The Battle of Roslin, fought on 24 February 1303, was a Scottish victory during the First War of Scottish Independence. It occurred near the village of Roslin in Midlothian following the expiry of an Anglo-Scottish truce on 30 November 1302, after which the English prepared for a fresh invasion. King Edward I appointed John Segrave as his lieutenant in Scotland and ordered him to conduct a large-scale reconnaissance as far as Kirkintilloch, assembling his force at Wark on Tweed before moving north.
The English advanced in three divisions, which camped several miles apart during the night. The Scottish commanders John Comyn and Sir Simon Fraser led their men on a night march from Biggar to Roslin and fell suddenly upon the English encampment. Segrave and several others were captured in the initial assault, though he was later freed by the Scots. Robert Neville led his own English division towards the fighting, but the English paymaster Manton was killed during the engagement. The Scottish historian John of Fordun later described the Scots as making a swift night march with chosen men who preferred death to subjection to the English, falling fearlessly upon the enemy.
Later accounts by writers such as Walter Bower, composing in the mid-15th century, seriously exaggerated the scale and significance of the engagement. Modern assessment suggests it was possibly more a victory over a large-scale raid than a defeat of a full invading army. A monument cairn erected by the Roslin Heritage Society at the end of the 20th century marks the site, and at the start of the 21st century the battlefield was under research to be inventoried and protected by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009.
John of Fordun left a vivid account of the Scots' determination, writing that John Comyn and Simon Fraser, "wishing to steal a march rather than have one stolen upon them, came briskly through from Biggar to Rosslyn, in one night, with some chosen men, who chose rather death before unworthy subjection to the English nation; and all of a sudden they fearlessly fell upon the enemy."
English paymaster Manton killed; Segrave and several others captured (later released)
Pick any location and Aubrey pulls together everything the record actually holds about it:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in the UK — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.