Portal:Yorkshire

The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the First English Civil War. The combined forces of the Scottish Covenanters under the Earl of Leven and the Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester defeated the Royalists commanded by Prince Rupert of the Rhine and the Marquess of Newcastle. After their defeat the Royalists effectively abandoned the north of England, and lost access to the continent.

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 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 had 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 moorland 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. (read more . . . )

Hedley Verity (18 May 1905 – 31 July 1943) was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 and 144 wickets in 40 Tests at an average of 24.37. Named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1932, he is regarded as one of the most effective slow left-arm bowlers to have played cricket. Never someone who spun the ball sharply, he achieved success through the accuracy of his bowling. On pitches which made batting difficult, particularly ones affected by rain, he could be almost impossible to bat against. (read more . . . )

Sheffield United Football Club is an English association football club based at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, who currently compete in the EFL Championship. Founded in 1889, they played only friendlies during their first year in existence before being elected to the Midland Counties League for the 1890–91 season. The football committee (who ran the club at the time) were unhappy with the quality of the Midland Counties League and so resigned in the summer of 1891. However, United were refused entry into The Football League amidst an acrimonious dispute with local rivals The Wednesday who had lobbied against their application. Instead United joined the newly formed Northern League which mainly consisted of teams from the North East of England, resulting in their nearest away fixture being at Darlington, some 85 miles away. Sheffield United again applied for election to The Football League the following year, this time being successful, and were admitted to the new Second Division in 1892. Despite the club's desire to be part of the Football League some committee members felt it may not last and so United remained with the Northern League for one more season, thus competing in two leagues concurrently during the 1892–93 season. Since that time United have remained in either the Football League, or at times the Premier League (during the 1992–93, 1993–94 and 2006–07 seasons), although changing fortunes have meant that they have competed in all four of the top divisions in England at some stage. Sheffield United played their inaugural league fixture as part of the Midland Counties League on 13 September 1890 against the now defunct Burton Wanderers. Since that game they have faced 115 different sides in league football with their most regular opponent having been Blackburn Rovers, against whom United have played on 142 occasions since their first meeting on 15 January 1894. As such United have registered more wins against the Lancashire side than any other, triumphing on 55 occasions. The most league defeats suffered by United have come against West Midlands team Aston Villa who have beaten them on 59 occasions, while the most draws have been registered against cross-city rivals Sheffield Wednesday with whom they have shared the points in 39 games. The most recent new league opponents for Sheffield United have been AFC Wimbledon, who they first met on 10 September 2016 in a League One fixture. (Full article...)

• ... that six Pre-Raphaelite artists designed the set of stained glass panels (pictured) illustrating scenes from the story of Sir Tristram and la Belle Isoude as told in Sir Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur?
• ... that Anne Brontë's Agnes Grey discusses both issues of the fair treatment of governesses and the ethical claim of animals to human protection?
• ... that the Kirklees Priory in West Yorkshire is the supposed site of Robin Hood's grave?