Battlefields›Pinkie Cleugh - Lord Grey's Cavalry Charge, 1547
Tudor

Pinkie Cleugh - Lord Grey's Cavalry Charge, 1547

1547
Scotland
Era
Tudor
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Kingdom of England
VS
Victor
Kingdom of Scotland
Forces involved

England: approximately 1,500 cavalry under Lord Grey de Wilton (1,000 men-at-arms, 500 demi-lancers), who had left their horses' barding at camp; Scotland: a pike formation (part of Arran's army) whose exact strength in this specific engagement is not separately recorded.

Outcome
Scottish repulse of the English cavalry; Lord Grey de Wilton led roughly 1,000 heavily armoured men-at-arms and 500 lighter demi-lancers in a premature charge against a Scottish pike formation. The pikemen formed a defensive 'hedgehog' and drove the cavalry back with heavy losses; Grey himself was wounded by a pike thrust through the throat and mouth. This tactical check for the English cavalry did not decide the wider battle, which England went on to win later that day through artillery, archery and renewed assaults.
The Battle

History & Significance

Pinkie Cleugh - Lord Grey's Cavalry Charge, 1547 was a Tudor skirmish, fought in Scotland in 1547. Kingdom of Scotland prevailed over Kingdom of England. Scottish repulse of the English cavalry; Lord Grey de Wilton led roughly 1,000 heavily armoured men-at-arms and 500 lighter demi-lancers in a premature charge against a Scottish pike formation. The pikemen formed a defensive 'hedgehog' and drove the cavalry back with heavy losses; Grey himself was wounded by a pike thrust through the throat and mouth. This tactical check for the English cavalry did not decide the wider battle, which England went on to win later that day through artillery, archery and renewed assaults.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Pinkie Cleugh - Lord Grey's Cavalry Charge, 1547 lies on Scottish Coal Measures Group, bedrock that formed in the Moscovian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.

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Overview
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Monuments
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Battlefields
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Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
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.
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
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Legal
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Pinkie Cleugh - Lord Grey's Cavalry Charge, 1547

Catherine Lodge, Roman settlement & field system 205m NNW to 585m SE of
Catherine Lodge, Roman settlement & field system 205m NNW to 585m SE of
Scheduled monument · Roman · ~0.8 mi

Catherine Lodge is a Roman settlement and field system located in Midlothian, Scotland, extending across approximately 380 metres from north-north-west to south-east. The site sits upon bedrock of the Scottish Coal Measures Group, formed during the Moscovian period and comprising mudstone, siltst…

Pinkiehill,field system 300m S of
Pinkiehill,field system 300m S of
Scheduled monument · Post-Medieval · ~1 mi

Pinkiehill is a post-medieval field system located in Midlothian, Scotland, situated approximately 300 metres south of Pinkie. The monument comprises the surviving earthwork remains of agricultural organisation from the early modern period, when the landscape was being systematically divided and…

Monktonhall Junction,Roman camps and prehistoric settlement
Monktonhall Junction,Roman camps and prehistoric settlement
Scheduled monument · Roman · ~1 mi

Monktonhall Junction Roman camps and prehistoric settlement is a complex archaeological site in Midlothian, Scotland, comprising multiple periods of human occupation spanning from prehistoric times through the Roman period. The site sits upon bedrock of the Scottish Coal Measures Group, dominated…

Eastfield,enclosures and pit alignments,Old Craighall
Eastfield,enclosures and pit alignments,Old Craighall
Scheduled monument · Post-Medieval · ~1.3 mi

Eastfield Enclosures and Pit Alignments, Old Craighall is a post-medieval monument located in Midlothian, Scotland, comprising a series of enclosures and pit alignments. The site lies upon bedrock of the Scottish Coal Measures Group, geological deposits from the Moscovian period consisting of mud…

Monktonhall Junction, Neolithic cursus 150m N of Whitecraig
Monktonhall Junction, Neolithic cursus 150m N of Whitecraig
Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~1.3 mi

Monktonhall Junction Cursus is a Neolithic cursus monument located 150 metres north of Whitecraig in Midlothian, Scotland. The site stands on bedrock of the Scottish Coal Measures Group, comprising mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete deposits laid down during the Moscov…

Brunstane, moated site 50m NNE of
Brunstane, moated site 50m NNE of
Scheduled monument · ~1.3 mi

Brunstane is a moated site located in Midlothian, Scotland, situated approximately 50 metres north-north-east of the settlement from which it takes its name. The monument consists of an artificial water-filled ditch surrounding a central platform, a defensive earthwork characteristic of medieval…

Inveresk,Roman fort & civil settlement
Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~0.4 miles
Inveresk,Roman civil settlement W of Inveresk Gate
Scheduled monument · Roman · ~0.5 miles
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