Battlefields›Scottish Raid on Morpeth 1322
Medieval

Scottish Raid on Morpeth 1322

1322
England
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Morpeth defenders
VS
Victor
Scottish raiders
Outcome
Morpeth burned; surrounding agricultural district looted; local administration unable to mount effective resistance.
The Battle

History & Significance

The Great Raid of 1322 was a major raid carried out by Robert the Bruce, during the First Scottish War of Independence, on Northern England between 30 September and 2 November 1322, resulting in the Battle of Old Byland. Numerous raids began by attacking the area around Carlisle, Holm Cultram Abbey and Northumberland, then eventually crossed over into North Yorkshire, resulting in property being burned and destroyed, valuables from the wealthy and abbeys being stolen, and some residents and livestock being captured and taken back to Scotland.

After the death of Thomas of Lancaster whom Scotland supported as a means to cripple the English in their war against the Scottish during the Despenser War, the Scots in 1322 raided deeper into Northern England to gain his inheritance, reaching as far south as Chorley in Lancashire and the East Riding. They even raided the suburbs of York. A few abbeys, settlements and towns in the path of the raiders, such as Richmond, were spared by bribing them off, however most were not so fortunate. Following the raid, a truce between King Edward II and Robert the Bruce was signed at Bishopthorpe in 1323.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Scottish Raid on Morpeth 1322 lies on Yoredale Group, bedrock that formed in the Bashkirian. The rock here is limestone, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Scottish Raid on Morpeth 1322

This page covers Scottish Raid on Morpeth 1322. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
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.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
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
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Scottish Raid on Morpeth 1322

Morpeth Old Bridge
Morpeth Old Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~0.1 mi

Morpeth Old Bridge is a medieval stone bridge crossing the River Coquet at Morpeth in Northumberland. Dating from the fourteenth century, it represents an important example of medieval bridge construction in northern England and would have served as a vital crossing point facilitating trade and c…

Simon Cobb / CC0 / Wikimedia Commons
Motte and bailey castle on Haw Hill
Motte and bailey castle on Haw Hill
Scheduled monument · ~0.1 mi

Motte and bailey castle on Haw Hill is a norman fortification located in Northumberland, England, and represents a characteristic example of early medieval military architecture. The site comprises a mounded earthwork typical of motte and bailey design, constructed during the period following the…

Simon Cobb / CC0 / Wikimedia Commons
Morpeth Castle
Morpeth Castle
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 mi

Morpeth Castle is a twelfth-century motte-and-bailey fortification located in Morpeth, Northumberland, which served as an important stronghold for the de Merlay family and later the Dacre lords. The castle comprises a substantial mound with a stone keep constructed during the thirteenth century,…

C G Burke / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Bell tower or clock tower
Bell tower or clock tower
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 mi

Bell tower is a medieval bell tower located in Northumberland, England. The structure dates from the medieval period and serves as an example of ecclesiastical architecture typical of its era. As a listed monument, it represents an important surviving element of the region's religious heritage an…

David Clark / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Newminster Abbey
Newminster Abbey
Scheduled monument · ~0.7 mi

Newminster Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1137 in the valley of the River Wansbeck near Morpeth in Northumberland. The abbey was established as a daughter house of Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire and became one of the significant religious communities in northern England during the medie…

Unknown authorUnknown author / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
Mitford Castle: a motte and bailey and shell keep castle, medieval chapel, graveyard and field system
Mitford Castle: a motte and bailey and shell keep castle, medieval chapel, graveyard and field system
Scheduled monument · ~1.9 mi

Mitford Castle is a motte and bailey castle situated in Northumberland, England, with origins dating to the Norman period following the conquest of 1066. The site comprises a substantial earthwork mound topped by a shell keep, together with an associated medieval chapel and graveyard that attest…

Pat Pierpoint / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Four pillboxes
Scheduled monument · ~1.6 miles
Roman camp near Mitford Steads
Scheduled monument · ~1.9 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near Scottish Raid on Morpeth 1322

Scottish Raid on Morpeth 1314
1314
~0.2 miles away
Scots raids 1336-1340 into Northumberland
1336
~9.5 miles away
Douglas Chevauchee into Northumberland 1355
1355
~10.4 miles away
Scots raid on Northumberland 1314
1314
~12.8 miles away
Aubrey Research

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Sources
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