BattlefieldsPercy versus Neville Feud — Heworth Moor Affray 1453
Medieval

Percy versus Neville Feud — Heworth Moor Affray 1453

1453
Tyne and Wear, England
Also known as: Heworth Moor ambush 1453 · Percy-Neville battle at York
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Tyne and Wear, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Indecisive
Forces
Neville party: c.500 men
VS
Victor
Indecisive
Forces
Percy retinue: c.700 men
Outcome
Armed Percys ambushed Neville wedding party near York; no decisive engagement; feud escalated nationally
The Battle

History & Significance

The Heworth Moor affray of August 1453 was the most dramatic episode in the generation-long feud between the Percy and Neville families for dominance in northern England. The Percys, led by Thomas Percy Lord Egremont, ambushed the Neville family's wedding party returning from Tattershall near York. Hundreds of armed men clashed in the lanes east of York. No one was killed but the feud poisoned northern politics, drove both families into opposing factions, and fed directly into the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses.

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