Battle of Heavenfield 634
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Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 634 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 7th century | derived |
| Period | Early medieval, Anglo-Saxon & Viking | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| Participants | Kingdom of Gwynedd, Kingdom of Northumbria | Wikidata |
About the battle
The Battle of Heavenfield was fought in 633 or 634 between a Northumbrian army under Oswald of Bernicia and a Welsh army under Cadwallon ap Cadfan of Gwynedd. The battle resulted in a decisive Northumbrian victory. The Annales Cambriae (Annals of Wales) record the battle as Bellum Cantscaul in 631. Bede referred to it as the Battle of Deniseburna near Hefenfelth.
Visiting the battlefield
The road east of Chollerford that runs alongside the Roman Wall (B6318) has a wooden cross standing alongside it to mark the site of the Battle of Heavenfield. On the hill to the north of the cross stands St Oswald's Church, Heavenfield, marking the spot where Oswald was believed to have raised his battle standard. The site is around 2.8 miles (4.5 km) east of the River North Tyne.
Another possibility is near Devil's Water, as per Max Adams; Bede names the site as Denisesburn, now known to be close to Devil's Water, per a 1233 charter to Thomas of Whittington discovered in 1864 (Tom Corfe, 1997).
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 55.0200, -2.1000
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Heavenfield (revision 1370442747), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Site today”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).