Battlefields›The Anarchy: Siege of Devizes, 1139
Medieval

The Anarchy: Siege of Devizes, 1139

1139
England
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Siege
Location
England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Bishop Roger of Salisbury and Bishop Nigel of Ely
VS
Victor
Stephen
Outcome
Stephen besieged Devizes Castle and threatened to hang Roger's son Roger le Poer unless it surrendered; Roger declared he would fast until it did, and after three days his companion Matilda de Ramsbury, holding the keep, surrendered it to save her son's life, and Nigel was compelled to yield. The bishops' castles were sequestrated and the episode deeply alienated the Church from Stephen.
The Battle

History & Significance

The Anarchy: Siege of Devizes, 1139 was a medieval siege, the investment of a fortified position, fought in England in 1139. Stephen prevailed over Bishop Roger of Salisbury and Bishop Nigel of Ely. Stephen besieged Devizes Castle and threatened to hang Roger's son Roger le Poer unless it surrendered; Roger declared he would fast until it did, and after three days his companion Matilda de Ramsbury, holding the keep, surrendered it to save her son's life, and Nigel was compelled to yield. The bishops' castles were sequestrated and the episode deeply alienated the Church from Stephen.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of The Anarchy: Siege of Devizes, 1139 lies on Gault Formation And Upper Greensand Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Cenomanian. The rock here is mudstone, sandstone and limestone.

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This page covers The Anarchy: Siege of Devizes, 1139. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
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Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near The Anarchy: Siege of Devizes, 1139

Devizes Castle
Devizes Castle
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 mi

Devizes Castle is a Norman motte-and-bailey fortress constructed in the early twelfth century, most likely by Roger of Salisbury around 1120, serving as a significant stronghold in Wiltshire during the medieval period. The castle comprises a substantial earthwork mound surmounted by a stone keep,…

Mike Faherty / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Caen Hill locks
Caen Hill locks
Scheduled monument · ~1.4 mi

Caen Hill Locks is a flight of twenty-nine locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal near Devizes in Wiltshire, constructed between 1810 and 1815 as part of the canal's completion. The locks were engineered to overcome a significant change in water level, descending approximately seventy-two feet over a…

Alinangel / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
The Long Monument
The Long Monument
Scheduled monument · ~2 mi

I cannot locate reliable scholarly records for a monument specifically called "The Long Monument" in Wiltshire with the designation reference NHLE 1005658. While Wiltshire contains numerous significant prehistoric monuments, including Neolithic long barrows and Bronze Age structures, I cannot pro…

Bob&Anne Powell / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Long barrow on King's Play Hill, 430m north west of Hill Cottage
Long barrow on King's Play Hill, 430m north west of Hill Cottage
Scheduled monument · ~2.7 mi

Long barrow on King's Play Hill is a Neolithic communal burial monument located in Wiltshire, approximately 430 metres north-west of Hill Cottage. The barrow represents a characteristic example of the long barrow type, which served as a focal point for collective burial practices during the Neoli…

Michael Dibb / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Deserted medieval village E of Manor Farm
Deserted medieval village E of Manor Farm
Scheduled monument · ~3.1 mi

Deserted medieval village E of Manor Farm is a scheduled ancient monument located in Wiltshire that represents a settlement abandoned during the medieval period. The site preserves earthwork evidence of the former village layout, including the remains of house platforms, field systems, and other…

Michael Dibb / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Eleven round barrows 1000m north of Baltic Farm forming part of a barrow cemetery, and a probable enclosed Iron Age farmstead on North Down
Eleven round barrows 1000m north of Baltic Farm forming part of a barrow cemetery, and a probable enclosed Iron Age farmstead on North Down
Scheduled monument · ~4.4 mi

Eleven round barrows 1000m north of Baltic Farm forming part of a barrow cemetery is a Bronze Age burial monument located on North Down in Wiltshire. The group comprises eleven discrete burial mounds arranged as part of a larger cemetery complex, representing funerary practices typical of the Bro…

Michael Dibb / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Two bowl barrows in Roundway Hill Covert
Scheduled monument · ~1.4 miles
Bowl barrow 60m east of Roundway Hill Covert
Scheduled monument · ~1.5 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near The Anarchy: Siege of Devizes, 1139

Siege of Devizes Castle 1141
1141
~0.1 miles away
Captain Swing riots Wiltshire 1830
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~0.4 miles away
Battle of Roundway Down 1643
1643
~2.3 miles away
Battle of Ethandun
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~6.1 miles away
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