Stockton-on-Tees, guarding a major Tees crossing, was burned in 1315 during Bruce's second great raid into County Durham. The pattern of raiding along the Tees valley was systematic: Scottish commanders identified the key river crossings, market towns, and religious houses, targeting each in turn. Communities that paid blackmail were spared; those that refused or could not pay were burned. The psychological impact — the sense that there was no effective English military response — was as damaging as the physical destruction.
Scottish raiders: c. 300–1,000. Town militia/defenders: c. 100–400.
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