Battle of Boroughbridge 1322
Outline: officially registered battlefield boundary.
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1322 | Historic England NHLE name |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 14th century | derived |
| Period | Norman & medieval | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| War / conflict | Despenser War | Wikidata |
| Participants | Kingdom of England | Wikidata |
| Registered area | 28.4 ha | Historic England |
| Grid reference | SE 39851 67186 | Historic England |
| Historic England list entry | 1000003 | Historic England |
| Designated | 1995-06-06 | Historic England |
About the battle
The Battle of Boroughbridge was fought on 16 March 1322 in England between a group of rebellious barons and the forces of King Edward II, near Boroughbridge, north-west of York. The culmination of a long period of antagonism between the King and Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, his most powerful subject, it resulted in Lancaster's defeat and execution, ending the Despenser War. This allowed Edward to re-establish royal authority and hold on to power for almost five more years.
Though not a part of the Wars of Scottish Independence, the battle is significant for its employment of tactics learned in the Scottish wars in a domestic, English conflict. Both the extensive use of foot soldiers rather than cavalry and the heavy impact caused by the longbow represented significant steps in military developments.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- OS grid reference: SE 39851 67186
- Approximate centre of registered area: 54.0993, -1.3921
- Registered area: 28.4 hectares
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Boroughbridge (revision 1370434911), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Battlefield data © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.