Battlefields›Battle of Buttington (alternative dating, 894)
Early Medieval

Battle of Buttington (alternative dating, 894)

894
Shropshire, Wales
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Shropshire, Wales
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Danish Viking army under Hastein (Haesten)
VS
Victor
Anglo-Welsh alliance (Mercia, Wessex, Welsh forces led by AEthelred, Lord of the Mercians, and Ealdormen AEthelhelm and AEthelnoth)
Outcome
After a prolonged siege at Buttington, the starving Vikings broke out and were defeated in battle on the east bank of the Severn; the Anglo-Welsh force held the field.
The Battle

History & Significance

Battle of Buttington (alternative dating, 894) was an early medieval pitched battle between opposing field armies, fought in the area of Shropshire, Wales in 894. Anglo-Welsh alliance (Mercia, Wessex, Welsh forces led by AEthelred, Lord of the Mercians, and Ealdormen AEthelhelm and AEthelnoth) prevailed over Danish Viking army under Hastein (Haesten). After a prolonged siege at Buttington, the starving Vikings broke out and were defeated in battle on the east bank of the Severn; the Anglo-Welsh force held the field.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Buttington (alternative dating, 894) lies on Caradoc Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Caradocian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.

Casualties & Losses
  • Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states 'many thousands of pagans had been slain'; a notable thegn named Ordheah and several other king's thegns of the English side are also named as killed, but no overall figure is given for either side.
Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Battle of Buttington (alternative dating, 894)

This page covers Battle of Buttington (alternative dating, 894). 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
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
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.
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.
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.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Buttington (alternative dating, 894)

Offa's Dyke: South of School House
Offa's Dyke: South of School House
Scheduled monument · Early Medieval · ~0.3 mi

Offa's Dyke: South of School House is an early medieval linear earthwork forming part of the eighth-century frontier defence system between Anglo-Saxon Mercia and Welsh kingdoms. This section of the dyke runs through terrain underlain by Caradoc Rocks, Ordovician mudstones, siltstones and sandsto…

JThomas / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Strata Marcella Abbey
Strata Marcella Abbey
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~1 mi

Strata Marcella Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in the early twelfth century in the valley of the River Severn in Powys, Wales. The abbey was established as a daughter house of Abbey Dore in Herefordshire and became an important religious and economic centre in medieval Wales, with extens…

J Scott / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Offa's Dyke: Section extending 760m N from centre of Goppas Wood to Hope By-Road
Offa's Dyke: Section extending 760m N from centre of Goppas Wood to Hope By-Road
Scheduled monument · Early Medieval · ~1 mi

Offa's Dyke Section from Goppas Wood to Hope By-Road is an early medieval linear earthwork forming part of the Anglo-Welsh frontier system. This 760-metre stretch extends northwards from Goppas Wood and follows the undulating terrain of the Welsh border, where Llandovery bedrock—composed of mudst…

Trevor Littlewood / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Domen Castell Mound and Bailey Castle
Domen Castell Mound and Bailey Castle
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~1.4 mi

Domen Castell Mound and Bailey Castle is a medieval motte and bailey castle located in Wales, protected by Cadw as monument reference MG019. The fortification exemplifies the motte and bailey form, a military design introduced to Britain following the Norman Conquest and widely adopted across Wel…

Penny Mayes / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Railway Transfer Dock at Welshpool
Railway Transfer Dock at Welshpool
Scheduled monument · Post Medieval/Modern · ~1.4 mi

Railway Transfer Dock at Welshpool is a post-medieval railway structure that served the transport needs of mid-Wales during the industrial era. Located in Welshpool, the dock represents the crucial junction between rail and water transport that characterised Victorian and later commercial infrast…

Gareth James / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Offa's Dyke: Sections extending 675m S from centre of Goppas Wood
Offa's Dyke: Sections extending 675m S from centre of Goppas Wood
Scheduled monument · Early Medieval · ~1.6 mi

Offa's Dyke is an early medieval linear earthwork, one of the most substantial monuments of its kind in Britain. The sections extending 675 metres south from the centre of Goppas Wood form part of this remarkable frontier work, constructed during the reign of King Offa of Mercia in the late eight…

Trevor Littlewood / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Black Bank Camp
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~1.3 miles
Crowther's Coppice Camp
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~1.5 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near Battle of Buttington (alternative dating, 894)

Battle of Buttington (893)
893
~1 miles away
Battle of Domen Gastell
1196
~1.4 miles away
Glyndwr Razes Welshpool, Early Phase 1400
1400
~1.6 miles away
Battle of Powis Castle
1274
~2.4 miles away
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