In the battle, the Royalists loyal to King Charles led by the Earl of Newcastle soundly defeated the Parliamentarians commanded by Lord Fairfax.

During the first half of 1643, the Royalists led by the Earl of Newcastle and the Parliamentarian Army of the North under overall command by Lord Fairfax fought for control of Yorkshire and clashed several times including battles at Leeds, Seacroft Moor, and Wakefield.

On 22 June, Newcastle and the Royalists captured Howley Hall, the fortified mansion of Parliamentary supporter Lord Savile, in Batley.

As the Parliamentarians continued to advance, they came to the edge of the open moor and forced the Royalists to retreat back to the position of their artillery battery.

[1][2] After defending themselves for a while against cavalry attacks, the Parliamentarians moved into the open field and began to charge the Royalists, aiming to overrun their line and end the battle.

However, historians have acknowledged that the impact of the battle, left the Parliamentarians with only Hull as a northern stronghold forcing them into a religious and political alliance with Scotland.

[2] The site of the battle is high ground in Adwalton (now commonly considered to be part of Drighlington, Leeds) near the border with Bradford, which is now in an area of rural-urban fringe, (map reference SE2228).

[2] There is a display dedicated to the battle at Bolling Hall, Bradford, a museum which lies a few miles from the site and was itself a Royalist base.