Newcastle's Whitecoats & Marston Moor

After a recent visit 'up north' we managed to visit the site of the battle of Marston Moor, just seven miles from York. Contrary to what you may think modern farming and drainage has changed the site although fortunately little or no building work has taken place there so it is easy to imagine the course of the battle. Looking into the events of the battle in more detail the story of Newcastle's Whitecoats famous last stand always grabs your attention. This is one of the reasons why I choose to depict one of Warlord Games plastic regiments as the Whitecoats.

The colour scheme as mainly based on Graham Turner's illustration in the Osprey Campaign 119 book. I may have to tame the painting slightly as the shading/highlighting now seems a bit excessive and random.

Newcastle's Whitecoats - First of many, Pikemen.

Musketeers.

To put playing with toy soldiers into some context, here are a few photographs taken from our visit to the battlefield.

Battlefield Monument, raised by the Cromwell Association in 1936, looking towards the Royalist left flank.

Information board detailing the initial battlefield formations.Note the location of the monument.

View looking roughly north-east just in front of the monument. In the middle distance but on the other side of the hedge is Fox Covert. This is one of the possible locations of the famous last stand by the Whitecoats. Ironically Marston Moor is one of the few battles where too much information is available. A number of accounts vary over details.

All these photographs were taken late evening early August. The battle (1644) started around 7pm 2nd July.

Local Royalist Thomas Leveson (Governor of Dudley Castle) also fought for Prince Rupert. Leveson's horse numbered about 200 men.

I will naturally post more pictures, as and when, along with more detailed information on the regiment in due course.

More detailed information is available from the following site:

Battle Field Trust Marston Moor