BATTLE OF HEXHAM

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At the end of 1463 the Duke of Somerset returned to the Lancastrian faction and set in train a more agressive policy of consolidating support for King Henry VI on the margins of the kingdom, in Northumberland and Wales. He faced the Yorkists in a pitched battle, only to suffer defeat at the hands of Lord Montagu at Hedgley Moor on 25 April 1464. Nevertheless, the premature departure from the field of all but Sir Ralph Percy's contingent ensured that the majority of the small Lancastrian army was preserved intact. After retreating to Tynedale, Somerset prepared to challenge Montagu once again. The Lancastrians camped near Hexham, inviting attack. On 14 May, a 4,000 strong Yorkist army left Newcastle-upon-Tyne to give battle the following day. It is hard to distinguish where the battle took place and the nature of the battle as written sources for the battle are scanty and do not tell us a great deal. Two sites have been put forward as the battlefield. The traditional location is on the Hexham Levels whilst the second location offered is Swallowship Hill. In addition, documentary sources also offer conflicting views on the nature of the battle. One source accounts for a battle which was keenly contested whilst a second source states that the Lancastrians fled as soon as they saw the enemy. However, what is certain is that the Lancastrians, again, suffered defeat at the hands of Lord Montagu's Yorkist army. Most of the Lancastrian leaders were taken and the Yorkists' executioners dispatched Somerset, Roos and Hungerford. The Battle of Hexham brought to a close a clear phase of the Wars of the Roses. The partisans of the House of Lancaster by themselves lost the ability to challenge the rule of King Edward IV.

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[Name NY 95216100] Hexham Levels Site of BATTLE [G.T.]
A.D.1463. (1)

[NY 96076210] The Battle of HEXHAM which brought to an end the four
year warfare between HENRY VI and EDWARD IV, was fought, according
to various sources, sometime between 1462 and 1464, but an official
source, the Year Book de TERMINO PASCHAE, 4 Ed.IV, which describes
the site, gives the exact date of the battle as 15th May 1464.

The site as marked by the O.S. is described by an early writer
(J.H. RAMSEY)(c) as being "...a very bad battlefield with one
entrance and no outlet", and it is hardly possible that this is the
correct scene of the battle; instead it seems that SWALLOWSHIP HILL,
which is described by the writers T.C. ANSTEY & J. GIBSON (a), and
also suits the description of WORCESTER and the Year Book, is
tactically the far superior and more probably the correct site.

C.1778 it was reported that the battle happened at a place called
LENNOLDS... and that the lines of entrenchment are still to be seen
(b) (2)

The lines of entrenchment (b) are possibly the old river banks at NY
956622. There is nothing to be seen either at the O.S. site (1) or
at Swallowship Hill. (3)

Hedley thinks the battle took place to the NE, on the lower ground
around Dilston [NY 9763] (4)

"Three weeks later they [the Lancastrians] had collected their last
levies, and Somerset had assumed command. On May 15th [1464] they
were arrayed on the Linnels, three miles from Hexham, and challenged
Montagu to another fight. But when he closed with them, and they saw
his superior numbers, all melted away from Somerset's banner, save
500 lances." (5)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

6" 1920-46

( 2a) Archaeologia Aeliana : or miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity

6 Page(s)6

( 2b) Gentleman's Magazine

1778 Page(s)507

( 2c) General reference

Ramsay J. 1892. Lancaster and York, 303

( 2) Archaeologia Aeliana : or miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity

30 (1952) Page(s)57-68

( 3) Field Investigators Comments

13/06/1956

( 4d) Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments

( 4) Field Investigators Comments

23/03/1960

( 5) General reference

Oman C. Political History of England, 417

(6) General reference

English Heritage. 1995. Battlefield Report: Hexham 1464

(7) David Smurthwaite 1984 The Ordnance Survey complete guide to the battlefields of Britain

Page(s)110

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