Battle of Old Byland 1322
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1322 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 14th century | derived |
| Period | Norman & medieval | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| War / conflict | First War of Scottish Independence | Wikidata |
About the battle
The Battle of Old Byland (also known as the Battle of Byland Abbey and the Battle of Byland Moor) was a significant encounter between Scots and English troops in Yorkshire in October 1322, forming part of the Wars of Scottish Independence. It was a victory for the Scots, the most significant since Bannockburn, and came close to resulting in the capture of King Edward II. Historians long placed the fighting to the east, at Scawton Moor between Rievaulx and Byland abbeys, but archaeological and topographical study by the Battlefields Trust has concluded that the main action was actually fought some distance away at Sutton Bank, where a medieval track climbed the escarpment of the Hambleton Hills.
Visiting the battlefield
Byland remained comparatively little studied until archaeological survey work, beginning in 1996 and coordinated by the Battlefields Trust, revised the long-accepted location of the fighting from Scawton Moor to Sutton Bank. In October 2022, on the battle's 700th anniversary, the North York Moors National Park Authority unveiled a memorial stone and interpretation panel near the top of Sutton Bank, unveiled by Adam Bruce, a descendant of Robert the Bruce.
Harry Pearson's book-length study, Clash of Crowns: The Battle of Byland 1322, first published in 2022 and reissued by Pen & Sword in 2024, situates the battle within a long narrative of Anglo-Scottish relations.
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 54.2270, -1.1590
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Old Byland (revision 1371086316), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Historiography and commemoration”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).