BattlefieldsRough Wooing — destruction of Coldingham Priory 1544
Tudor

Rough Wooing — destruction of Coldingham Priory 1544

1544
Berwickshire, Scotland
Also known as: Coldingham 1544 · Burning of Coldingham
Era
Tudor
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Berwickshire, Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Scotland (Coldingham Priory)
VS
Victor
England (Hertford)
Outcome
Hertford's forces destroyed Coldingham Priory; religious community dispersed; buildings burned and partially demolished
The Battle

History & Significance

Coldingham Priory, one of the oldest religious sites in the Scottish Borders, was destroyed in Hertford's 1544 raids. The priory had Northumbrian royal connections stretching back to St Cuthbert. Its destruction was emblematic of the Rough Wooing's assault on Scottish ecclesiastical culture. The ruins of Coldingham Priory still survive and give a vivid impression of the scale of destruction wrought across the Borders in the 1540s.

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