Tadcaster and Bradford

Parliament's leading commander in the north was Lord Fairfax, who was proclaimed leader of the Yorkshire Parliamentarians in September 1642. After local militia and irregular "club-men" succeeded in beating off a Royalist attempt to seize Bradford in October, Fairfax set about recruiting and training an army in the area. At the end of November, he occupied Tadcaster with 900 men, while his son Sir Thomas Fairfax occupied Wetherby with 300 foot and about 40 horse. Although the Fairfaxes controlled important crossings over the River Wharfe and seemed in a strong position to threaten York, they were greatly outnumbered by the Earl of Newcastle's army. On 6 December, Newcastle attacked Tadcaster. Short of ammunition and outnumbered, Lord Fairfax was unable to hold the town and fell back to Selby the following day. Newcastle moved on to capture Pontefract, thus cutting off the Parliamentarian towns in the West Riding of Yorkshire from the strongholds of Selby and Hull. A Royalist cavalry detachment commanded by Sir John Henderson swept south through Nottinghamshire and secured Newark, which remained an important Royalist garrison throughout the First Civil War.

As the Earl of Newcastle advanced south, the Royalist Sir William Savile seized the West Riding towns of Leeds and Wakefield without opposition. However, Savile met with resistance when he attempted to storm Bradford on 18 December. Reinforced by volunteers from the surrounding region, the citizens of Bradford drove back the Royalists and forced Savile to retreat to Leeds. Although Bradford was unfortified and of little strategic value, it became a focal point for Parliamentarian support in the West Riding. Sir Thomas Fairfax made a daring night march through Royalist-held territory with a detachment from Selby to reinforce Bradford on 23 December 1642.