Battle of Pinkie 1547
Outline: officially registered battlefield boundary.
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1547 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 16th century | derived |
| Period | Tudor & early Stuart | derived |
| Country | Scotland | derived |
| War / conflict | Anglo-Scottish Wars | Wikidata |
| Local authority | East Lothian | HES |
| Registered area | 1774.8 ha | HES |
| HES inventory reference | BTL15 | HES |
| Designated | 2011-03-21 | HES |
| Last amended | 2012-12-14 | HES |
About the battle
The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh (), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Crowns, it was part of the conflict known as the Rough Wooing. It was a catastrophic defeat for Scotland, where it became known as "Black Saturday". A highly detailed and illustrated English account of the battle and campaign authored by eyewitness William Patten was published in London as propaganda four months after the battle.
Visiting the battlefield
The battle site is now in East Lothian. The battle took place most probably in the cultivated ground 1⁄2 mi (800 m) south-east of Inveresk Church, just to the south of the main East Coast railway line. There are two vantage points for viewing the ground. Fa'side Castle above the village of Wallyford was just behind the English position, and with the aid of binoculars, a visitor can get a good view of the battle area though the Scottish position is now obscured by buildings. The best impression of their position is obtained from the golf course west of the River Esk and just off the B6415 road. The Scottish centre occupied ground a few yards west of the clubhouse.
Location
- Local authority: East Lothian
- Approximate centre of registered area: 55.9327, -3.0264
- Registered area: 1774.8 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 Pinkie (revision 1378631402), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Today”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Contains Historic Environment Scotland and OS data © Historic Environment Scotland and Crown Copyright and database right 2026, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Nearby battlefields
- Battle of Prestonpans 1745 · 5 km
- Battle of Boroughmuir 1335 · 10 km
- Cleanse the Causeway 1520 · 10 km
- Battle of Roslin 1303 · 11 km
- Battle of Rullion Green 1666 · 16 km
- Battle of Wester Kinghorn 1332 · 19 km
Other battles of the Anglo-Scottish Wars
- Battle of Nesbit Moor 1355
- Battle of Duns 1372
- Battle of Otterburn 1388
- Battle of Homildon Hill 1402
- Battle of Nesbit Moor 1402
- Battle of Yeavering 1415
- Battle of Piperdean 1436
- Battle of Sark 1448
- Battle of Haddon Rig 1542
- Battle of Solway Moss 1542
All battles of the Anglo-Scottish Wars →
Browse more: battles in Scotland · Tudor & early Stuart · 16th century battles