Towton is in Yorkshire, twelve miles from York between the villages of Towton and Saxton. The battle took place on Palm Sunday, 29 March 1461, during a period of bitterly cold weather between up to 100,000 Yorkist and Lancastrian forces.
The Battle of Towton, the Bloodiest Battle Fought on British Soil
Historians estimate there were around 28,000 casualties at the end of the battle, which took place over ten hours. This huge casualty figure would have accounted for around 5% of England’s total population. A large proportion of the deaths and injuries came not from hand-to-hand combat, but from injuries sustained whilst fleeing the battlefield; many men perished in a stream at the end of the field.
The Opposing Sides in the Battle of Towton
The Yorkist and Lancastrian forces in the battle had been engaged in the War of the Roses since 1455 and supported Richard Duke of York and King Henry VI respectively.
On the eve of the battle, there was a fierce snow storm, which must have made conditions even more miserable for the two opposing sides, camped out and waiting for the fighting to begin.
The Lancastrian Retreat at the Battle of Towton
It was the arrival of fresh reinforcements around midday, in the shape of men sent by the Duke of Norfolk, which proved decisive. These men, arriving ready to fight soldiers who were exhausted after many hours of fighting, managed to push the Lancastrians across the field which became known as Bloody Meadow and they fled the battle.
Many historians believe that almost as many men were killed in retreat as had perished in the main fighting. Bridges broke across a stream known as cock beck, throwing many into the icy water and desperate men trampled over the bodies of their dead comrades in their hurry to escape the fighting. The day ended with the death of thousands and the loss of almost half the English peerage from both sides of the battle.
Despite the Yorkist victory, the Battle of Towton was not to mark the end of the War of the Roses. King Henry and his mother Margaret fled north but his cause lived on through the continuation of the war.
Towton Battlefield
Towton Battlefield, between the villages of Towton and Saxton, in North Yorkshire, is marked with a stone cross which stands immediately beside the field of battle. Further down a track, is an information board erected by the Towton Battlefield Society, which gives details of how the field would have looked during the conflict and where the two forces lined up and fought.
Source
Boardman, Andrew, Hardy, Robert The Battle of Towton [Sutton Publishing, 2000]
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