Historical Background To The Battle.
By March 1643 the English Civil War between the Royalists and Parliamentarians was only a few months old.
Following their first clashes of the previous autumn and a period of relative inactivity over the winter, both sides now looked to consolidate their strategic position in the provinces. To this end, although his own position at Oxford remained insecure, King Charles 1 was prepared to send the Earl of Northampton and a small force from the outpost at Banbury to try and retrieve the situation in Staffordshire, where Lichfield was being besieged.
Northampton was too late to save Lichfield, but he was able to effect a junction with the North Midland Royalist forces of Colonel-General Henry Hastings. Together they mustered some 1,200 men, nearly all mounted troops (horse).
In the wake of his success at Lichfield, the Parliamentarian commander, Sir John Gell, aimed to capture Stafford. On 19th March he advanced from Lichfield with about 750 men, having arranged to meet Sir William Brereton, who was bringing a similar sized force from Cheshire to Hopton Heath, 5km (3 miles) from Stafford. The Earl of Northampton, however, had arrived at the town the day before and, hearing that the enemy was assembling on Hopton Heath, marched out to meet them.
Battlefield Site Location.
Hopton Heath lies 5km to the northwest of Stafford. It reaches a height of 137mOD around Heathyards Farm and is the highest point in the ground between the River Sow, on which Stafford stands, to the south, and the River Trent, just over1km to the northeast. There is a steep escarpment between Hopton Heath and the Trent, at the bottom of which sits the villages of Salt and Weston c. 80mOD. The village of Hopton itself shelters in the lee of the Heath, at its southwestern edge.
The battlefield is defined by the main Stafford to Uttoxeter road, the A518, on the east side, a minor road, Within Lane, on the southwest side and a path, Brick Kiln Lane to the north. About a quarter of the site is occupied by the Ministry of Defence, whilst the remainder is arable fields.