Battlefields›Battle of Pilleth

Medieval

Battle of Pilleth

Q: When did Battle of Pilleth take place?

Battle of Pilleth took place in 1402, in Radnorshire, Wales. Decisive Welsh victory; Mortimer was captured and later renounced allegiance to Henry IV, marrying Glyndwr's daughter; the victory reinvigorated the Welsh rebellion.

Q: Who won Battle of Pilleth?

Welsh (forces of Owain Glyndwr) was victorious. The defeated side was English (Herefordshire county levy under Sir Edmund Mortimer). Decisive Welsh victory; Mortimer was captured and later renounced allegiance to Henry IV, marrying Glyndwr's daughter; the victory reinvigorated the Welsh rebellion.

1402

Radnorshire, Wales

Era

Medieval

Battle Type

Pitched Battle

Location

Radnorshire, Wales

Status

Unregistered

The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated

English (Herefordshire county levy under Sir Edmund Mortimer)

Victor

Welsh (forces of Owain Glyndwr)

Forces involved

Welsh: approximately 1,500 under Owain Glyndwr; English: approximately 2,000 (Herefordshire county levy) under Sir Edmund Mortimer

Outcome

Decisive Welsh victory; Mortimer was captured and later renounced allegiance to Henry IV, marrying Glyndwr's daughter; the victory reinvigorated the Welsh rebellion.

The Battle

History & Significance

Battle of Pilleth was a medieval pitched battle between opposing field armies, fought in the area of Radnorshire, Wales in 1402. Welsh (forces of Owain Glyndwr) prevailed over English (Herefordshire county levy under Sir Edmund Mortimer). Decisive Welsh victory; Mortimer was captured and later renounced allegiance to Henry IV, marrying Glyndwr's daughter; the victory reinvigorated the Welsh rebellion.

The ground

The ground they fought on

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

Casualties & Losses

Welsh: 200 killed; English: 600-1,100 killed

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Battle of Pilleth

This page covers Battle of Pilleth. 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 Pilleth

Castell Foel-Allt

Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~0.5 mi

Castell Foel-Allt is a medieval motte and bailey castle situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference RD060. The monument comprises the characteristic earthwork elements of this fortification type: a prominent mound serving as the motte, accompanied by an adjoining bailey enclosure. The…

Alan Richards / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Mynachdy Moated Enclosure

Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~1.7 mi

Mynachdy Moated Enclosure is a medieval moated site located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference RD097. The monument comprises a roughly rectangular enclosure surrounded by a water-filled ditch, a characteristic defensive feature of high-status medieval dwellings and administrative cent…

Whatlep / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Offa's Dyke: Section extending 200m S to Pool House, Rhos-y-Meirch

Scheduled monument · Early Medieval · ~1.9 mi

Offa's Dyke: Section extending 200m S to Pool House, Rhos-y-Meirch is an early medieval linear earthwork forming part of the substantial frontier monument that extends across the Welsh-English border. This particular section preserves evidence of the ditch and bank construction typical of the bro…

Tim Heaton / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Offa's Dyke: Section extending 2143m S from The Firs, Rhos-y-Meirch

Scheduled monument · Early Medieval · ~2.1 mi

Offa's Dyke is an early medieval linear earthwork extending 2143 metres south from The Firs at Rhos-y-Meirch in Wales. Built as a frontier defence and demarcation line, the dyke belongs to the tradition of monumental earthwork construction undertaken along the Anglo-Saxon and Welsh border. This p…

Jeff Buck / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Offa's Dyke: Section from Whitton-Presteigne Road to River Lugg

Scheduled monument · Early Medieval · ~2.1 mi

Offa's Dyke: Section from Whitton-Presteigne Road to River Lugg is an early medieval linear earthwork that forms part of the most extensive frontier defence constructed in Dark Age Britain. This section extends across the borderlands of Wales, where the underlying Ludlow rocks—a sequence of mudst…

Richard Webb / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Offa's Dyke: Section extending through Great Ffrydd Wood 1693m S to footpath leading to Woodhouse Lane

Scheduled monument · Early Medieval · ~2.2 mi

Offa's Dyke: Section extending through Great Ffrydd Wood 1693m S to footpath leading to Woodhouse Lane is an early medieval linear earthwork constructed during the reign of King Offa of Mercia in the late 8th century. This particular section runs through Great Ffrydd Wood, where the underlying Lu…

Jeremy Bolwell / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Glog Camp

Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~1.3 miles

Offa's Dyke: Section extending 1125m SW to Gilfach Wood

Scheduled monument · Early Medieval · ~1.9 miles

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In the same landscape

Battles near Battle of Pilleth

Battle of Bryn Glas

1402

~0 miles away

Second Barons' War in Wales: Llywelyn ap Gruffudd's Campaign in the Marches

1264

~0.9 miles away

Battle of Bleddfa Castle

1262

~2.7 miles away

Battle of Castell Llandandras

1262

~4.3 miles away

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