To continue reading this article, subscribe to the Stray Ferret for as little as £1 a week
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
04
Aug 2022
Commemorations marking the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Boroughbridge will end this month with the unveiling of a permanent battlefield trail.
The trail will guide people around sites where fighting took place in 1322.
The Battle of Boroughbridge was fought on March 20, 1322, between supporters of King Edward II and a rebellious group of barons led by Thomas, Earl of Lancaster. It ended in defeat for Lancaster, who was the king’s cousin and one of the wealthiest people in England.
A series of events have taken place this year marking the anniversary.
In March, Viscount Hereford, an ancestor of Humphrey de Bohun, who was killed in fighting across the original bridge over the River Ure, took part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Battle Cross in Aldborough.
Medieval combat by 3 Swords re-enactment group and medieval walks also took place on the anniversary weekend.
The trail will tell the story of Boroughbridge's turbulent past.
On Saturday, August 13, 3 Swords, who make regular appearances at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, will return to give a demonstration of their arms and equipment at Hall Square in Boroughbridge at 10am before a parade to St James’s Square.
At 11am, Boroughbridge mayor Sean Hynes will unveil one of a series of display boards, which form the Battle of Boroughbridge interpretation trail.
The boards will be sited at either end of the bridge over the River Ure, on St James’s Square where Lancaster was captured after seeking sanctuary in the original church, on Aldborough Road and near the lock on the canal at Milby.
Wreath laying at the battle cross in Aldborough in March.
When Lancaster’s army, which probably amounted to a total of 3,000 men at arms with their followers, arrived at Boroughbridge, Harclay was already in possession of the bridge and the ford, which proved to be a strategic advantage.
The royal army numbered 4,000 men. At the ford its pikemen were deployed in a schiltron formation, a defensive shield, which they had learned from the Scots in the Scottish Wars. The king’s bowmen created mayhem against Lancaster’s cavalry.
The rebels divided into two columns, led by the Earl of Hereford and Roger de Clifford, of Skipton Castle, who attacked the bridge on foot, and Lancaster, who attempted a cavalry charge at the ford. Both ended in chaos.
One chronicle relates how Hereford was killed by a spearman, who thrust into him from below the bridge. Clifford also suffered serious injuries. Heavy archery fire from the bowmen forced Lancaster’s force to retreat before reaching the ford.
Lancaster negotiated an overnight truce with Harclay, but by morning many of the rebels had deserted. When the Sheriff of York arrived to reinforce the king’s army, Lancaster had to surrender.
He was taken to his home at Pontefract Castle where he was sentenced to death, originally to be hung drawn and quartered, but he was given a merciful beheading.
Thirty of Lancaster’s followers were executed in towns around England, including Roger de Clifford, Second Lord of Skipton, who was hung from Clifford’s Tower in York, which now bears his name.
Edward made Harclay the first Earl of Carlisle for his service at Boroughbridge. Only a year later Harclay was accused of treachery for making a peace treaty with Robert the Bruce without Royal approval.
Harclay was sentenced to death at a hearing in Carlisle and he was hung, drawn and quartered. His head was delivered to King Edward at Knaresborough Castle before being hung on London Bridge. Parts of his body were displayed in Carlisle, Newcastle, Bristol and Dover.
0