gate and had they but known it they could have pushed it open and been into the town without difficulty. However they struck the gates with an axe which made a hole in it and then fired a musket through the hole. This aroused the lax Royalist guard who called out the Royalist garrison. The Parliamentarian assault team quickly withdrew. They then loosely invested the north of the city. In doing so they hoped to prevent Byron and his convoy leaving the city, which could be taken by Essex's main force in a day or so. Prince Rupert was sent to escort Byron and his convoy onwards from Worcester. He attacked Fiennes's Parliamentary force at the Battle of Powick Bridge (23 September 1642), so allowing Byron's wagon-train to leave Worcestershire under Rupert's protection. Essex arrived in front of Worcester the next day with opposition his forces marched in. Essex and his army treated Worcester as a hostile city, officially for letting the Royalists in without a fight, but also due to their frustration at losing the convoy of silver and the Battle of Powick Bridge. Essex remained in Worcester for about a month before leaving with the bulk of his army for Warwickshire and on to the battle of Edgehill (23 October 1642). With the advance of the Royalist army from Edgehill towards London, most of Worcestershire was retaken by the Royalists, and Thomas Essex, the newly appointed Parliamentary governor, along with his garrison abandoned Worcester. Worcester was reoccupied by the Royalists in November 1642 and Sir William Russell was appointed governor. Worcester would remain in Royalist hands until 1646. Once the Royalists had a secure hold on the city steps were taken to repair the walls and to fortify them against 17th century artillery. A sconce was built on the summit of Castle Hill, with cannons placed on platforms lower down the hill. Bastions were added to some of the walls and the ditch was extended. On the southern side of the city earthworks and ditches were dug outside the medieval walls. The low hill to the south east that is now called Fort Royal was a problem for the city defenders, because from that location a besieger could set up artillery in a sconce and bombard the city walls. It was defiantly incorporated in to the city defences for the Battle of Worcester of 1651, and it was