The surrender of the City of York to the Roundheads

Crofts was a pupil of Meissonier, and established a reputation through his skilful evocations of scenes from the Napoleonic era and the English Civil War. The fall of the city of York following the battle of Marston Moor in July 1644, where Prince Rupert of the Rhine was defeated by the Parliamentarians led by Sir Thomas Fairfax, was a shattering blow for King Charles I as with it he lost control of the North.