Thursday 4 April 2013

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!

 
 

24 comments:

  1. I will visit this place for sure and even the inn :)

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  2. Fascinating once again, Paula. So gruesome and vivid imagining the men crossing the river by climbing over all those dead bodies.

    Cattitude and Gratitude

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  3. Paula, I missed the past two days due to completing edits on a manuscript and getting the book cover sorted, but I caugh up today. I especially loved the photos and stories of all the castles, many of which I saw while living in Hull. Your "river of blood" reminded me of the same thing near Chattanooga during the Civil War. Seems the worst carnage in both countries has happened when our citizens fought themeslves! I am enjoying these posts so much. I'll be back.

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  4. Ah, what a tale of the Bloody Meadow. I always find such large expanses of open war field like this so hard to imagine. To have the courage to just march across - no cover - where did they ever come up with the fortitude? I'm enjoying the education I'm getting and look forward to the rest of the month!

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  5. great info. I really like the field photo.. not boring at all. :)

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  6. what arresting photos. And always love your historical moments.

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  7. Clever lady - finding a use for the letter d! Fascinating, historically interesting post, touching on much I did not know.

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  8. It's definitely worth seeing, Claudia.

    Cathy - standing in Bloody Meadow, it was only too easy to imagine it.

    You're right, Linda, civil wars always have a devastating effect.

    Amy, on the Towton battlefield you can really imagine the two armies marching towards each other, and then all the hand-to-hand fighting.

    Thanks, Daphne and Sandra :-)

    LOL, Margaret, the alternative ws dungeons - or drowning in Malmsey wine!

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  9. Interesting. I can only imagine the loss of life from these battles, and the prolonged suffering of those taken by infection later.


    Rose

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  10. Oooh, love the shot of the lone tree. That is more evocative for me than the cross. I am learning a little something each day, and that is brilliant!

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  11. Rose, you're right. The casualties weren't just those killed on the battlefield, but those who died later from their injuries.

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  12. Gill, so glad you like my 'boring' photo. Once you realise what it is, you can imagine the Yorkist troops stretched out along that ridge. I have a lot of affection for that lone hawthorn tree!

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  13. Very cool as always!

    Sylvia
    http://www.writinginwonderland.blogspot.com

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  14. You have a way of making battles sound interesting--while I love history, I've never appreciated the actual battle accounting. But this is a fascinating blog topic, Paula. Well done!

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  15. Thanks, Jen. I was never into military or battle history until we started our tour of battlefields, but then it became fascinating to work out the movements of the two sides in the various battles.

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  16. So fascinating. Last year we holidayed with my son(an early medievalist). We stayed in s Cornwall, quite near to the border with Devon. He took as around and about, while he looked at and photographed and absorbed the atmosphere of several supposed battle sites (the earlier you go the more doubt there is about where these events took place, due to name changes etc). We have a similar set of photos to you, of strangely unexceptional tracts of landscape! Great fun!

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  17. I always thought it would be fun to watch a civil war reenactment. Seeing this battle mocked fought would be interesting too.

    http://joycelansky.blogspot.com/2013/04/atoz-d-driving-prank.html

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  18. Fascinating. You would have made a great history teacher. Your tales would have kept a class enraptured.

    Kathy
    http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com

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  19. Loved how you showed the boundaries - not boring photos at all.
    Enjoyed this.

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  20. Awesome topic, Paula! Love all your castle pictures and your lone Hawthorne tree! I visited York in 1982 and thought it was the loveliest place.

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  21. I quite like those photos of such desolate land!

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  22. I love the idea of the old Inn being a pub now. I'm sure there are lots of stories to be told inside! You know, I've never had Yorkshire pudding. What's wrong with me! ;)

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  23. Gilli - it is quite fun getting excited about a large open field, isn't it?

    Joyce, I think there is a Towton battlefield reenactment group but I've not seen them in action.

    So funny, Kathy, as I WAS a history teacher for 25 years!

    Thanks, Suzy!

    Claire - York will be my topic for the letter Y.

    Rosemary - the desolate land takes on new meaning once you know what happened there, doesn't it?

    Linda - the Yorky Porky was the biggest Yorkshire Pudding I've ever had!

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  24. I am learning so much from your posts!! Again, you'll just have to hire on as my tour guide when I make it over there!! :D

    Cheers, Jenn

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