Battlefields›Battle of Englefield

Early Medieval

Battle of Englefield

Q: When did Battle of Englefield take place?

Battle of Englefield took place in 870, in Berkshire, England. West Saxon victory; the Viking force was broken and retreated, though the main West Saxon army was defeated four days later at the Battle of Reading.

Q: Who won Battle of Englefield?

Wessex was victorious. The defeated side was Denmark (Viking army). West Saxon victory; the Viking force was broken and retreated, though the main West Saxon army was defeated four days later at the Battle of Reading.

870

Berkshire, England

Era

Early Medieval

Battle Type

Skirmish

Location

Berkshire, England

Status

Unregistered

The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated

Denmark (Viking army)

Victor

Wessex

Outcome

West Saxon victory; the Viking force was broken and retreated, though the main West Saxon army was defeated four days later at the Battle of Reading.

The Battle

History & Significance

Battle of Englefield was an early medieval skirmish, fought at Berkshire, England in 870. Wessex prevailed over Denmark (Viking army). West Saxon victory; the Viking force was broken and retreated, though the main West Saxon army was defeated four days later at the Battle of Reading.

Confirmed battlefield location

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Englefield lies on Thames Group, bedrock that formed in the Eocene. The rock here is clay, silt, sand and gravel.

Casualties & Losses

One Danish earl (named as Sidroc in some chronicle versions, though this attribution is disputed and may actually belong to the later Battle of Ashdown) was killed, with further unspecified Viking losses; no numeric casualty figures recorded

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Battle of Englefield

This page covers Battle of Englefield. 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.

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.

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 Englefield

Aldermaston Lock

Scheduled monument · ~2.1 mi

Aldermaston Lock is a canal lock located on the Kennet and Avon Canal in Berkshire. The lock was constructed during the canal's building phase in the late eighteenth century as part of the commercial waterway system connecting the Thames to the Avon. The structure represents typical Georgian cana…

John Lloyd / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Moated site and three fishponds at Ufton Nervet

Scheduled monument · ~2.6 mi

Moated site and three fishponds at Ufton Nervet is a medieval monument comprising a moated enclosure and associated fishponds located in Berkshire. The moated site itself dates to the medieval period and represents a form of high-status settlement or manorial complex characteristic of medieval En…

don cload / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Seven fishponds at Ufton Court

Scheduled monument · ~2.6 mi

Seven fishponds at Ufton Court is a complex of medieval fishponds located near Ufton in Berkshire. The ponds, which survive as earthwork features in the landscape, represent the remains of an aquaculture system that would have supplied fish to the estate, reflecting the importance of freshwater f…

Des Blenkinsopp / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Sheffield (or Shenfield) Lock

Scheduled monument · ~2.6 mi

Sheffield Lock is a canal lock situated on the Kennet and Avon Canal in Berkshire. The lock dates from the early nineteenth century and forms part of the engineering infrastructure associated with the canal's construction and operation between 1794 and 1810. As a surviving example of Georgian can…

Traveler100 / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Chapel of St Leonard, Manor Farm

Scheduled monument · ~4.4 mi

Chapel of St Leonard, Manor Farm is a medieval chapel located in Berkshire, England. The structure dates from the medieval period and represents a significant example of small rural ecclesiastical architecture characteristic of the region. The chapel survives as a standing monument and provides e…

Steve Maggs / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Hillfort south west of Pond Farm, near Silchester

Scheduled monument · ~4.8 mi

Hillfort south west of Pond Farm, near Silchester, is a prehistoric fortified enclosure located in Hampshire. The site comprises a substantial univallate or multivallate earthwork of Iron Age date, characteristic of the defensive settlements constructed during the later prehistoric period in sout…

Simon Burchell / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Remains of St John the Baptist church at Ufton Green Farm

Scheduled monument · ~1.8 miles

Moated site and two fishponds, Moathouse Cottage

Scheduled monument · ~2.8 miles

Other Early Medieval Battles

Battle of Wippedesfleot

466

England

Battle of Crayford (457)

Anglian Assault on Roman York (c.450-500 AD)

450

Yorkshire, England

In the same landscape

Battles near Battle of Englefield

Vespasian's assault on Calleva Atrebatum

~4.9 miles away

Atrebates Resistance at Calleva 43 AD

~5.2 miles away

Dissolution of Reading Abbey and Abbot Cook Execution 1539

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