The most embarrassing English defeat of Edward II's reign. A Scottish force surprised Edward's army near Byland Abbey. Edward II was nearly captured — he fled to York in panic as the Scots routed his forces. Scottish horsemen pursued to within miles of York. The raid demonstrated that post-Bannockburn Scotland could strike anywhere in northern England at will. A Scottish eyewitness reportedly composed a mocking poem about Edward's flight.
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 North Yorkshire