CHAPTER XV.
HOW CROMWELL RECONNOITRED THE CITY FROM RED HILL.
No attempt was made by either of the Royalist commanders stationed onthe western side of the Severn to repair Massey's disastrous defeatat Upton. The first tidings received of the conflict by Dalyell werefrom the wounded general himself, and it was then too late to act.Montgomery did not dare to quit his post at Powick, nor to detach Keithwith any troops. Early next day, Upton Bridge having been sufficientlyrepaired to allow them to pass over it, Lambert was joined byFleetwood, Ingoldsby, and Harrison, with their regiments of horse andfoot; so there were now ten thousand Parliamentary soldiers at Upton.The Royalist troops encamped at Old Hills, on Newland-green, and atLewthorn, drew closer to Worcester, and a new camp was formed betweenUpper Wick and Pitmarston.
No one profited more by Lambert's victory than Judge Lechmere. Notonly did he escape payment of the fine imposed upon him by Massey,which became due on the very day when that general was worsted, buthe got rid of his obnoxious guests, and avoided all further painsand penalties, for if Massey had not been compelled to beat a hastyretreat, he would assuredly have carried him off as a prisoner. As soonas he could venture forth with safety, the judge rode over to Upton tocongratulate Lambert on his victory. At the same time, he begged him tomake Severn End his head-quarters. The Parliamentary general willinglyaccepted the offer, and was installed that night in the room whichhis adversary had quitted in the morning, with the full intention ofreturning to it.
Next day, the other generals who had just crossed the river wereestablished at Severn End, and treated by the judge with the greatesthospitality. Whatever personal annoyance he had endured, Judge Lechmerecould not complain that his house had been damaged or plundered by theCavaliers; and this was more than could be said of Captain Hornyold'sresidence--Blackmore Park--which was stripped by the rapaciousRepublicans, Colonels Goff and Gibbons. Madresfield Court was summonedby Fleetwood to surrender, but the commander of the garrison refused,and the siege was postponed.
Lambert's victory was in the highest degree satisfactory to Cromwell.The seizure of the pass at Upton Bridge was part of the Lord General'splan, but it had been accomplished more expeditiously than he hadanticipated. Though some miles off on the south of the city with themain body of his army, he was in constant communication with hisgenerals, and directed all their movements. On the 28th of August, aswe have previously mentioned, he made White Lady Aston, distant aboutfive miles from Worcester, his head-quarters; and on that evening hewas joined by Colonel Lilburn, who had arrived with his victorioustroops from Wigan, in Lancashire.
The old manor-house of White Lady Aston, which originally belonged toa nunnery of the Benedictine order, situated in the northern suburbsof Worcester, was now occupied by Mr. Symonds, and by this gentleman,a thorough-going Republican, Cromwell was heartily welcomed. Almostmidway between this place and Red Hill, until quite recently, had stoodanother fine old manor-house, belonging to Sir Robert Berkeley, and itwas in this large mansion, the position of which perfectly suited him,that the Lord General meant to fix his quarters; but he learnt from hisfriend Mr. Symonds that the mansion no longer existed--it having beenburnt down only three days previously by the Scottish Presbyterians,because Sir Robert Berkeley, its owner, when one of the Justices of theKing's Bench in the time of the late king, had given his opinion forship money.
Judge Berkeley, we may remark, had been very hardly used. Impeachedfor high treason, he was fined twenty thousand pounds, deprived ofhis office, and imprisoned in the Tower. His house had been plunderedby the Parliamentarians in the first siege of Worcester, and nowit was burnt down by the soldiers of the sovereign, whose cause hewarmly supported. Nevertheless, his loyalty was unimpaired. It is tothis high-minded and charitable man that Worcester owes the BerkeleyHospital.
As Cromwell rode through Spetchley Park, on his way to Red Hill, earlynext morning, he stopped to look at the blackened ruins of the fine oldmansion, with which he had been well acquainted, and though not easilymoved, he was touched by its melancholy aspect. A pleasant spot it hadbeen, but it was now an utter ruin--nothing being left standing exceptthe stables.
"These Scots," he remarked to Dighton, an inferior officer of his lifeguards, who was in constant attendance upon him, "have done worse thanthe men of Ephraim did, when they threatened to burn down Jephtha'shouse upon him with fire. 'Tis a mean and dastardly revenge, and theywill pay for it. Those stables are large," he said, observing themcarefully; "and the rooms connected with them must be commodious. Iwill pass the night here. Hold thy peace, Dighton. I know what thouwouldst say--but I care not if the rooms have been occupied by grooms."
Dighton gave the necessary orders while the Lord General rode slowlyalong the noble avenue of elm-trees that led to the place where the oldmansion once stood. Within Spetchley Park, which was charmingly wooded,and contained a fine sheet of water, the main body of the Parliamentaryarmy was encamped. Next came Lord Grey of Groby's brigade, and the campcontinued, at intervals, to Red Hill, where Lilburn's regiment was nowstationed.
As Cromwell approached Red Hill, he heard the sound of cannon, and,quickening his pace, soon learnt that the guns of Fort Royal had openedupon Lilburn's troops while they were taking up a position on theheights.
As no damage was done, Colonel Lilburn did not return the fire. "Letthem waste their ammunition if they will," he said to his engineers."They have not too much to spare."
Cromwell was of the same opinion.
"It would be useless to cannonade them from these heights," he said toLilburn. "But I will soon get near enough to reach them."
Accompanied by a regiment of musketeers and a train of artillery, hethen rode on to Perry Wood, which, as we know, faced Fort Royal, and,in order that the movement might not be discovered by the Royalists, heshaped his course through the Nunnery Wood, so designated because ithad once belonged to the old convent we have alluded to in describingWhite Lady Aston, and entered Perry Wood, where his men could behidden. He then gave orders that during the night a strong breastworkshould be raised on the south of the hill, and a battery of heavy gunsmounted, which would command Fort Royal.
This done, he returned as he came, attended only by a small escort; buthe halted for a short time at the Nunnery Farm to see what the enemywere about. The engineers on Fort Royal had not made any discoveryof the troops concealed in Perry Wood, and were still firing awayuselessly at Lilburn's camp on Red Hill.
Throughout the day the Lord General remained with Lilburn, and togetherthey reconnoitred the enemy from various points of Red Hill, examiningthe new lines of fortifications, which surprised them by their extent,and being much struck by the formidable appearance of the Castle Mount.But they had troops as well as fortifications to examine--the main bodyof the king's army being now posted on this side of the city.
This was what they beheld. From Friars'-gate on the east to thesouth-west angle of the fortifications near the river, the city wassurrounded by troops. Lesley's brigade had descended from King's Hill,and now occupied the Blockhouse fields. This Scottish cavalry seemedto give Cromwell little uneasiness, and he smiled as he pointed themout to Lilburn, but he did not regard with equal indifference the largeforce under the Duke of Hamilton, which occupied the London-road, andcommanded the approach to the Sidbury-gate. Nor did either of themthink lightly of the regiments respectively commanded by the Duke ofBuckingham, Lord Wilmot, Colonel Legge, and Colonel Lane. Lilburnthought General Middleton's brigade likely to give him trouble.Middleton's troops were posted near the river, on the spot whereDiglis's Bowling-green was subsequently laid out.
Such was the disposition of the royal forces on the south andsouth-east sides of Worcester when the two Parliamentary leadersexamined them from Red Hill. Cromwell looked upon the troops asalready scattered and consumed. But Lilburn was struck by theirgallant appearance, and did not refuse them the tribute of a soldier'sadmiration.
Boscobel; or, the royal oak: A tale of the year 1651 Page 18
