Battlefields›Burning of Alnwick, January 1216

Medieval

Burning of Alnwick, January 1216

Q: When did Burning of Alnwick, January 1216 take place?

Burning of Alnwick, January 1216 took place in 1216, in Northumberland, England. During King John's punitive campaign against the rebel baron Eustace de Vescy for his alliance with Alexander II of Scotland, royal forces burned the vill of Alnwick on 9 January 1216 as part of a wider sweep through Northumberland (Mitford, Alnwick, Wark, Roxburgh). Sources give conflicting detail on the castle itself: the Melrose Chronicle-derived accounts describe the town as burned and note Alnwick was 'seized from Eustace de Vescy', while other secondary accounts state the castle held out and did not fall. This was a punitive royalist raid, not a Scottish siege or capture as the existing record states; there is no sourced evidence that Alexander II of Scotland besieged or took Alnwick himself.

Q: Who won Burning of Alnwick, January 1216?

King John's forces was victorious. The defeated side was Eustace de Vescy (lord of Alnwick). During King John's punitive campaign against the rebel baron Eustace de Vescy for his alliance with Alexander II of Scotland, royal forces burned the vill of Alnwick on 9 January 1216 as part of a wider sweep through Northumberland (Mitford, Alnwick, Wark, Roxburgh). Sources give conflicting detail on the castle itself: the Melrose Chronicle-derived accounts describe the town as burned and note Alnwick was 'seized from Eustace de Vescy', while other secondary accounts state the castle held out and did not fall. This was a punitive royalist raid, not a Scottish siege or capture as the existing record states; there is no sourced evidence that Alexander II of Scotland besieged or took Alnwick himself.

1216

Northumberland, England

Era

Medieval

Battle Type

Raid

Location

Northumberland, England

Status

Unregistered

The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated

Eustace de Vescy (lord of Alnwick)

Victor

King John's forces

Outcome

During King John's punitive campaign against the rebel baron Eustace de Vescy for his alliance with Alexander II of Scotland, royal forces burned the vill of Alnwick on 9 January 1216 as part of a wider sweep through Northumberland (Mitford, Alnwick, Wark, Roxburgh). Sources give conflicting detail on the castle itself: the Melrose Chronicle-derived accounts describe the town as burned and note Alnwick was 'seized from Eustace de Vescy', while other secondary accounts state the castle held out and did not fall. This was a punitive royalist raid, not a Scottish siege or capture as the existing record states; there is no sourced evidence that Alexander II of Scotland besieged or took Alnwick himself.

The Battle

History & Significance

Burning of Alnwick, January 1216 was a medieval raid, fought at Northumberland, England in 1216. King John's forces prevailed over Eustace de Vescy (lord of Alnwick). During King John's punitive campaign against the rebel baron Eustace de Vescy for his alliance with Alexander II of Scotland, royal forces burned the vill of Alnwick on 9 January 1216 as part of a wider sweep through Northumberland (Mitford, Alnwick, Wark, Roxburgh). Sources give conflicting detail on the castle itself: the Melrose Chronicle-derived accounts describe the town as burned and note Alnwick was 'seized from Eustace de Vescy', while other secondary accounts state the castle held out and did not fall. This was a punitive royalist raid, not a Scottish siege or capture as the existing record states; there is no sourced evidence that Alexander II of Scotland besieged or took Alnwick himself.

Confirmed battlefield location

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Burning of Alnwick, January 1216 lies on Yoredale Group, bedrock that formed in the Bashkirian. The rock here is limestone, argillaceous rocks and subordinate sandstone, interbedded.

Questions & Answers

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Roman Britain

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Civil War

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Geology

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LiDAR

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Local Names

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Literature

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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Burning of Alnwick, January 1216

Lion Bridge

Scheduled monument · ~0.2 mi

Lion Bridge is a Grade II* listed stone bridge crossing the River Tyne near Corbridge in Northumberland, constructed in the eighteenth century as part of the regional transport network. The bridge is distinguished by its decorative stone lions positioned at each end, which serve as distinctive ar…

Tim Felce (Airwolfhound) / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Bondgate Tower

Scheduled monument · ~0.2 mi

Bondgate Tower is a fourteenth-century fortified gatehouse forming part of the medieval defences of Alnwick. The structure comprises a substantial stone tower which originally served as a controlled entrance point to the town, reflecting the defensive requirements of the Anglo-Scottish border reg…

Mariegriffiths at English Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons

St Mary's Chantry House

Scheduled monument · ~0.2 mi

St Mary's Chantry House is a late medieval structure located in Northumberland, England. The building dates from the fifteenth or sixteenth century and served as a chantry establishment, functioning as a residence and chapel where priests would say masses for the souls of the dead, a common pract…

Mick Knapton / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

St Leonard's Hospital, Alnwick

Scheduled monument · ~0.5 mi

St Leonard's Hospital, Alnwick is a medieval charitable institution located in Northumberland. Founded in the 12th century, the hospital served as an almshouse providing care and shelter for the poor and infirm. The surviving remains include fragments of stone walls and foundations that reflect t…

Russel Wills / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Alnwick Abbey

Scheduled monument · ~0.6 mi

Alnwick Abbey is a Premonstratensian monastery founded in 1147 by Eustace FitzJohn in Northumberland, situated in the valley of the River Aln near the market town of Alnwick. The abbey followed the rule of the Premonstratensian order, which combined monastic and canonical traditions, and became o…

Les Hull / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Hulne Priory

Scheduled monument · ~2 mi

Hulne Priory is a Carmelite friary situated in the Hulne Park estate near Alnwick in Northumberland. Founded in the fourteenth century, it represents one of the most northerly establishments of the Carmelite order in medieval England. The surviving remains include substantial stone walls and arch…

Les Hull / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Camp on Alnwick Moor

Scheduled monument · ~2.5 miles

Heiferlaw defended settlement and Second World War Zero Station, 100m north of Holywell

Scheduled monument · ~2.6 miles

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Battles near Burning of Alnwick, January 1216

William the Lion Siege of Alnwick 1173

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Siege of Alnwick Castle (Second)

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Hotspur Conspiracy Echoes — Percy Restoration 1469

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Henry I Scottish Relations -- Alnwick Context 1100

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