Dacre's Cross on Towton Battlefield

This D post should really come under the letter T, but as I have another topic lined up for that letter, I hope you’ll forgive me for writing about the Battle of Towton here. Dacre’s Cross, supposedly marking the spot where the Lancastrian Lord Dacre was killed, has become the main battlefield memorial.

Of all the battle sites I have visited, Towton is the most evocative. It is open farmland, with the topography little changed from the 15th century, so it’s easy to see where the two opposing armies fought.

The battle took place on March 29th, 1460. Earlier in the year, the Lancastrians had defeated the Yorkists at St. Albans, but failed to follow up their victory, and made a strategic retreat to the north of England.

The Yorkists followed, and the two armies met about 12 miles south of York, on Palm Sunday.

Although this photo probably qualifies as the most boring photo ever taken(!), the small dot on the horizon (in the centre of the photo) is a lone hawthorn tree which marks the extent of the right flank of the Yorkist army. The photo is taken from very near to Dacre's Cross.

Looking the other way, this photo, taken from the Yorkist front line, shows the view northwards to the Lancastrian front line. The green field on the right of the road is where most of the fighting took place and the arrow points to the site of Dacre's cross.

From early morning, the two armies adjusted their ranks. It is said that they could hear the bells from York Minster (about 12 miles away). They were drawn up facing each other, separated only by a shallow valley – and it started to snow. The wind was blowing the snow into the faces of the Lancastrians, so at about 9 am the Yorkist archers moved forward and the wind added range to their arrows. The Lancastrians arrows fell short, but the Yorkists retrieved the fallen arrows, and fired them back at the enemy!

Both armies then moved forward and the real fighting began, with massive slaughter. It’s said that 28,000 men died at Towton, the single largest loss of life ever to occur on English soil.

By the middle of the afternoon, the Lancastrian line began to break, and thousands started to flee. It soon became a rout, as they struggled down the steep slope to the river in the snow and slush. Those who slipped were crushed underfoot by the pursuing Yorkists. Even if they made it to the river, many were drowned in the icy waters which had become a torrent because of the snow. At one point there were so many bodies in the river, it was possible to get from one side to the other by walking over them. The slope down to the river (shown in the photo) is still known as ‘Bloody Meadow’, and the river itself ran red with blood for many miles.

It was a decisive victory for the Yorkists. The Lancastrian royal family escaped to Scotland, and Edward, Duke of York, who had already been accepted as king, returned to London for his coronation as Edward IV.

And this is the pub, a short distance south of the battlefield, which is said to occupy the site of an earlier inn, where Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick stayed the night before the battle. The pub sign shows the Neville coat of arms, and the name ‘Crooked Billet’ derives from the Yorkshire words ‘Greukt Billets’, and may be a link to Warwick's badge i.e. a ragged or crooked staff. It's famous for its 'Yorky Porky' - roast pork and gravy in the largest portion of 'Yorkshire Pudding' I've ever had!