Battle of Worcester

‘…The circumstances are familiarly known, to the reader of English history, of the march of the Earl of Derby, in I65l, with a corps from the Isle of Man for the service of the King; his joining the royal army on the eve of the battle of Worcester ; his flight and imprisonment at Chester, after that signal defeat ; and his trial and execution at Bolton in Lancashire, by the officers of the Parliament, on the I5th October of that year.

Immediately afterwards, Colonel Duckenfield, who commanded at Chester on behalf of the Parliament, proceeded with an armament of ten ships, and a considerable military force, for the reduction of the Isle of Man…’

The Battle of Worcester, which is mentioned in the introduction to Walter Scott’s “Peveril of the Peak” (text above), took place on September 3^rd, 1651.  The result was a victory for Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell.  James Stanley, the 7^th Earl of Derby, was executed well after the efforts of Charles II to regain his throne had failed.  Not as fortunate in hiding as Charles, Stanley was captured near Nantwich, tried for treason, and executed on October 15^th.