Battle of Neville's Cross 1346
Outline: officially registered battlefield boundary.
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1346 | Historic England NHLE name |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 14th century | derived |
| Period | Norman & medieval | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| War / conflict | Hundred Years' War, Second War of Scottish Independence | Wikidata |
| Registered area | 39.3 ha | Historic England |
| Grid reference | NZ 25736 42534 | Historic England |
| Historic England list entry | 1000024 | Historic England |
| Designated | 1995-06-06 | Historic England |
About the battle
The Battle of Neville's Cross took place during the Second War of Scottish Independence on 17 October 1346, half a mile (800 m) to the west of Durham, England. An invading Scottish army of 12,000 led by King David II was defeated with heavy loss by an English army of approximately 6,000–7,000 men led by Ralph Neville, Lord Neville. The battle was named after an Anglo-Saxon stone cross that stood on the hill where the Scots made their stand. After the victory, Neville paid to have a new cross erected to commemorate the day.
The battle was the result of the invasion of France by England during the Hundred Years' War. King Philip VI of France (r. 1328–1350) called on the Scots to fulfil their obligation under the terms of the Auld Alliance and invade England. David II obliged, and after ravaging much of northern England was taken by surprise by the English defenders. The ensuing battle ended with the rout of the Scots, the capture of their king and the death or capture of most of their leadership.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- OS grid reference: NZ 25736 42534
- Approximate centre of registered area: 54.7762, -1.6015
- Registered area: 39.3 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 Neville's Cross (revision 1380795613), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; 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.
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- Battle of Hexham 1464 · 38 km
Browse more: battles in England · Norman & medieval · 14th century battles