Editing Battle of Lewes

{{Short description|1264 battle of the Second Barons' War}}
{{Distinguish|Battle of Lewes Road}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict=Battle of Lewes
|partof=[[Second Barons' War]]
|image=Lewes.jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption=Plan of the Battle of Lewes
|date=14 May 1264
|place=[[Lewes]], [[Sussex]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|50|52|43|N|0|0|50|W|region:GB-ESX_type:event|display=title,inline}}
|result=Baronial victory
|combatant1=Royal forces
|combatant2=Baronial forces
|commander1= {{Plain list|
* [[Henry III of England|King Henry III]]{{POW}}
* [[Edward I of England|Prince Edward]]{{POW}}
* [[Richard of Cornwall]]{{POW}}
* [[Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford|Humphrey de Bohun]]{{POW}}
* [[John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey|John de Warenne]]
* [[William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke|William de Valence]]
* [[Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer|Roger Mortimer]]{{POW}}
}}
|commander2= {{Plain list|
* [[Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester|Simon de Montfort]]
* [[Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester|Gilbert de Clare]]
* [[Nicholas de Segrave, 1st Baron Segrave|Nicholas de Segrave]]
* [[Henry de Montfort]]
* [[Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola|Guy de Montfort]]
* Humphrey (V) de Bohun
* [[Hugh Despenser (justiciar)|Hugh le Despenser]]
}}
|strength1=~10,000
|strength2=~5,000
|casualties1= 2,700
|casualties2= Unknown
}}
{{Campaignbox Second Barons' War}}
[[File:LewesBattle Big.jpg|thumb|300px|Monument to the Battle of Lewes]]

The '''Battle of Lewes''' was one of two main [[battle]]s of the conflict known as the [[Second Barons' War]]. It took place at [[Lewes]] in [[Sussex]], on 14 May 1264.<ref name="Keen1999">{{cite book|author=Maurice Keen|title=Medieval Warfare: A History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QPeWPiUc-4QC&pg=PA309|year=1999|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-164738-3|pages=309}}</ref> It marked the high point of the career of [[Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester]], and made him the "uncrowned King of England". [[Henry III of England|Henry III's]] forces left the safety of [[Lewes Castle]] and [[St. Pancras Priory]] to engage the barons in battle and were initially successful, with Henry's son [[Edward I of England|Prince Edward]] routing part of the baronial army with a cavalry charge. However, Edward pursued his quarry off the battlefield and left Henry's men exposed. Henry was forced to launch an infantry attack up Offham Hill where he was defeated by the barons' men defending the summit. The royalists fled back to the castle and priory and the King was forced to sign the [[Mise of Lewes]], ceding many of his powers to de Montfort.

== Background ==
Henry III was an unpopular monarch due to his autocratic style, displays of favouritism and refusal to negotiate with the barons. The barons eventually imposed a constitutional reform known as the [[Provisions of Oxford]] upon Henry, including provision for a thrice-yearly meeting led by [[Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester|Simon de Montfort]] to discuss matters of government. Henry sought to escape the restrictions of the provisions and applied to [[Louis IX of France]] to arbitrate in the dispute. Louis agreed with Henry and annulled the provisions. Montfort was angered by this and rebelled against the King along with other barons in the [[Second Barons' War]].<ref name=bt>{{cite web|title=Battle of Lewes|url=http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/medieval/battleview.asp?BattleFieldId=22|work=UK Battlefields Resource Centre|publisher=Battlefields Trust|access-date=10 June 2013}}</ref>

The war was not initially openly fought, each side toured the country to raise support for their army. A series of massacres of Jews in Worcester, London, Canterbury and other cities was conducted by Montfort's allies.<ref name=KJ>{{Citation |publisher = Continuum |ol = 24816680M |isbn = 9781847251862 |location = London |title = The king's Jews |url = https://archive.org/details/kingsjewsmoneyma00mund |author = Robin R. Mundill |lccn = 2010282921 |date = 2010 |oclc = 466343661 }}</ref>{{rp|88–90}}<ref name=JE>{{Cite Jewish Encyclopedia|title=England|first=Joseph |last=Jacobs|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5764-england|volume=5|pages=161–174}}</ref>

By May, the King's force had reached [[Lewes]] where they intended to halt to allow reinforcements to reach them.<ref name=bt/> The King encamped at [[St. Pancras Priory]] with a force of infantry, while his son, Prince Edward (later [[King Edward I]]), commanded the cavalry at [[Lewes Castle]] {{convert|500|yd|-2}} to the north.<ref name=m271>Maddicott, p. 271</ref> De Montfort approached the King with the intention of negotiating a truce or, failing that, to draw him into open battle. The King rejected the negotiations, and de Montfort moved his men from [[Fletching, East Sussex|Fletching]] to Offham Hill, a mile to the north-west of Lewes, in a night march that surprised the royalist forces.<ref name=bt/><ref name=m271/>

== Deployment ==
The royalist army approached twice the size of de Montfort's.<ref>Burne, p. 146.</ref> Henry commanded the centre, with Prince Edward, [[William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke]], and [[John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey]], on the right; and [[Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall]], and his son, [[Henry of Almain]], on the left.<ref>Prestwich, p. 45.</ref><ref name="five commanders">{{cite web| url = http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/content/imported-docs/k-o/lewes.pdf| title = English Heritage Battlefield Report: Lewes 1264}}</ref> The barons held the higher ground overlooking Lewes and had ordered their men to wear white crosses as a distinguishing emblem.<ref>Maddicott, p. 271.</ref> De Montfort split his forces into four parts, giving his son, [[Henry de Montfort]] command of one quarter; [[Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester|Gilbert de Clare]] with [[John FitzJohn]] and [[William of Montchensy]] another; a third portion consisting of Londoners was placed under [[Nicholas de Segrave]] whilst de Montfort himself led the fourth quarter with [[Thomas of Pelveston]].<ref name="five commanders"/>

== Battle ==
The baronial forces commenced the battle with a surprise dawn attack on foragers sent out from the royalist forces. The King then made his move. Edward led a cavalry charge against Segrave's Londoners, placed on the left of the baronial line, that caused them to break and flee to the village of [[Hamsey#Offham|Offham]]. Edward pursued them for some {{convert|4|mi|0}}, leaving the King unsupported.<ref name="five commanders"/><ref>Prestwich, pp. 45–66.</ref> Henry was forced to launch an attack with his centre and right divisions straight up Offham Hill into the baronial line, which awaited them at the defensive. Cornwall's division faltered almost immediately, but Henry's men fought on until compelled to retreat by the arrival of de Montfort's men who had been held back as the baronial reserve.<ref name="five commanders"/>

The King's men were forced down the hill and into Lewes where they engaged in a fighting retreat to the castle and priory. Edward returned with his weary cavalrymen and launched a counterattack.  However, upon locating his father, Edward was persuaded that, with the town ablaze and many of the King's supporters having fled, it was time to accept de Montfort's renewed offer of negotiations.<ref name="five commanders"/> The Earl of Cornwall was captured by the barons when he was unable to reach the safety of the priory and, being discovered in a [[windmill]], was taunted with cries of "Come down, come down, thou wicked miller."<ref name=SIAS>{{cite web|url=http://www.sussexias.co.uk/mills_historic_features.htm |title=The Decline and Fall of the Windmill |publisher=Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society |access-date=2008-10-19}}</ref>

== Aftermath ==
The King was forced to sign the so-called [[Mise of Lewes]]. Though the document has not survived, it is clear that Henry was forced to accept the [[Provisions of Oxford]], while Prince Edward remained a hostage of the barons.<ref>Maddicott, pp. 272–273; Prestwich, p. 46.</ref> This put de Montfort in a position of ultimate power, which would last until Prince Edward's escape, and de Montfort's subsequent defeat and death at the [[Battle of Evesham]] in August 1265.<ref name=bt/> Following the battle, debts to Jews were cancelled, and the records destroyed; this had been a key war aim.<ref name=JE/><ref name=KJ/>

In 1994, an archaeological survey of the cemetery of St Nicholas Hospital, in Lewes revealed the remains of bodies that were thought to be combatants from the Battle of Lewes.<ref name=sac148>{{cite journal |first=Luke |last1=Barber |first2=Lucy |last2=Siburn |title=The medieval hospital of St Nicholas, Lewes, East Sussex |journal=Sussex Archaeological Collections |year=2010 |volume=148 |pages=79–109 |url=https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-285-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_148/05Barber_and_Sibun_ADS.pdf |doi=10.5284/1085944 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In 2014, it was stated that some of the skeletons may be much older, with a skeleton known as "skeleton 180" being contemporary with the Norman invasion.<ref name=past6>Edwina Livesay. "Skeleton 180 Shock Dating Result". ''Sussex Past and Present'' Number 133. p. 6.</ref>

== Location ==
There remains some uncertainty over the location of the battle, with Offham Hill's eastern and lower slopes covered by modern housing. Recently, a new consensus on the location of the main engagement places it on the current location of [[HM Prison Lewes]]. Contemporary sources suggest the initial engagement took place along the approximate lines of what is now Nevill Road. The top and southern slopes remain accessible by footpaths across agricultural land, and the ruins of the priory and castle are also open to visitors.<ref name=bt/>

==See also==
* ''[[The Song of Lewes]]''

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
* {{Cite journal |last1=Barber |first=Luke |last2=Siburn |first2=Lucy |title=The medieval hospital of St Nicholas, Lewes, East Sussex |journal=Sussex Archaeological Collections |year=2010 |volume=148 |pages=79–109 |url=https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-285-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_148/05Barber_and_Sibun_ADS.pdf |doi=10.5284/1085944 |doi-access=free}}
* Brooks, Richard (2015). ''Lewes and Evesham 1264–65; Simon de Montford and the Barons' War''. Osprey Campaign Series No. 285. Osprey Publishing. {{ISBN|978 1-4728-1150-9}}.
* Burne, A. H. (1950, reprint 2002). ''The Battlefields of England''. London: Penguin. {{ISBN|0-14-139077-8}}.
* Carpenter, D. A. (1996). ''The Reign of Henry III'', London: Hambledon. {{ISBN|1-85285-070-1}}.
* Maddicott, J. R. (1994). ''Simon de Montfort'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-37493-6}}.
* {{Cite journal|editor-last=Muriel|editor-first=Wendy|title=Sussex Past and Present Number 133|journal=Sussex Past & Present: The Sussex Archaeological Society Newsletter|publisher=Sussex Archaeological Society|location=Lewes, East Sussex|year=2014|issn=1357-7417}}
* Prestwich, Michael (1988). ''Edward I'', London: Methuen London. {{ISBN|0-413-28150-7}}.

==External links==
* [http://www.simon2014.com A Lewes 750th anniversary web site]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111003215402/http://www.concharto.com/search/eventsearch.htm?_what=%22battle+of+lewes%22&_zoom=13&_ll=50.885600%2C-0.021973&_maptype=2 A map and timeline] of the battle

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1264 in England]]
[[Category:Battles of the Barons' Wars|Lewes]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1264]]
[[Category:Henry III of England]]
[[Category:History of East Sussex]]
[[Category:Lewes]]
[[Category:Registered historic battlefields in England|Lewes]]
[[Category:Second Barons' War]]