The Site of The Battle of Halidon Hill 1333
The site of the Battle of Halidon Hill, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Battlefield
- List Entry Number:
- 1000012
- Date first listed:
- 06-Jun-1995
- Statutory Address:
- The site of the Battle of Halidon Hill, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland
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Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Battlefield
- List Entry Number:
- 1000012
- Date first listed:
- 06-Jun-1995
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 18-Oct-2016
- Statutory Address 1:
- The site of the Battle of Halidon Hill, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This list entry identifies a battlefield which is registered because of its special historic interest.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This list entry identifies a battlefield which is registered because of its special historic interest.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- The site of the Battle of Halidon Hill, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Northumberland (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Berwick-upon-Tweed
- National Grid Reference:
- NT9678955540
Summary
The site of the Battle of Halidon Hill (1333) which saw the army of King Edward III defeat a Scottish Army led by Sir Archibald Douglas during an attempt to relieve a siege of Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Reasons for Designation
Halidon Hill was the 20-year-old Edward III's military baptism. Here he learnt how powerful a combination of archers and dismounted men-at-arms could prove. Crecy and Poitiers, later in his reign, would show that the tactics first tested against the Scots could be equally effective against the mounted knights of France. The topography allows a clear understanding of the course of the battle despite the change in landscape character.
History
The expulsion of Edward Balliol from the Scottish throne in a coup just before Christmas 1332 prompted his sponsor, King Edward III of England, to open hostilities against Scotland by besieging Berwick-upon-Tweed, which had been retaken by the Scots in 1318. In an attempt to relieve Berwick, a Scottish army gave battle against Edward III and Edward Balliol.
The Scots waited until after midday to attack, and marched across boggy ground to meet the English, but buckled under a hail of arrows. The bloodiest fighting was on the right half of the English line, where the battle continued throughout the day. Eventually the English prevailed and pursued the remaining Scots northwards. Berwick fell the next day.
Details
The battlefield, which in 1333 was uncultivated scrub and marsh, now shows a patchwork of fields characteristic of Parliamentary enclosure in around 1800, at which time the land was drained and improved.
This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment to the Selected Sources on 10/04/2019
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 13
- Legacy System:
- Battlefields
Sources
Books and journals
Rayner, M, English Battlefields, (2004), pp. 162-6
Myers, A R (ed), English Historical Documents 1327-1485, ()
Nicholson, R, Edward III and the Scots: the Formative Years of a Military Career, (1965)
Websites
English Heritage Battlefield Report: Halidon Hill 1333 (Published 1995), accessed 10th April 2019 from https://historicengland.org.uk/content/docs/listing/battlefields/halidon-hill/
Legal
This battlefield is registered within the Register of Historic Battlefields by Historic England for its special historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 15-Jun-2026 at 19:40:11.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.