militia Ordinance, which was the first exercise of Parliament's claim to legislate without the King's consent, was made on March 5, 1641-2; the King's proclamation forbidding any of the trained bands of the kingdom to obey the Ordinance was dated at York, May 27th, 1642. Parliament replied on the following day with their Order beginning "Whereas it appears that the King seduced by wicked Councell intends to make War against the Parliament." The King's Commissions of Array were sent out early in June, and afterwards the raising of troops was pushed forward by either side.[5] Parliament had early in the year appointed its own list of Lords Lieutenant of all the counties in England, the King also naming his own representatives. In the list presented to the House of Commons on February 10, 1641-2 Lord Wharton is put in for Lancashire in place of Lord Strange who had previously been Lord Lieutenant; but curiously enough Lord Strange was nominated by the Houses for Cheshire. On March 18, however, Sir William Brereton informed the Commons that his lordship desired to be excused, and the desire being repeated a week later his name was removed and that of Lord Say substituted. Lord Strange was made Lord Lieutenant of both Lancashire and Cheshire by the King.[6] Parliament also appointed a long list of Deputy-Lieutenants for Lancashire which was afterwards added to during the ensuing month.[7]

During the summer Commissions of Array were voted to be illegal, and the House of Lords appointed a Committee to devise means to prevent their going out; 9000 copies of a Declaration to this effect were printed and circulated, and the Judges on circuit were each given a copy and ordered to publish it.[8] (July.)

In the preceding month the Lancashire members of Parliament had been sent down to form with the Deputy Lieutenants a county Committee for putting the Militia Ordinance into operation. Their instructions were to put the Ordinance in force, to collect trained bands, to publish the Declarations of both Houses, to disarm recusants and see that they confined themselves to their own houses. It was expressly stated that no evil was intended to the King, whose greatest danger lay in separating himself from his Parliament.[9] Active preparations now began on both sides in Lancashire as in other parts of the country. It is rather surprising and testifies to the extreme reluctance to begin a war of which no man could see the end, that the Militia and the Array did not come to blows before they did. The royalists were the first to move. Lord Strange returning from a visit to the Court at York called a meeting of his supporters on Fulwood Moor near Preston in accordance with a letter from the King to Sir John Girlington, High Sheriff; the ostensible purpose being to hear read Charles' two Declarations and his answer to the Lancashire petition. This gathering though by no means so large as the corresponding royalist demonstration on Heworth Moor, near York, nevertheless numbered about 5000 people; but if the Parliamentarians are to be believed it was not at all unanimous in favour of the King. Rigby and the elder Shuttleworth hearing of the summons on their way to Lancashire hastened on towards Preston, hindering as many people as possible from obeying it as they went. At Standish they deprived the Constable of his warrant, which had that day been published by the Vicar in church. (Sunday, June 19.) Reaching Preston the same night they attempted though without success to prevent the meeting being held; and the following day they attended the meeting themselves. Lord Strange was accompanied by his eldest son Charles, a boy of 14, Lord Molyneux, Sir George Middleton, Sir Alexander Radcliffe, Mr. Tyldesley of Myerscough, Mr. Farington of Worden, and other prominent Lancashire royalists. The King's Declarations were read by the Sheriff, the Under Sheriff and others in different parts of the crowd, and most of the people dispersed. Rigby, however, attempted to read the Votes of Parliament in answer to the King and demanded Girlington to deliver up his Commission of Array; whereupon 400 of the more ardent royalists rode up and down the moor shouting, 'For the King, For the King.' The remainder stayed and shouted 'For King and Parliament,' and Rigby declared that the royalists could only count on the support of a small minority of those present and that they had in reality lost more than they had gained by the demonstration. On hearing of the occurrence Parliament summoned Sir John Girlington, Sir George Middleton, and Sir Edward Fitton to attend as delinquents.[10] Meanwhile under cover of the excitement on the Moor a servant of Mr. Farington's, William Sumpner, seized part of the magazine in the town of Preston, conveying it away secretly on packhorses as ordinary merchandise. The magazine, which consisted of 13 barrels of powder and some match, had been mostly collected by Farington and stored in a private house. Early next morning the remainder was removed by order of the Sheriff. Rigby hearing of what had taken place again protested, but to no purpose; and he was not in a position to use force.[11] This was part of a royalist plan for securing all the ammunition in the county. Considerable stores had been established by Lord Strange when Lord Lieutenant, the principal centres being Preston, Warrington, Liverpool and Manchester. Warrington was royalist in sympathy and that also was seized by the King. Strange in person secured most if not all of the powder at Liverpool. Rigby, however, warned Mr. Assheton of Middleton in time to save the magazine at Manchester.[12] When the royalist design became known in Manchester a petition was addressed to the Committee asking them if necessary to remove the magazine to a more secure place. The answer refers to great levies of money made by Lord Strange, much of which had been spent in providing ammunition in various places. But there were in Manchester only 10 barrels of powder and a few bundles of match; they were kept in the then disused College of the Church which had been granted to the Earl of Derby by the Crown. This building was afterwards purchased by the executors of Humphrey Chetham from Charles, eighth Earl of Derby, and is still the Chetham College. The royalist Commissioners of Array, Sir Alexander Radcliffe and Mr. Prestwich, with Mr. Nicholas Mosley and Thomas Danson, the Under Sheriff, endeavoured to seize these stores as they had seized the others; but Assheton and Sir Thomas Stanley, another Deputy Lieutenant, prevented them. Judging, however, that the powder was not safe on Lord Strange's property, it was removed to other parts of the town.[13] Lord Strange was very angry at the rebuff and threatened to attack the town. He collected troops at Bury and more than 1000 armed volunteers came in for the defence of Manchester. These outnumbered the royalists, and negotiations were thereupon entered into for the disposal of the magazine. Two or three Deputy Lieutenants visited Lord Strange at Bury; but his offer to replace the magazine in the College in the joint keeping of the Parliament men and of Robert Holt, one of his own Deputy Lieutenants, was refused. (June 23.) Next day the forces were dismissed; but Lord Strange, having received fresh instructions from York, called a second muster at Bury and caused an order to be published at Manchester Cross for the removal of the magazine, part to Rochdale and part to Bury, only a small part to be left in Manchester.

It was now evident that actual hostilities could not be long delayed. The Parliamentarians sent to London for help from Lord Wharton. Lord Strange was required to redeliver that part of the county magazine which he had seized.[14] On Saturday, June 25, Sir William Brereton was in Manchester, and reported to the Speaker that he found the townsmen "up in arms in defence of their magazine," and most of the shops shut. A Journal, of the first week in July, by a Preston man who accompanied Rigby to Manchester, relates that 7000 or 8000 militia armed with muskets and pikes were being daily trained there. On the other hand reports were brought of royalist musters numbering 4000 at Preston, and 600 on Knutsford Heath in Cheshire.[15] A letter about royalist movements from Sir Edward Fitton to Sir Thomas Aston at York was intercepted and sent to London. News came of the King's siege of Hull. But no one was anxious to strike the first blow in Lancashire, and relations were not yet so strained between the leaders but that Rigby, going to see Sir Gilbert Hoghton about a letter of his which had been seized, could not be asked to stay to dinner. While he was there a Mr. Dawton who was a recusant came in, and Rigby with characteristic rudeness told his host that "he should like him better if he were not so familiar with Papists." In royalist Preston, however, it needed a report that Lord Wharton was on his march with 20,000 men to make it possible for "honest men to go through the streets without scoffing at them and calling them Roundheads." (Friday, July 8.) And a man who directed the Sergeant coming to deliver a message from Parliament to Lord Strange's house had his head broken by the royalists.[16]

A week later the first actual bloodshed of the war in Lancashire took place at Manchester (Friday, July 15), the occasion being a visit of Lord Strange and some of his supporters to the town. There is an account of a previous skirmish on July 4, when it is stated that Lord Strange attempted to force his way into the town and was repulsed with loss; but this is usually thought to be false.[17] Lord Strange's visit on July 15 was in response to an invitation. Apparently negotiations were still in progress about the Manchester magazine, and some of his lordship's supporters, of whom there were a good many in the town, wished to entertain him at a banquet in the house of Mr. Alexander Green, in order that the negotiations might be completed. Green was a vintner and lived on the Conduit, now the bottom of Market Street.[18]

The condition was made that Strange should come peaceably with his own attendance; but in the excited state of affairs it was almost impossible that the occasion should end peaceably, especially as Lord Strange had earlier on the same day called a muster of troops at Bury which was attended by about 2000 men from the immediate neighbourhood of Manchester. There are several accounts of what happened, and as may be expected the two sides give very different views. The royalists describe the expression of joy by the inhabitants, "continued acclamations, bonfires, the streets strewed with flowers, &c.," as Lord Strange entered Manchester in his coach with his ordinary attendants only; the other side represent him as coming in a warlike manner attended by many horsemen, "with cocked pistols and shouts that the town was their own." The local militia under Captain Birch and Captain Holcroft was, however, in Manchester, and the surprising thing is not that an affray occurred, but that it was not a great deal more serious than it turned out to be. Hardly had the Royalists sat down to dinner when word was brought that Birch and Holcroft accompanied by Sir Thomas Stanley of Bickerstaffe[19] were marching their men about the streets. The Sheriff immediately ran downstairs, mounted Lord Strange's horse, and near the Cross met Holcroft, whose men he endeavoured unsuccessfully to disperse. Alarmed at Girlington's non-return Strange himself followed him, and missing his horse pushed his way on foot through the crowd to the end of the street. The attitude of the townspeople was very threatening and Lord Strange was several times fired at from houses. As he and the Sheriff were returning they met Birch who ordered his men to fire, but the rain put out their matches. To avoid a general skirmish the royalists decided to leave the town. In the melÉe, however, a royalist gentleman was knocked off his horse and the assailant was shot; this was Richard Perceval, a linen weaver of Kirkmanshulme; he was buried at the Parish Church on July 18. Lord Strange proceeded for the night to Sir Alexander Radcliffe's house at Ordsall Hall;[20] and he never entered Manchester again. Next morning, twenty-five gentlemen of the town, including Green and Nicholas Mosley, the Boroughreeve, waited on him at Ordsall to apologize for what had taken place, and declared Stanley, Holcroft and Birch to be disturbers of the peace; but that they did not speak for a majority of the townsmen subsequent events were to show.[21]

It has been very commonly stated that this July 15th skirmish was the first bloodshed of the whole Civil War; the statement is made by Mr. Gardiner and is repeated in so recent a work as the "Cambridge Modern History," but is almost certainly incorrect. It is not of course the fact that Lancashire was before any other county in hostile preparations. In the months of June and July 1642, the two factions in arms were facing each other all over England and it was really an accident rather than otherwise in which county the first blow was struck. On June 4, the King wrote to Lord Willoughby of Parham forbidding him to raise the trained bands of Lincolnshire, and in the same week the Earl of Warwick put the Militia Ordinance into force in Essex. In Leicestershire a fortnight later bloodshed was narrowly averted. On June 21, Mr. Hastings, son of the Earl of Huntingdon, who was a royalist, arrived at Loughborough and marched on Leicester; but finding a superior force under the Earl of Stamford in possession, he retreated and most of his men were disarmed. There was an affray in Dorsetshire in August at which some lives were lost. It would seem, however, that actually the first blood of the war was shed at Hull. The King in person was present at the siege of that town which began on July 4. His troops were not close to the walls but in the following week there had been three or four skirmishes, one of which lasted for several hours and some lives must have been lost.[22] It is fitting that the war should begin at Hull, for that was the city which was first seized for the Parliament and which first offered defiance to Charles.

It might have been expected that the affray in Manchester would be followed by further hostilities; but this was not the case, and two months elapsed before fighting really began in Lancashire. The intervening time was spent in active preparations by both sides; of the two the royalists at first appeared to have the advantage. Manchester had declared for the Parliament, but there was not much of the county which that party could rely upon, and even Manchester was not unanimous. Perhaps the majority of the crowd in the streets on July 15 were not anti-royalists.[23] The immediate outcome of the affray was that proceedings were begun against Mr. Tyldesley, who was reported to have killed Perceval, and by the other side against Stanley, Birch and Holcroft. Parliament stopped both actions. It was Birch who reported the affair to the House of Commons, and the committee named to deal with Commissions of Array was asked to consider it.[24]

In the following month there was a prospect of Lancashire being made the centre of the Royalist operations. Several places were considered for the raising of the royal standard, and the Earl of Derby suggested Warrington as suitable. He promised to raise at once 3000 foot and 500 horse, and within three days to make up their number to 10,000 men. After a few days' consideration Strange was sent back to Lancashire to make preparations, but in his absence the place was altered to Nottingham. It is suggested that court jealousy of Strange was responsible for the alteration.[25] Whatever the reason, however, Strange's loyalty was unwavering. He returned to Lancashire, and on August 17 dated from Lathom a warrant to all knights, freeholders and others able to bear arms (popish recusants excepted) to assemble at Preston on August 23. A week later Lady Strange wrote to her cousin, Prince Rupert, on his arrival in England, asking him to send a few troops of horse into Lancashire for a few weeks to assist in raising foot. Clarendon says that Strange was looked upon 'as of absolute power over that people,' and as yet there seems to have been no doubt at Lathom that this was the case.[26] Strange joined the King at Shrewsbury with three troops of horse and three regiments of foot. Lord Molyneux raised two regiments, one of horse and one of foot, and other Lancashire royalists contributed to the main royal army in a lesser degree. This draining of Lancashire of royalist troops, a process which was continued later, was to have a disastrous effect on their cause within the county.

A week after the raising of the royal standard at Nottingham (August 22, 1642), the Commons set about the impeachment of Lord Strange. The energetic Rigby was one of the five members appointed to prepare the accusation, but it was nevertheless a fortnight before it was sent up to the Lords, who agreed next day (September 15). The articles of Indictment are the raising of forces at Manchester on July 15 and in other places, the death of Perceval, and the being in actual rebellion against the King, Parliament and Kingdom. It was, however, evident that it would be much easier to publish such an impeachment than to have it carried into effect "considering that if messengers be sent they will be imprisoned, and if proclamation writs be sent down they will not be sealed." Several conferences were held between the two Houses as to the best means of executing the impeachment. On September 16, publication of the charge was ordered to be made in all churches and chapels and in all markets and towns; and all Sheriffs and other officers were urged to do their best to secure Lord Strange's arrest and to send him up to Parliament.[27] The impeachment no doubt had some effect on public opinion in Lancashire, but it made no difference to the royalist preparations which continued to be actively pushed forward.

[3] This petition is given in "C.W.T.," pp. 2-5. Cf. "C.J.," Vol. 2, 476. Lancashire being a Catholic county the Puritans were exceedingly afraid of their probable action. Cf. "C.S.P.," 1641-3, p. 166.