Battlefields›Second Bishops' War: Leslie's Advance through Northumberland, 1640
English Civil War

Second Bishops' War: Leslie's Advance through Northumberland, 1640

1640
Northumberland, England
Era
English Civil War
Battle Type
march
Location
Northumberland, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Crown (English border forces under Viscount Conway)
VS
Victor
Covenanters
Forces involved

The Covenanter army was around 20,000 to 21,000 strong with an artillery train of about sixty guns; no separate figure is recorded for the forces specifically engaged during the Northumberland advance itself, as distinct from the wider campaign.

Outcome
The Covenanter army under Alexander Leslie crossed the Tweed at Coldstream on 20 August 1640 and marched through Northumberland virtually unopposed, bypassing the fortified town of Berwick-upon-Tweed; Conway's forces, distracted by fortifying Berwick, failed to contest the march, and the Scots proceeded south to force a crossing of the Tyne at the Battle of Newburn on 28 August before occupying Newcastle on 30 August.
The Battle

History & Significance

Second Bishops' War: Leslie's Advance through Northumberland, 1640 was a Civil War march, fought in the area of Northumberland, England in 1640. Covenanters prevailed over Crown (English border forces under Viscount Conway). The Covenanter army under Alexander Leslie crossed the Tweed at Coldstream on 20 August 1640 and marched through Northumberland virtually unopposed, bypassing the fortified town of Berwick-upon-Tweed; Conway's forces, distracted by fortifying Berwick, failed to contest the march, and the Scots proceeded south to force a crossing of the Tyne at the Battle of Newburn on 28 August before occupying Newcastle on 30 August.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Second Bishops' War: Leslie's Advance through Northumberland, 1640 lies on Yoredale Group, bedrock that formed in the Bashkirian. The rock here is limestone, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.

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Monuments
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Battlefields
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Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
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Civil War
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Local Names
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Literature
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Second Bishops' War: Leslie's Advance through Northumberland, 1640

Wallington Bridge
Wallington Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~2.6 mi

Wallington Bridge is a stone arch bridge located in Northumberland that dates to the medieval period. The bridge spans a watercourse and is constructed of dressed stone in a single arch, characteristic of medieval bridge engineering in the region. Its design and construction reflect the importanc…

Andy F / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Standing stone, 700m south west of Middleton South
Standing stone, 700m south west of Middleton South
Scheduled monument · ~2.6 mi

Standing stone, 700m south west of Middleton South, is a prehistoric monument located in Northumberland. The stone stands as evidence of ritual or territorial activity during the Bronze Age or earlier prehistoric periods, though precise dating remains uncertain without excavation. The monument co…

Romano-British settlement and Iron Age defended settlement, 550m north east of Shaftoe Grange
Romano-British settlement and Iron Age defended settlement, 550m north east of Shaftoe Grange
Scheduled monument · ~2.8 mi

This site is a complex of Romano-British settlement and Iron Age defended settlement located approximately 550 metres north-east of Shaftoe Grange in Northumberland. The Iron Age component comprises a defended settlement of prehistoric date, whilst Romano-British occupation layers and structures…

Andrew Curtis / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Standing stone and adjacent round cairn, 760m north east of East Shaftoe Hall
Standing stone and adjacent round cairn, 760m north east of East Shaftoe Hall
Scheduled monument · ~2.9 mi

Standing stone and adjacent round cairn, 760m north east of East Shaftoe Hall, is a prehistoric funerary monument situated in the uplands of Northumberland. The site comprises an upright stone slab positioned adjacent to a substantial round cairn, indicative of Bronze Age burial practices when su…

Andrew Curtis / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Defended settlement on Slate Hill, 300m north west of Bolam Lake
Defended settlement on Slate Hill, 300m north west of Bolam Lake
Scheduled monument · ~3 mi

The defended settlement on Slate Hill, located 300 metres north west of Bolam Lake in Northumberland, is an Iron Age enclosed settlement comprising a univallate hilltop enclosure. The monument is defined by a single defensive bank and ditch system, characteristics typical of Iron Age fortified se…

Phil Thirkell / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Defended settlement, 450m NNW of Ferney Chesters
Defended settlement, 450m NNW of Ferney Chesters
Scheduled monument · ~3.2 mi

A defended settlement, 450m north-north-west of Ferney Chesters, is a prehistoric fortified enclosure situated in Northumberland. The site comprises the earthwork remains of a settlement defended by substantial banks and ditches, typical of Iron Age settlement patterns in northern Britain. Such e…

South Middleton medieval village and open field system
Scheduled monument · ~1.8 miles
Bastle 40m north east of Low Angerton
Scheduled monument · ~2.4 miles
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