The Site of The Battle of Halidon Hill 1333
Outline: officially registered battlefield boundary.
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1333 | Historic England NHLE name |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 14th century | derived |
| Period | Norman & medieval | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| War / conflict | Wars of Scottish Independence | Wikidata |
| Registered area | 313.7 ha | Historic England |
| Grid reference | NT9678955540 | Historic England |
| Historic England list entry | 1000012 | Historic England |
| Designated | 1995-06-06 | Historic England |
| Last amended | 2016-10-18 | Historic England |
About the battle
The Battle of Halidon Hill took place on 19 July 1333 when a Scottish army under Sir Archibald Douglas attacked an English army commanded by King Edward III of England (r. 1327–1377) and was heavily defeated. The year before, Edward Balliol had seized the Scottish Crown from five-year-old David II (r. 1329–1371), surreptitiously supported by Edward III. This marked the start of the Second War of Scottish Independence. Balliol was shortly expelled from Scotland by a popular uprising, which Edward III used as a casus belli, invading Scotland in 1333. The immediate target was the strategically-important border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which the English besieged in March.
A large Scottish army advanced to relieve the town. They attempted and failed to draw the English away from Berwick. By mid-July, knowing Berwick was on the verge of surrender and aware they were much stronger than the English, the Scots attacked. They unsuccessfully manoeuvred for position and then launched an assault on the English, who had taken up a favourable defensive position.
Visiting the battlefield
The site of the battle has been entered in the Register of Historic Battlefields by Historic England due to its special historic interest. The uncultivated scrub and marsh of 1333 was enclosed around 1800, drained and now consists of agricultural fields. There is a rough stone monument to the battle near the highest point of the hill with an incised inscription, "Halidon Hill 19th July 1333".
Location
- OS grid reference: NT9678955540
- Approximate centre of registered area: 55.7929, -2.0528
- Registered area: 313.7 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 Halidon Hill (revision 1376845321), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Battlefield today”; 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.
Nearby battlefields
- Capture of Berwick 1296 · 3 km
- Capture of Berwick 1318 · 4 km
- Battle of Nesbit Moor 1402 · 16 km
- Battle of Skaithmuir 1316 · 17 km
- Battle of Duns 1372 · 18 km
- Battle of Flodden 1513 · 20 km
Other battles of the Wars of Scottish Independence
- Battle of Stirling Bridge 1297
- Battle of Falkirk 1298
- Battle of Roslin 1303
- Action at Happrew 1304
- Battle of Dalrigh 1306
- Battle of Methven 1306
- Battle of Slioch 1307
- Battle of Barra 1308
- Battle of the Pass of Brander 1308
- Battle of Bannockburn 1314
All battles of the Wars of Scottish Independence →
Browse more: battles in England · Norman & medieval · 14th century battles