The Armies Approach, 14 June,
3am to 10am
The New Model Advances
The Parliamentarian army had quartered itself around Guilsborough, billeted in neighbouring villages and encamped in the soggy fields. At 3am, having received the report of the clash with the enemy, they moved off towards Market Harborough. From the south, the heights upon which Naseby stands made the village and, at that time in a landscape with no trees, its windmill clearly visible. The vital requirement was to meet at the desired place and a clear rendezvous landmark was needed. Naseby windmill, the site of which is today crowned with the Obelisk monument, served the purpose.
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Naseby windmill stood on fairly level ground sloping slightly from north to south with its northern horizon 800 yards away where the land drops sharply to the rippled valley floor before rising to East Farndon, four miles away. The ridge at Naseby where the road turns east for Kelmarsh is 632 feet above sea level while that at East Farndon, to the rear of the Royalists position, stands at 518 feet. Fairfax's army was out of Rupert's sight, and vice-versa. The road to Market Harborough for wheeled vehicles lay through Kelmarsh, not down the steep hillside on the Clipston route. Along that road the commanders rode forward to see what they could see. From the edge of the ridge-top the view of the Royalist army across the valley was clear.
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Fairfax and Cromwell aimed to bring the royalists to battle and defeat them, but it was clear that only a fool would try to attack them in this place, just north of Naseby and the decision was taken to move to the more suitable terrain to the west, by way of Mill Hill, to overlook Broadmoor.
The Royalists Move to Dust Hill
On the far side of the valley things were not so clear. It might have been that Rupert and his officers had a glimpse of the enemy horse on the forward edge of the ridge, but it was in any case necessary to verify intelligence reports of the enemy's presence, and that for the purpose the scoutmaster, Francis Ruce, was sent forward. Given the lay of the land, it is clear that the only way Ruce could locate the Parliamentarian army was to scale the slope on which Fairfax and Cromwell stood, at which point he would have been in amongst his adversaries. Maybe he should have done so, but he reported back 'that he had been two or three Miles forward, and could neither discover or hear of the Rebels.
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Rupert decided to look for himself and took a party of horse forward. It was written soon after '.he sees their horse marching up upon ye side of ye Hill.' It seems that the New Model Army was moving towards Mill Hill while the scouting party had found the boggy area at the foot of the slope. It was entirely impractical to withdraw at this stage, the only course was to move west as well and call for the king to move.
While the New Model Army had a fairly simple stroll across the hill-top towards their new position, the Royalists had to come south before wheeling west to make for the flag placed on Moot Hill, east of Sibbertoft, to show the line of march towards Dust Hill. Meanwhile the wheeled traffic, the artillery and baggage trains, had to make their way along two sides of the triangle, down the hill to Clipston and then turning right to climb towards Sibbertoft along the narrow road between Nobold closes.
