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Battle of Hedgeley Moor
Part of the Wars of the Roses
Plan of the battle of Hedgeley Moor (Battles and Battlefields in England, 1896)
Date 25 April 1464 Location Hedgeley Moor in Northumberland, England Result Yorkist victory
Belligerents
House of York	House of Lancaster
Commanders and leaders
Baron Montagu	Duke of Somerset Baron Ros Baron Hungerford Sir Ralph Percy †
Strength
6,000	5,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Battle of Hedgeley Moor, 25 April 1464, took place during the Wars of the Roses. It was fought at Hedgeley Moor, north of the villages of Glanton and Powburn in Northumberland, between a Yorkist army led by John Neville, Lord Montagu and a Lancastrian army led by Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. The battle ended in a Yorkist victory.

Background

At the beginning of 1464, after setbacks in 1463, the Lancastrians were hoping that the Welsh Marches and the West Country would rise in their support. The Yorkists wanted to remove the threat of Scottish invasion, by reaching an agreement with the Scots. The English parliament was due to meet at York on 5 May to discuss terms with a party from Scotland, but a burst of Lancastrian activity in Northumberland and North Yorkshire meant that it would be difficult for the Scottish party to travel safely to York. Lord Montagu was therefore sent north with a small force to escort them to York.

The Duke of Somerset tried to ambush Montagu near Newcastle but the latter was able to evade this attempt. He continued his journey northwards, gathering troops as he went. When Montagu reached Hedgeley Moor he had an army of five or six thousand men. There he met a Lancastrian army of five thousand men commanded by Somerset. The Lancastrian army also included Lords Ros and Hungerford and Sir Ralph Percy.

Battle

The battle began with the normal exchange of archery between the two armies. Montagu (John Neville), then advanced across the 1,500 yards of moorland, only to be forced to halt and readjust his lines when the Lancastrian left flank, under Lords Ros and Hungerford (some 2,000 men), faltered, broke, and scattered.

The whole Lancastrian force gave way when the Yorkists clashed with their line. Pushed back by weight of numbers all but a few of the remaining Lancastrians fled the field. Sir Ralph Percy stayed with his household retainers and made a brave last stand. However, deserted by the rest of the army, including all the other commanders, he was soon slain. As he died he is said to have uttered the enigmatic words: ‘I have saved the bird in my bosom’.

Aftermath

The defeat and dispersal of the Lancastrian forces made it possible for the Scottish negotiators to be safely escorted to York, where a peaceful solution between Edward IV's Yorkists and the Scots was successfully negotiated. With regard to the Lancastrians, this battle was shortly followed by the decisive Battle of Hexham, on 15 May 1464.

A square sandstone pillar stands near the site of the battle, and is known as ‘Percy’s Cross’. It can be found on the east side of the A697, a couple of miles north of the village of Powburn. The road at this point is following the line of the Roman road known as the Devil's Causeway.

There are two ballads commemorating the battle, The Battle of Hedgley Moor by Frederick Sheldon, and The Legend of Percy's Cross by James Service.

References

1. Armstrong, Graham, Rowland Curiosities of Northumberland 1970 p.63 ISBN 0900409274

• Sadler, John. Battle for Northumbria, 1988, Bridge Studios, ISBN 0-9512630-3-X

55°28′16″N 1°55′26″W / 55.471°N 1.924°W / 55.471; -1.924

v t e Wars of the Roses
Red Rose of Lancaster White Rose of York Tudor rose Family tree
Key figures	Monarchs Henry VI Edward IV Edward V Richard III Henry VII Lancaster Tudor Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset John Beaumont, Viscount Beaumont Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley James Butler, Earl of Ormond John Butler, Earl of Ormond John Clifford, Baron Clifford John Courtenay, Earl of Devon Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter John Neville, Baron Neville John Neville, Marquess of Montagu Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick Thomas Neville, Bastard of Fauconberg Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland Thomas Ros, Baron Ros Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham Thomas Stanley, Earl of Derby George Stanley, Baron Strange William Stanley George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury Andrew Trollope Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron Clifford James Tuchet, Baron Audley Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke Margaret Beaufort Owen Tudor Edward Woodville, Lord Scales York Anne Neville, Queen of England John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln Thomas FitzGerald, Earl of Desmond William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke William Hastings, Baron Hastings John Howard, Duke of Norfolk Francis Lovell, Viscount Lovell John Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury Sir Thomas Neville William Neville, Earl of Kent Sir Richard Herbert Edmund Plantagenet, Earl of Rutland George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence Humphrey Stafford, Earl of Devon Margaret of York Richard of York
Events	St Albans (First) Loveday (1458) Blore Heath Ludford Bridge Sandwich Siege of the Tower of London Northampton Worksop Wakefield Mortimer's Cross St Albans (Second) Ferrybridge Towton Piltown Hedgeley Moor Hexham Edgcote 1470 Lincolnshire Rebellion Losecoat Field Readeption of Henry VI Barnet Tewkesbury Siege of London Buckingham's rebellion Bosworth Field Stafford and Lovell rebellion Stoke Field
See also	Act of Accord Issue of Edward III of England Titulus Regius Princes in the Tower Bonville–Courtenay feud Percy–Neville feud Neville–Neville feud Perkin Warbeck Battle of Deal Second Cornish uprising of 1497
Briefly joined the Lancastrians. Briefly joined the Yorkists. Defected from the Yorkist to the Lancastrian cause. Initially a Yorkist who later supported the Tudor claim. Initially a Lancastrian who later supported the Tudor claim. Category

• 1464 in England
• Battles of the Wars of the Roses
• Military history of Northumberland
• Conflicts in 1464