BattlefieldsBattle of Losecoat Field (Empingham)
Medieval

Battle of Losecoat Field (Empingham)

1470
Lincolnshire, England
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Lincolnshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Lincolnshire rebels led by Sir Robert Welles
VS
Victor
King Edward IV / Yorkists
Forces involved

Wikipedia states the rebel force numbered around 30,000 men under Sir Robert Welles; the size of Edward IV's royal army is not clearly recorded in the sources reviewed.

Outcome
The rebel army broke and fled before serious fighting developed, reportedly discarding their livery coats as they ran (giving the battle its name). Sir Robert Welles and Richard Warren were captured and later executed at Doncaster on 19 March 1470; their confessions implicated Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and George, Duke of Clarence, forcing both to flee England.
The Battle

History & Significance

Battle of Losecoat Field (Empingham) was a medieval pitched battle between opposing field armies, fought at Lincolnshire, England in 1470. King Edward IV / Yorkists prevailed over Lincolnshire rebels led by Sir Robert Welles. The rebel army broke and fled before serious fighting developed, reportedly discarding their livery coats as they ran (giving the battle its name). Sir Robert Welles and Richard Warren were captured and later executed at Doncaster on 19 March 1470; their confessions implicated Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and George, Duke of Clarence, forcing both to flee England.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Losecoat Field (Empingham) lies on Kellaways Formation And Oxford Clay Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Oxfordian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Battle of Losecoat Field (Empingham)

This page covers Battle of Losecoat Field (Empingham). 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 Losecoat Field (Empingham)

Uffington Bridge
Uffington Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 mi

Uffington Bridge is a medieval masonry bridge located in Lincolnshire. The structure dates from the medieval period and represents an important example of bridge engineering from that era. Built to span a local watercourse, the bridge exhibits characteristic masonry construction typical of mediev…

Glyn Weekes / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Causewayed camp
Causewayed camp
Scheduled monument · ~0.7 mi

Causewayed Camp is a Neolithic earthwork monument located in Lincolnshire, England. The site consists of a series of interrupted ditches arranged in concentric formations, characteristic of causewayed enclosures that date to the early Neolithic period, roughly 4000 to 3500 BCE. Such monuments are…

Ruins and site of St Leonard's Priory
Ruins and site of St Leonard's Priory
Scheduled monument · ~1.5 mi

St Leonard's Priory is a medieval Benedictine religious house located in Lincolnshire, England. Founded in the twelfth century, the priory served as an important monastic settlement during the medieval period until its dissolution in the sixteenth century. The surviving ruins and archaeological r…

Richard Croft / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Brasenose Gate
Brasenose Gate
Scheduled monument · ~1.8 mi

Brasenose Gate is a medieval gatehouse located in Lincolnshire. The structure dates to the medieval period and represents a surviving example of fortified domestic or manorial architecture from that era. The gate exhibits the characteristic features typical of its period, including stonework and…

Richard Croft / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Norman arch at No 11 St Mary's Hill
Norman arch at No 11 St Mary's Hill
Scheduled monument · ~2.1 mi

The Norman arch at No 11 St Mary's Hill is a twelfth-century architectural fragment preserved within a later building in Lincolnshire. The arch represents surviving masonry from the Norman period and demonstrates the high-quality stone construction typical of ecclesiastical or domestic buildings…

Richard Croft / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Stamford Castle (remains of)
Stamford Castle (remains of)
Scheduled monument · ~2.2 mi

Stamford Castle is a Norman castle established in the late eleventh century at Stamford in Lincolnshire. The castle occupies a strategic position overlooking the River Welland and was constructed following the Norman Conquest as part of the consolidation of Norman power in the East Midlands. Toda…

Richard Croft / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Settlement site E of Uffington and Barnack Station
Scheduled monument · ~1.2 miles
Whitefriars Gate
Scheduled monument · ~1.7 miles
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