Village History

 The History of Long Marston

The Village History

The Parish of Long Marston includes the villages of Angram, Hutton Wandesley and Long Marston and is located in the Deanery of New Ainsty. The villages of Long Marston and Hutton Wandesley are mentioned in the Doomsday Book.

All Saints’ Church dates from 1180 with much of its fabric remaining including the main doorway credited to the Norman period, a late Norman Arcade to the North Aisle and original windows. The West Tower, which dates from the 15th Century, contains three bells. Major changes undertaken by the Victorians in 1869 include the East Window, entitled ‘Resurrection’, which is the work of Hardman. The Transept was re-ordered in 2005 to create a multi-functional room that can be used for meetings, display facilities and education resources together with a disabled toilet and small kitchen area. Sir Nikolaus Pevsner described the Church as a ‘significant building’.

The Church is open regularly for worship.
Under the Auspices of All Saints’ – Long Marston Parish History Group, Exhibitions with a specific theme, are held in the Church, usually on the second Saturday of each month between April and October.   Details of these openings can be obtained from www.longmarstonhistory.org.uk.  For many years work has been undertaken to discover and preserve the Archives of the Parish.  These Archives together with Census, Parish and other related records will also be on view at the Open Days.

During the English Civil War the Battle of Marston Moor took place near to the village on the 4th July 1644.   This was the largest battle ever fought on British soil and is considered by some historians to be the second most decisive battle of that War. Each year the Sealed Knot holds a service of commemoration at the Monument.   This service is held on the Sunday nearest to the date of the Battle and the Church will be open on this occasion.

1642 – 1646 | The Battle of Marston Moor

The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the First English Civil War of 1642–1646.
The combined forces of the Scottish Covenanters under the Earl of Leven and the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester defeated the Royalists commanded by Prince Rupert of the Rhine and the Marquess of Newcastle.

During the summer of 1644, the Covenanters and Parliamentarians had been besieging York which was defended by the Marquess of Newcastle. Prince Rupert had gathered an army which marched through the northwest of England to relieve the city, gathering fresh recruits on the way. The convergence of these forces made the ensuing battle the largest of the Civil Wars.

On 1 July, Rupert outmanoeuvred the Scots and Parliamentarians to relieve the city. The next day, he sought battle with them even though he was outnumbered. He was dissuaded from attacking immediately and during the day both sides gathered their full strength on Marston Moor, an expanse of wild meadow west of York.

Towards evening, the Scots and Parliamentarians themselves launched a surprise attack. After a confused fight lasting two hours, Parliamentarian cavalry under Oliver Cromwell routed the Royalist cavalry from the field and annihilated the remaining Royalist infantry.

After their defeat the Royalists effectively abandoned the north of England. They lost much of the manpower from the Northern counties which were strongly Royalist in sympathy, and access to the continent of Europe through the ports on the North Sea coast, and were then restricted to Wales and the southwest of England. Although they partially retrieved their fortunes with victories later in the year in the south of England, the loss of the north was to prove a fatal handicap the next year, when they tried unsuccessfully to link up with the Scottish Royalists under Montrose.