Battle of Neville's Cross 1346
Who Fought
Scottish army of approximately 12,000 led by King David II defeated by an English army of approximately 6,000-7,000 men commanded by Ralph Neville, Lord Neville
History & Significance
The Battle of Neville's Cross took place during the Second War of Scottish Independence on 17 October 1346, half a mile (800 m) to the west of Durham, England. An invading Scottish army of 12,000 led by King David II was defeated with heavy loss by an English army of approximately 6,000–7,000 men led by Ralph Neville, Lord Neville. The battle was named after an Anglo-Saxon stone cross that stood on the hill where the Scots made their stand. After the victory, Neville paid to have a new cross erected to commemorate the day.
The battle was the result of the invasion of France by England during the Hundred Years' War. King Philip VI of France (r. 1328–1350) called on the Scots to fulfil their obligation under the terms of the Auld Alliance and invade England. David II obliged, and after ravaging much of northern England was taken by surprise by the English defenders. The ensuing battle ended with the rout of the Scots, the capture of their king and the death or capture of most of their leadership. Strategically, this freed significant English resources for the war against France, and the English border counties were able to guard against the remaining Scottish threat from their own resources. The eventual ransoming of the Scottish King resulted in a truce that brought peace to the border for forty years.
By 1346 England had been embroiled in the Second War of Scottish Independence since 1332 and the Hundred Years' War with France since 1337. In January 1343 the French and English had entered into the Truce of Malestroit, which included Scotland and was intended to last until 29 September 1346. In defiance of the truce, hostilities continued on all fronts, although mostly at a lower level; King David II of Scotland (r. 1329–1371) led a six-day raid into northern England in October 1345. Edward III of England (r. 1327–1377) planned an invasion of northern France in 1346 and King Philip VI of France sent an appeal to David II to open a northern front. Philip VI wanted the Scots to divert English troops, supplies and attention away from the army under Edward III which was gathering in southern England. The Auld Alliance between France and Scotland had been renewed in 1326 and was intended to deter England from attacking either country by the threat that in this case the other would invade English territory.
In June Philip VI asked David II to attack pre-emptively: "I beg you, I implore you ... Do for me what I would willingly do for you in such a crisis and do it as quickly ... as you are able." Edward III landed in Normandy with an army of 15,000 in July. Philip VI renewed his pleas to David II. As the English had also committed troops to Gascony, Brittany and Flanders, Philip VI described northern England to David II as "a defenceless void". David II felt certain that few English troops would be left to defend the rich northern English cities, but when the Scots probed into northern England they were sharply rebuffed by the local defenders. David II agreed to a truce, to last until 29 September, in order to fully mobilise the Scottish army, which was assembling at Perth. By the time the truce expired, the French had been decisively beaten at Crécy and the English were besieging Calais. The French were also in difficulty in south-west France, where their front had collapsed, with the major city and provincial capital of Poitiers, 125 miles (201 km) from the border of English Gascony, falling on 4 October.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Neville's Cross 1346 lies on Pennine Middle Coal Measures Formation And South Wales Middle Coal Measures Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Moscovian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.
- Scottish: modern estimates around 3,000 killed, fewer than a hundred taken prisoner, including King David II; English: light casualties, few killed
This battlefield is listed on the Register of Historic Battlefields — a national designation identifying Britain's most significant battle sites for protection and further research. Reference: NHLE 1000024.
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- Battle of Neville's Cross 1346 · Historic England
- Battle of Neville's Cross · Wikidata
- Battle_of_Neville's_Cross · Wikipedia
- Battle of Nevilles Cross · BritishBattles.com
- Battle of Neville's Cross · Battlefields Trust