Battlefields›Battle of Hay on Wye
Medieval

Battle of Hay on Wye

1216
Wales
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Wales
Status
Unregistered
The Battle

History & Significance

Battle of Hay on Wye was a medieval pitched battle between opposing field armies, fought in Wales in 1216. Which side prevailed is not recorded in the surviving sources, and its outcome is not conclusively established in the historical record. It falls within the medieval period, an age of dynastic succession disputes, baronial revolt and border warfare fought by feudal levies, mounted knights and town militias.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Hay on Wye lies on Pridoli Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Pridoli. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.

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This page covers Battle of Hay on Wye. 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 Hay on Wye

Castle Mound near Swan Hotel
Castle Mound near Swan Hotel
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~0.2 mi

Castle Mound near Swan Hotel is a motte, a form of medieval defensive earthwork characteristic of the Norman period in Wales. The monument consists of an artificial mound of earth and stone, typical of early Norman fortifications erected from the late eleventh century onwards, and represents an i…

Pauline Eccles / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Hay Castle
Hay Castle
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~0.3 mi

Hay Castle is a medieval fortification situated in the town of Hay-on-Wye in Breconshire, Wales. The castle was founded in the Norman period, likely in the late twelfth century, as part of the Anglo-Norman penetration into the Welsh borderlands. The site comprises a motte and bailey earthwork ove…

Philip Halling / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Clyro Court chambered tomb
Clyro Court chambered tomb
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~0.9 mi

Clyro Court chambered tomb is a prehistoric monument located in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference RD203. The site stands upon bedrock of Pridoli age, comprising undifferentiated mudstone, siltstone and sandstone that would have formed a stable geological foundation for its construction. Th…

Jaggery / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Clyro Castle
Clyro Castle
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~0.9 mi

Clyro Castle is a medieval motte located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference RD066. The monument sits upon bedrock of Pridoli age, a formation of undifferentiated mudstone, siltstone and sandstone that dates to the Pridoli epoch of the Silurian period. This geology provided the natural…

Jaggery / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Castle Kinsey
Castle Kinsey
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~1.5 mi

Castle Kinsey is a medieval motte situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference RD067. The earthwork rises from bedrock comprising Pridoli rocks—undifferentiated mudstone, siltstone and sandstone laid down in the Pridoli period. This geology provided the foundation for the motte's const…

Richard Webb / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Llanthomas Castle Mound
Llanthomas Castle Mound
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~1.7 mi

Llanthomas Castle Mound is a motte situated in Breconshire, Wales, representing medieval defensive earthwork architecture typical of Norman settlement patterns in South Wales. The monument consists of a prominent artificial mound, characteristic of motte-and-bailey fortification design, which ser…

LiamGM / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Gaer
Scheduled monument · Roman · ~0.6 miles
Lower House Moated Site
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~1.2 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near Battle of Hay on Wye

Battle of Painscastle Castle
1196
~4.3 miles away
Philip de Braose's Conquest of Elfael, c.1095
1095
~5.8 miles away
Battle of the Machawy
1056
~7.3 miles away
Ambush and Killing of Richard fitz Gilbert de Clare, near Abergavenny, 1136
1136
~9.1 miles away
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