Grenville refused to recognise Hopton's command and was arrested for insubordination and imprisoned on St Michael's Mount.
[1] Hopton's army, numbering 3,000 horse and 2,000 foot, advanced into Devon and occupied Torrington, where defensive works were erected.
In heavy rain and with night falling, the Parliamentarians ran into Royalist dragoons and fighting broke out to the east of Torrington.
The Parliamentarian commander, Sir Thomas Fairfax, decided to wait until morning to reconnoitre the Royalists' defences.
A stray spark ignited the Royalist magazine in Torrington church, where eighty barrels of gunpowder were stored.