During the Douglas raid of 1388 that culminated at Otterburn, Scottish cavalry rode as far south as Newcastle itself and reportedly seized Hotspur's pennon from the castle gates in a deliberate act of provocation. The citizens of Newcastle closed the gates and mounted the walls as the Scottish force appeared before the town. The incident at Newcastle Bridge was a calculated humiliation designed to draw Hotspur into pursuit — and succeeded. Newcastle's position as the principal English northern town made it a recurring target for Scottish demonstrative raids even when the Scots lacked the siege capability to take the town.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in Britain — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.
Research a location near this battlefield