Battle of Bosworth Field 1485

About the battle

The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field ( BOZ-wərth) was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England and Wales in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 August 1485, the battle was won by an alliance of Lancastrians and disaffected Yorkists. Their leader Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, became the first Welsh monarch of England from the House of Tudor by his victory and subsequent marriage to the de facto Yorkist heiress, Elizabeth of York. His opponent Richard III, the last king of the House of York, was killed during the battle, the last English monarch to fall in battle. Historians consider Bosworth Field to mark the end of the Plantagenet dynasty, making it one of the defining moments of English history.

Richard's reign began in 1483 when he ascended the throne after his twelve-year-old nephew, Edward V, was declared illegitimate, likely at Richard's instigation. The boy and his younger brother Richard soon disappeared, and their fate remains a mystery.

Visiting the battlefield

The site of the battle is deemed by Leicestershire County Council to be in the vicinity of the town of Market Bosworth. The council engaged historian Daniel Williams to research the battle, and in 1974 his findings were used to build the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre and the presentation it houses. Williams's interpretation has since been questioned. After the battle's quincentenary celebration in 1985, a dispute among historians led many to doubt the accuracy of Williams's theory.

English Heritage, responsible for managing England's historic sites, used both theories to designate the site for Bosworth Field. Without preference for either theory, they constructed a single continuous battlefield boundary that encompasses the locations proposed by both Williams and Foss. The region has experienced extensive changes over the years, starting after the battle. Holinshed stated in his chronicle that he found firm ground where he expected the marsh to be, and Burton confirmed that by the end of the 16th century, areas of the battlefield were enclosed and had been improved to make them agriculturally productive.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Bosworth Field (revision 1380861767), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Battlefield location”, “Physical site”; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; 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.

Nearby battlefields

• Battle of Burton Bridge 1322 · 28 km
• Battle of Burton Bridge 1643 · 28 km
• Battle of Camp Hill 1643 · 34 km
• Battle of Naseby 1645 · 35 km
• Battle of Kings Norton 1642 · 40 km
• Battle of Tipton Green 1644 · 45 km

Browse more: battles in England · Wars of the Roses & late medieval · 15th century battles

Further reading

• Historic England Register of Historic Battlefields: 1000004 (official record)
• Wikipedia: Battle of Bosworth Field
• Wikidata Q55876564