Hopton Heath 1643
When Charles had marched out of Nottingham in Aug 1642 the Parliamentarians were able to step in and capture Nottingham and Derby.

In Dec 1642, Henry Hastings was sent by Charles to retrieve the situation. He was able to garrison Stafford, Lichfield and Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
Hopton Heath lies just outside Stafford to the north-east.
In early March, the Parliamentarians were able to capture Lichfield and moved north-west to capture Stafford. To protect Stafford, the King sent the Earl of Northampton from Banbury.
Mar 19 1500 Parliamentarians under Sir William Brereton had deployed on rough ground full of rabbit holes (hazardous for cavalry charges) by the time the 1200 Royalists arrived in the afternoon under Northampton.
The battle started with an exchange of artillery fire. The Parliamentary guns were well dug in and their musketeers and dragoons were well-protected by walls and hedges. Their shooting however was less effective than the Royalist's, often aiming too high. This exchange continued for about half an hour. The Royalists had 'Roaring Meg' a large 12-foot long gun which fired  29 lb ball.
The Earl of Northumberland led the first cavalry charge which drove back most of the opposing horse and captured eight enemy cannons. The footsoldiers however stood firm and the skirmishing continued until night fell. Dragoons fought until they ran out of powder and bullets. Neither side was able to completely rout the other. The parliamentarian troops left under cover of darkness, sinking their remaining cannons in pools to avoid them falling into enemy hands. The Earl of Northumberland was killed when his horse was shot from under him. He was surrounded and killed by a halberd blow to the head.
The Royalists claimed victory as they were left holding the ground.