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On October 12 King Charles I set out with his Royalist forces from Shrewsbury heading for London. In parallel to Charles' southerly movement, Robert Devereux, the third Earl of Essex with the Parliamentarian forces set out from Worcester, also headed for London. By October 21 they were barely seven miles away from each other.

Perceiving the dangers of a flankA flank is the side of either a horse or a military unit. The parts of a military unit are regularly called the "left flank", "right flank" and " center". The use of these terms came from a time when armies would clash in an open field, but is still useding attack, Charles was persuaded by Prince Rupertfor the city in British Columbia, see Prince Rupert, British Columbia Prince Rupert of the Rhine ( 1619- 1682), soldier and inventor, was a younger son of Frederick V, Elector Palatine and Elizabeth Stuart, and the nephew of King Charles I of England. to deploy on the side of Edge Hill. Essex, unaware of their proximity, drew dangerously close before actually preparing his troops. Battle commenced in the afternoon of the 23rd.

As Charles rode past his forces to raise moraleMorale measures the degree to which people hold to belief. The term applies particularly to military personnel and to members of sports teams. Since at least the time of Karl von Clausewitz' On War maintenance of morale has been considered one of the fund, the Parliamentarian artilleryFor the thrash metal band, see Artillery (band Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. The term also describes ground-based troops with the primary function of manning such weapons. The word as used i opened fire. This started a mutual exchange of artillery fire that lasted for about an hour. At this point Prince Rupert started the battle proper by leading the Royalist cavalryAn army unit consisting of mounted soldiers are commonly known as cavalry . Cavalry fight from the backs of their mounts, which most often are horses or camels. Infantry travelling by horse and fighting on foot are instead known as dragoons. Modern cavalr charge, whereupon a substantial number of the Parliamentarian cavalry defected and rode off to join the Royalists. A swathe was cut through the Parliamentarian infantryInfantry (or Infantrymen are soldiers who fight primarily on foot, using personal weapons. They may arrive on scene in various ways, and are deployed either in formations or as skirmishers and guerillas. In the modern period, the term "infantryman" is res on that flank and they broke and ran. In a critical error, the Royalist cavalry continued in pursuit of the fleeing infantry, leaving the Royalist forces entirely unsupported.

The Parliamentarian cavalry reserve was brought up and the Royalist infantry centre, unprotected by cavalry, was cut apart from the rear. However, the Royalists managed to regroup and form a new defensive line. Essex, seeing that Rupert's cavalry were returning, and also conscious of the gathering darkness, decided to disengage.