Editing Battle of Edgehill (section)

==Background==
When it appeared to [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]] that no agreement with Parliament over the government of the kingdom was possible, he left [[London]] on 2 March 1642 and headed for the [[north of England]]. Both Parliament and King realised that armed conflict was inevitable, and prepared to raise forces. Parliament enacted a [[Militia Ordinance]], by which it claimed authority over the country's [[Trained Bands]], while from his temporary capital of [[York]], Charles rejected Parliament's [[Nineteen Propositions]] and issued [[Commissions of Array]], directing the [[Lord Lieutenant]] of each county to raise forces for the King.

The King then attempted to seize the port of [[Kingston-upon-Hull]] where arms and equipment previously collected for the [[Bishops' Wars]] had been gathered. In the [[Siege of Hull (1642)|Siege of Hull]], the Parliamentarian garrison defied the King's authority and drove his forces away from the city. In early August the King moved south, to [[Lincoln, Lincolnshire|Lincoln]] and [[Leicester]], where he secured the contents of the local armouries. On 22 August, he took a decisive step by raising the royal standard in [[Nottingham]], effectively declaring war on Parliament.

The [[English Midlands|Midlands]] were generally Parliamentarian in sympathy, and few people rallied to the King there, so having again secured the arms and equipment of the local trained bands, Charles moved to [[Chester]] and subsequently to [[Shrewsbury]], where large numbers of recruits from [[Wales]] and the [[Welsh Marches|Welsh border]] were expected to join him. (By this time, there was conflict in almost every part of England, as local commanders attempted to seize the main cities, ports and castles for their respective factions.)

Having learned of the King's actions in Nottingham, Parliament dispatched its own army northward under the [[Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex|Earl of Essex]], to confront the King. Essex marched first to [[Northampton]], where he mustered almost 20,000 men. Learning of the King's move westwards, Essex then marched north-westwards towards [[Worcester, England|Worcester]]. On 23 September, in the first clash between the main Royalist and Parliamentarian armies, Royalist cavalry under [[Prince Rupert of the Rhine]] routed the cavalry of Essex's vanguard at the [[Battle of Powick Bridge]]. Nevertheless, lacking infantry, the Royalists abandoned Worcester.