(Updated February 2022)
England has been involved in military conflicts worldwide, but did you know that many conflicts were also fought on its home soil? Here are some of the English battle sites that saw battle in days gone by.
(NB You might be interested in a new post we’ve published >>> The Kings And Queens Of England)
1. Myton, North Yorkshire (Battle of Myton Bridge)
In 1319, during the Scottish Wars of Independence, 15,000 Scots crossed into England and attacked Yorkshire. An army hastily assembled by the Archbishop of York sought to defend the county, but they were outnumbered and defeated by the Scots.
2. Battle, East Sussex (Battle of Hastings)
By Unknown, suspected to be commissioned by Matilda of Flanders, Odo of Bayeux or Edith of Wessex – Bayeux Tapestry
In 1066, King Harold’s army fought against William, Duke of Normandy. William attacked with both cavalry and infantry, while the English troops fought mainly on foot behind a wall of shields. For much of the day the English position held firm, but when the Norman troops began to retreat they broke formation and became vulnerable to attack from William’s cavalry.
King Harold himself was famously killed by an arrow to the eye but the fighting continued until all his bodyguard were slain. The decisive Norman victory shaped the future of both England and Europe, and the battle was immortalised in the Bayeux Tapestry.
3. Northallerton, Yorkshire (Battle of the Standard)
The Battle of the Standard was one of two major battles fought in England’s largely forgotten civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda.
On 22nd August 1138, the Scottish King David I crossed the border into England in support of his niece Matilda’s claim to the English throne. He headed an army of 16,000 men, and with King Stephen otherwise engaged in fighting rebels in the south it was left to a locally-raised army to repel the Scots. Although greatly outnumbered, the English won the day, inflicting heavy casualties on their neighbours.
4. Lewes, Sussex (Battle of Lewes)
On 14 May 1264, the downs to the north-west of the town of Lewes were the site of a battle between the army of Henry III and the forces of a number of rebel Barons, led by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester.
After initial success, the Royalists were overwhelmed and retreated to Lewes Castle. It was from there that Henry’s son, Prince Edward, eventually escaped and raised another army in a bid to overthrow de Montfort.
5. Evesham, Worcestershire (Battle of Evesham)
Evesham was the site of the decisive battle in the Second Barons’ War.
On the morning of 4 August 1265, de Montfort met Prince Edward in battle once again, and this time the odds were in the prince’s favour. The royal army was at least twice the size of de Montfort’s rebel forces and the battle became a rout. Both de Montfort and his son Henry were killed, along with about 4,000 of his men.
6. Maldon, Essex (Battle of Maldon)
A marauding army of Vikings sailed up the River Blackwater in the year 991. After a fierce battle against the Saxons, the invaders won but paid the price with heavy casualties. A statue of Byrhtnoth, leader of the Anglo-Saxons in Maldon, stands in the town as a tribute to the battle.
By Ken Eckert
7. Boroughbridge, Yorkshire (Battle of Boroughbridge)
The long dispute between King Edward II and his cousin, Thomas, Earl of Lancaster came to a bloody end at the Battle of Boroughbridge on 16 March 1322.
Following defeat at Burton on Trent, Lancaster’s rebels were retreating north when they were met by Royalist forces under the command of Sir Andrew de Harcla, Warden of Carlisle. The Royalists outnumbered the rebels four to one, and Thomas was captured and later executed.
8. Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland (Battle of Halidon Hill)
