Thanks to its long, violent and bloody history, England is awash with battlefields, from the Roman invasion to the Jacobite Rebellions of the 1710s and 1740s. It is thought there could be as many as 450 battlefields in England (and more throughout the UK as a whole), which is not bad for a small nation the size of New York State.
Now the search is on to locate some of them.
English Heritage and Battlefields Trust wish to to find the locations of around 100 battles.
The £105,000 project will also see the creation of a "neighbourhood watch" scheme, to report on threats such as planning applications or illegal metal detecting.
The project will take in battles from 43AD, at Medway, in Kent, where British tribes were defeated by a large invading Roman force, to a clash between government forces and Jacobite rebels at Clifton Moor, Cumbria, in 1745.
Among battles likely to be included in the custodian scheme is Sheerness, in Kent, where, in 1667, a Dutch force landed and succeeded in capturing the town, supported by a fleet of battleships offshore. The likely site of the fighting is now a supermarket.
Search on for 'lost' battlefields of England
They are the bloody fields on which the nation's history was forged.
By Jasper Copping
04 Apr 2009
The Telegraph
The Battle of Towton, 1461, during the Wars of the Roses between the Lancastrians and the Yorkists is the bloodiest ever battle to have taken place on English soil
But, over the centuries, many of England's battlefields have faded into obscurity, often lost under concrete.
Now, a major new project is under way to find the country's "lost" battlefields, from the Roman invasion to the Jacobite Rebellion in the eighteenth century, in order to preserve what is left of them.
The Battlefields Trust and English Heritage have launched the scheme to try to establish the exact locations and details of around 100 battles and to compile an online register of sites, giving their topography and history.
The £105,000 project will also see the creation of a "neighbourhood watch" scheme, to report on threats such as planning applications or illegal metal detecting.
Local "custodians" are to be appointed, who will also have responsibilities to raise their battle's profile and, where possible, to boost tourism by organising history walks and erecting plaques and signs. In some cases interpretative centres could be built.
No definitive list of English battlefields exists but it is thought there could be as many as 450.
The Trust has already drawn up a list of 77 using a shorter register kept by English Heritage, Ordnance Survey maps, and other historical sources.
The aim is to have custodians at 100 battle sites within two years.
Although some battle sites on the list are known and recorded - including celebrated sites like Hastings (1066) and Bosworth (1485) - many are not.
Frank Baldwin, chairman of the Trust, said: "This is to preserve our heritage, whether it is in the form of monuments, the landscape itself, or in archaeological evidence that may not yet even have been found.
"We have a complicated and bloody history for a small country and the history is all around us. Our knowledge is only really scratching the surface at the moment.
"Some of these sites are all but forgotten. These battles are fascinating parts of our history but most people have never heard of them.
"They are lost sites and lost stories which we need to recover. In some cases, we don't even know the exact sites of the battle.
"Even the sites we think we know about, we can't be sure they are actually in the right place and we don't know who owns them and who is responsible for them.
"The project will help us pin down where many of these battles were, what happened and what we need to do to preserve them."
The project will take in battles from 43AD, at Medway, in Kent, where British tribes were defeated by a large invading Roman force, to a clash between government forces and Jacobite rebels at Clifton Moor, Cumbria, in 1745.
Among battles likely to be included in the custodian scheme is Sheerness, in Kent, where, in 1667, a Dutch force landed and succeeded in capturing the town, supported by a fleet of battleships offshore. The likely site of the fighting is now a supermarket.
The Battle of Naseby, 1646, in which the Roundheads defeated the Royalists
The project will also focus on the Civil War battle at Tresco, in the Isles of Scilly, in 1651, and St Albans, site of two battles in the Wars of the Roses, the opening skirmish in 1455 and a second fight in 1461.
Mr Baldwin said the project was needed to gather information about sites and to ensure they were sufficiently protected.
Advances in archaeological techniques mean new research at the sites could uncover fresh evidence about the battles.
"We have to preserve these lost sites because we can really extend our knowledge," Mr Baldwin added. "There has been a real revolution in battlefield archaeology in the last few years.
The Battle of Culloden, 1746. The British governmental forces defeated the Scottish Jacobites
"The evidence is still there but we have got to look after the sites, because as further improvements occur, we are going to be able to learn more and more."
A report last year by English Heritage found that eight of the best-known battlefields are currently at "high risk".
Russell Walters, from the organisation, said: "The new project is about engaging these new local groups to write guides about their sites, encouraging the authorities to put up interpretive signs and raising them up the agenda for local authorities.
"The idea is to make them better known and better loved. That will reduce the risks to them."
The Second Battle of St Albans, 1461, actually took place within the town itself
LIST OF FAMOUS BRITISH BATTLES, 81-1940
These are some of the battles that took place in Britain betwen the years 81 and 1940. The list shows the year each battle took place, the name (location) of the battle and the combatants that fought it. The first-named combatant of each battle was the winner of that battle (except for the one stalemate). This list does not include sea battles and battles fought by the British outside of Britain. Some of these battles took place during civil wars.
The colour light blue represents battles against the Vikings, dark green depicts the Norman Invason, red represents the battles of The Anarchy, blue represents those of the Scottish War of Independence, purple is the battles of the Wars of the Roses, light green are those battles of the War of the League of Cambrai, orange represents the battles of the English Civil War and brown represents those of the Jacobite Risings.
81 - Mount Craupius: Romans vs. Scots
500 - Mount Badon: Britons vs. Saxons
632 - Hatfield Chase: Mercia (Saxon kingdom) and Wales vs. Northumbria (Saxon kingdom)
825 - Ellandun: Wessex (Saxon kingdom) vs. Mercia
838 - Hixton Down: English vs. Danes
850 - Aclea: English vs. Danes
871 - Ashdown: English vs. Danes
875 - Edington: English vs. Vikings
878 - Exmoor: English vs. Danes
878 - Chippenham: English vs. Vikings
892 - Aldershot: English vs. Danes
892 - Benfleet: English vs. Danes
910 - Tettenhall: English vs. Danes
918 - Tempsford: English vs. Danes
934 - Brunanbuhr: English vs. Scots
954 - Stainmore: English vs. Norwegians
991 - Maldon: Danes vs. English
1016 - Ashingdon: Danes vs. English
1066 - Stamford Bridge: English vs. Norwegians
1066 - Gate Fulford: Norwegians vs. English
1066 - Hastings: Normans vs. English
1138 - The Standard: English vs. Scots
1141 - Lincoln: King Stephen vs. Queen Maud
1153 - Malmsbury: King Stephen vs. King Henry (stalemate)
1264 - Lewes: Barons vs. Royalists
1265 - Evesham: Prince Edward vs. Earl Simon
c.1292 - Dunbar: English vs. Scots
1297 - Stirling Bridge: Scots vs. English
1298 - Falkirk: English vs. Scots
1314 - Bannockburn: Scots vs. English
1333 - Halidon Hill: English vs. Scots
1387 - Radcot Bridge: Lords Appellant vs. Royalists
1388 - Otterburn: Scots vs. English
1402 - Hamildon Hill: English vs. Scots
1455 - St. Albans: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1460 - Northampton: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1460 - St. Albans: Lancastrians vs. Yorkists
1460 - Wakefield: Lancastrians vs. Yorkists
1461 - Towton: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1461 - Mortimer's Cross: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1464 - Hexham: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1464 - Hedgeley Moor: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
c.1468 - Edgecote: Lancastrians vs. Yorkists
1470 - Losecoat Field: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1471 - Tewkesbury: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1471 - Barnet: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1485 - Bosworth: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1513 - Flodden: English vs. Scots
1542 - Solway Moss: English vs. Scots
1543 - Ancrum: French vs. Scots vs. English
1547 - Pinkie: English vs. Scots
1642 - Edgehill: Royalists vs. Roundheads
1642 - Brentford: Royalists vs. Roundheads
1642 - Turnham Green: Roundheads vs. Royalists
1643 - Adwalton Moor: Royalists vs. Roundheads
1643 - Newbury: Royalists vs. Roundheads
1643 - Roundway Down: Royalists vs. Roundheads
1643 - Chalgrove Field: Royalists vs. Roundheads
1643 - Lansdowne: Royalists vs. Roundheads
1644 - Marston Moor: Roundheads vs. Royalists
1644 - Cropedy Ridge: Royalists vs. Roundheads
1644 - Newbury: Roundheads vs. Royalists
1644 - Selby: Roundheads vs. Royalists
1645 - Langport: Roundheads vs. Royalists
1646 - Naseby: Roundheads vs. Royalists
1648 - Preston: Roundheads vs. Royalists
1650 - Dunbar: English vs. Scots
1651 - Worcester: English vs. Scots
1653 - Winnington Bridge: Roundheads vs. Royalists
1688 - Sedgmoor: Royalists vs. Protestants
1689 - Killiecrankie: Scots Highlanders vs. Scots Lowlanders
1715 - Sherriffmuir: British governmental forces vs. Scottish Jacobites
1746 - Culloden: British governmental vs. Scottish Jacobites
1940 - Britain: British vs. Germans
telegraph.co.uk
Now the search is on to locate some of them.
English Heritage and Battlefields Trust wish to to find the locations of around 100 battles.
The £105,000 project will also see the creation of a "neighbourhood watch" scheme, to report on threats such as planning applications or illegal metal detecting.
The project will take in battles from 43AD, at Medway, in Kent, where British tribes were defeated by a large invading Roman force, to a clash between government forces and Jacobite rebels at Clifton Moor, Cumbria, in 1745.
Among battles likely to be included in the custodian scheme is Sheerness, in Kent, where, in 1667, a Dutch force landed and succeeded in capturing the town, supported by a fleet of battleships offshore. The likely site of the fighting is now a supermarket.
Search on for 'lost' battlefields of England
They are the bloody fields on which the nation's history was forged.
By Jasper Copping
04 Apr 2009
The Telegraph
The Battle of Towton, 1461, during the Wars of the Roses between the Lancastrians and the Yorkists is the bloodiest ever battle to have taken place on English soil
But, over the centuries, many of England's battlefields have faded into obscurity, often lost under concrete.
Now, a major new project is under way to find the country's "lost" battlefields, from the Roman invasion to the Jacobite Rebellion in the eighteenth century, in order to preserve what is left of them.
The Battlefields Trust and English Heritage have launched the scheme to try to establish the exact locations and details of around 100 battles and to compile an online register of sites, giving their topography and history.
The £105,000 project will also see the creation of a "neighbourhood watch" scheme, to report on threats such as planning applications or illegal metal detecting.
Local "custodians" are to be appointed, who will also have responsibilities to raise their battle's profile and, where possible, to boost tourism by organising history walks and erecting plaques and signs. In some cases interpretative centres could be built.
No definitive list of English battlefields exists but it is thought there could be as many as 450.
The Trust has already drawn up a list of 77 using a shorter register kept by English Heritage, Ordnance Survey maps, and other historical sources.
The aim is to have custodians at 100 battle sites within two years.
Although some battle sites on the list are known and recorded - including celebrated sites like Hastings (1066) and Bosworth (1485) - many are not.
Frank Baldwin, chairman of the Trust, said: "This is to preserve our heritage, whether it is in the form of monuments, the landscape itself, or in archaeological evidence that may not yet even have been found.
"We have a complicated and bloody history for a small country and the history is all around us. Our knowledge is only really scratching the surface at the moment.
"Some of these sites are all but forgotten. These battles are fascinating parts of our history but most people have never heard of them.
"They are lost sites and lost stories which we need to recover. In some cases, we don't even know the exact sites of the battle.
"Even the sites we think we know about, we can't be sure they are actually in the right place and we don't know who owns them and who is responsible for them.
"The project will help us pin down where many of these battles were, what happened and what we need to do to preserve them."
The project will take in battles from 43AD, at Medway, in Kent, where British tribes were defeated by a large invading Roman force, to a clash between government forces and Jacobite rebels at Clifton Moor, Cumbria, in 1745.
Among battles likely to be included in the custodian scheme is Sheerness, in Kent, where, in 1667, a Dutch force landed and succeeded in capturing the town, supported by a fleet of battleships offshore. The likely site of the fighting is now a supermarket.
The Battle of Naseby, 1646, in which the Roundheads defeated the Royalists
The project will also focus on the Civil War battle at Tresco, in the Isles of Scilly, in 1651, and St Albans, site of two battles in the Wars of the Roses, the opening skirmish in 1455 and a second fight in 1461.
Mr Baldwin said the project was needed to gather information about sites and to ensure they were sufficiently protected.
Advances in archaeological techniques mean new research at the sites could uncover fresh evidence about the battles.
"We have to preserve these lost sites because we can really extend our knowledge," Mr Baldwin added. "There has been a real revolution in battlefield archaeology in the last few years.
The Battle of Culloden, 1746. The British governmental forces defeated the Scottish Jacobites
"The evidence is still there but we have got to look after the sites, because as further improvements occur, we are going to be able to learn more and more."
A report last year by English Heritage found that eight of the best-known battlefields are currently at "high risk".
Russell Walters, from the organisation, said: "The new project is about engaging these new local groups to write guides about their sites, encouraging the authorities to put up interpretive signs and raising them up the agenda for local authorities.
"The idea is to make them better known and better loved. That will reduce the risks to them."
The Second Battle of St Albans, 1461, actually took place within the town itself
LIST OF FAMOUS BRITISH BATTLES, 81-1940
These are some of the battles that took place in Britain betwen the years 81 and 1940. The list shows the year each battle took place, the name (location) of the battle and the combatants that fought it. The first-named combatant of each battle was the winner of that battle (except for the one stalemate). This list does not include sea battles and battles fought by the British outside of Britain. Some of these battles took place during civil wars.
The colour light blue represents battles against the Vikings, dark green depicts the Norman Invason, red represents the battles of The Anarchy, blue represents those of the Scottish War of Independence, purple is the battles of the Wars of the Roses, light green are those battles of the War of the League of Cambrai, orange represents the battles of the English Civil War and brown represents those of the Jacobite Risings.
81 - Mount Craupius: Romans vs. Scots
500 - Mount Badon: Britons vs. Saxons
632 - Hatfield Chase: Mercia (Saxon kingdom) and Wales vs. Northumbria (Saxon kingdom)
825 - Ellandun: Wessex (Saxon kingdom) vs. Mercia
838 - Hixton Down: English vs. Danes
850 - Aclea: English vs. Danes
871 - Ashdown: English vs. Danes
875 - Edington: English vs. Vikings
878 - Exmoor: English vs. Danes
878 - Chippenham: English vs. Vikings
892 - Aldershot: English vs. Danes
892 - Benfleet: English vs. Danes
910 - Tettenhall: English vs. Danes
918 - Tempsford: English vs. Danes
934 - Brunanbuhr: English vs. Scots
954 - Stainmore: English vs. Norwegians
991 - Maldon: Danes vs. English
1016 - Ashingdon: Danes vs. English
1066 - Stamford Bridge: English vs. Norwegians
1066 - Gate Fulford: Norwegians vs. English
1066 - Hastings: Normans vs. English
1138 - The Standard: English vs. Scots
1141 - Lincoln: King Stephen vs. Queen Maud
1153 - Malmsbury: King Stephen vs. King Henry (stalemate)
1264 - Lewes: Barons vs. Royalists
1265 - Evesham: Prince Edward vs. Earl Simon
c.1292 - Dunbar: English vs. Scots
1297 - Stirling Bridge: Scots vs. English
1298 - Falkirk: English vs. Scots
1314 - Bannockburn: Scots vs. English
1333 - Halidon Hill: English vs. Scots
1387 - Radcot Bridge: Lords Appellant vs. Royalists
1388 - Otterburn: Scots vs. English
1402 - Hamildon Hill: English vs. Scots
1455 - St. Albans: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1460 - Northampton: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1460 - St. Albans: Lancastrians vs. Yorkists
1460 - Wakefield: Lancastrians vs. Yorkists
1461 - Towton: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1461 - Mortimer's Cross: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1464 - Hexham: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1464 - Hedgeley Moor: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
c.1468 - Edgecote: Lancastrians vs. Yorkists
1470 - Losecoat Field: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1471 - Tewkesbury: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1471 - Barnet: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1485 - Bosworth: Yorkists vs. Lancastrians
1513 - Flodden: English vs. Scots
1542 - Solway Moss: English vs. Scots
1543 - Ancrum: French vs. Scots vs. English
1547 - Pinkie: English vs. Scots
1642 - Edgehill: Royalists vs. Roundheads
1642 - Brentford: Royalists vs. Roundheads
1642 - Turnham Green: Roundheads vs. Royalists
1643 - Adwalton Moor: Royalists vs. Roundheads
1643 - Newbury: Royalists vs. Roundheads
1643 - Roundway Down: Royalists vs. Roundheads
1643 - Chalgrove Field: Royalists vs. Roundheads
1643 - Lansdowne: Royalists vs. Roundheads
1644 - Marston Moor: Roundheads vs. Royalists
1644 - Cropedy Ridge: Royalists vs. Roundheads
1644 - Newbury: Roundheads vs. Royalists
1644 - Selby: Roundheads vs. Royalists
1645 - Langport: Roundheads vs. Royalists
1646 - Naseby: Roundheads vs. Royalists
1648 - Preston: Roundheads vs. Royalists
1650 - Dunbar: English vs. Scots
1651 - Worcester: English vs. Scots
1653 - Winnington Bridge: Roundheads vs. Royalists
1688 - Sedgmoor: Royalists vs. Protestants
1689 - Killiecrankie: Scots Highlanders vs. Scots Lowlanders
1715 - Sherriffmuir: British governmental forces vs. Scottish Jacobites
1746 - Culloden: British governmental vs. Scottish Jacobites
1940 - Britain: British vs. Germans
telegraph.co.uk
Last edited: