Atlas of Battles

battle, major, early modern

Battle of Marston Moor

Battle of Marston Moor was a battle fought on 2 July 1644 at Long Marston, in what is now United Kingdom. It was part of the English Civil War, which ran from 1642 to 1651. The recorded result: Parliamentarian-Scottish victory. Recorded strength: 24,500 against 17,500.

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The Battle of Marston Moor painting. The battle was on 2 July 1644, during the English Civil War (1642-52) between Royalists and Parliamentarians. It was also a battle of the Wars of the Three Kingdom
The Battle of Marston Moor painting. The battle was on 2 July 1644, during the English Civil War (1642-52) between Royalists and Parliamentarians. It was also a battle of the Wars of the Three Kingdom. John Barker (1811-1886), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought2 July 1644
WhereLong Marston, United Kingdom53.962N, 1.254W
OutcomeParliamentarian-Scottish victory
BelligerentsParliamentarians; Solemn League and CovenantagainstRoyalists
Casualties and losses300 killedand4,000 killed; 1,500 captured
Battlefield todayBattle of Marston Moor battlefieldHistoric England entry 1000020, 658 ha
Part ofEnglish Civil War1642 to 1651

Where it sits in the English Civil War

Siege of Portsmouth, 1642Battle of Kings Norton, 1642Siege of Chichester, 1642First Battle of Middlewich, 1643Battle of Ripple Field, 1643Battle of Sourton Down, 1643Battle of Roundway Down, 1643Siege of Basing House, 1643Battle of Alton, 1643Battle of Boldon Hill, 1644Relief of Newark, 1644Battle of Cheriton, 1644Siege of York, 1644Bolton Massacre, 1644Battle of Cropredy Bridge, 1644Battle of Marston Moor, 1644Battle of Ormskirk, 1644Battle of Weymouth, 1645Battle of Naseby, 1645Siege of Bristol, 1645Battle of Rowton Heath, 1645Battle of Stow-on-the-Wold, 1646Protestant Revolution, 168916421689Battle of Marston Moor, 1644
23 placed engagements of the English Civil War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date2 July 1644
PlaceLong Marston, United Kingdom
53.962N, 1.254W
KindBattle, early modern
Strength24,50017,500
Casualties and losses300 killed4,000 killed; 1,500 captured
Commanders
Battle of Marston MoorBattle of Marston Moor5 km53.962N, 1.254W
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. The dashed outline is the registered battlefield area (Historic England). Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Marston Moor
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 5 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Marston Moor today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-05-13. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 20 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 55 m, 55 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 63% cropland, 28% grassland, 7% tree cover.

cropland: 63%grassland: 28%tree cover: 7%cropland 63%grassland 28%tree cover 7%
west to east, 10.0 km13 to 45 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 43 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1644

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: ENG PARL ARMYDefender: ENG ROY ARMY
Strength27,00017,500
Casualties1,500 (5.6%)6,000 (34.3%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1084
Outcomeattacker won
Duration1 day
Front width2.8 km2.8 km
Attacker advanced1 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 21), public domain, in the CC0 tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold. Figures are the database's estimates, compiled in 1990 from published histories, and may differ from the Wikipedia infobox above.

Historic England registers this as the Battle of Marston Moor battlefield (entry 1000020), 658 hectares, under the Open Government Licence.

Battle of Marston Moor is one of 1,470 engagements of the 17th century in the atlas and one of 695 in present-day United Kingdom.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q326417, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Marston Moor, revision 1383177101, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Battlefield boundary and area from Historic England (Open Government Licence). Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.