Battle of Tewkesbury 1471
Outline: officially registered battlefield boundary.
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1471 | Historic England NHLE name |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 15th century | derived |
| Period | Wars of the Roses & late medieval | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| War / conflict | Wars of the Roses | Wikidata |
| Registered area | 148.2 ha | Historic England |
| Grid reference | SO8898831323 | Historic England |
| Historic England list entry | 1000039 | Historic England |
| Designated | 1995-06-06 | Historic England |
| Last amended | 2017-03-30 | Historic England |
About the battle
The Battle of Tewkesbury (4 May 1471) was one of the most decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses in England.
King Edward IV and his forces loyal to the House of York completely defeated those of the rival House of Lancaster. The Lancastrian heir to the throne, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, and many prominent Lancastrian nobles were killed during the battle or executed after it. The Lancastrian king, Henry VI, who was a prisoner in the Tower of London, died shortly after the battle, likely murdered, although the official cause was stated as being of 'great melancholy'. Tewkesbury restored political stability to England until the death of Edward IV in 1483.
Visiting the battlefield
The Tewkesbury Battlefield Society erected a monument to the battle in the form of two sculptures 5 metres (16 ft) high, of a victorious mounted knight and a defeated horse. Titled Arrivall after the contemporary account of the battle, the work was created by Phil Bews out of green oak wood felled in Gloucestershire, and was dedicated on the anniversary of the battle in 2014.
Location
- OS grid reference: SO8898831323
- Approximate centre of registered area: 51.9821, -2.1618
- Registered area: 148.2 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 Tewkesbury (revision 1370275402), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Monument”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; 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 Ripple Field 1643 · 7 km
- Battle of Upton 1651 · 10 km
- Battle of Evesham 1265 · 20 km
- Battle of Worcester 1651 with Powick Old Bridge 1642 · 22 km
- Battle of Stow-on-the-Wold 1646 · 30 km
- Battle of Cirencester 628 · 32 km
Other battles of the Wars of the Roses
- First Battle of St Albans 1455
- Battle of Blore Heath 1459
- Battle of Ludford Bridge 1459
- Battle of Northampton 1460
- Battle of Wakefield 1460
- Battle of Worksop 1460
- Battle of Ferrybridge 1461
- Battle of Mortimer's Cross 1461
- Battle of Towton, 1461
- Second Battle of St Albans 1461
All battles of the Wars of the Roses →
Browse more: battles in England · Wars of the Roses & late medieval · 15th century battles