Numbers: Rebel: cavalry: uncertain; infantry c. 6000; Royal:
uncertain but outnumbering rebels at least 3:1.
Losses: Royal: few; Rebel: heavy, but the documented 7500-10,000 is
improbable
Grid Reference: SP039455 (403950,245530)
OS Landranger map: 150
OS Explorer map: 205
The
battle of Evesham was fought on the morning of the 4th August 1265. The
army of Simon de Montfort had probably not long entered Evesham when, from
lookouts on the tower of the Abbey, news came of the approach of the royal
army under Prince Edward. Taking the captive king Henry III with him, and
despite being outnumbered more than three to one, de Montfort rode out
with his cavalry, with his infantry in support, to engage the enemy.
Less than a mile to the
north of the town, somewhere on the summit of Greenhill, de Montfort found
the royal forces deployed in three divisions. He appears to have made a
bold cavalry attack, perhaps in the hope of breaking through. At first
some of the royal forces retreated, but then there was a counter attack
and de Montfort’s army, or at least his knights, were soon encircled.
Unusually for a medieval battle, no quarter was to be given and de
Montfort and most of his main supporters were cut down. It appears likely
that the infantry had already broken and begun to flee, but if not then
they were soon routed. The rebel forces were pursued
mercilessly back into the town, the killing continuing right through the
streets and even in the abbey itself. Though peace was not finally
restored across the country for another two years, the battle of Evesham
had completely broken the rebellion, for almost all of its major
supporters had been intentionally killed on the field.
Evesham is one of the few
early battles for which a genuinely new primary source has been recently
identified, one that has transformed our understanding of the event. This
is now a battle where the broad character and location of the action is
clearly understood and where the location of the action is fairly tightly
constrained by the physical topography. Though there has been 20th century
development in the area, a substantial part of the battlefield still
remains undeveloped. This makes Evesham one of the few early medieval
battles where a visit to the battlefield can be very clearly focused and a
relatively secure outline of the battle provided. For the same reason it
is one where there appears a high potential for detailed reconstruction of
the historic terrain and investigation of the battle archaeology. Although
parts of the battlefield are accessible, a new scheme is being developed
which should greatly improve that access and provide the first on site
interpretation.
