Battle of Neville's Cross from a 15th century Froissart manuscript (BN MS Fr. 2643).On this day ...
Six hundred and sixty years ago a large Scottish army of invasion commanded by King David II was decisively beaten at the battle of Neville's Cross near Durham (1346) by a hastily formed English force raised by William Zouche, the Archbishop of York and commanded by Lord Ralph Neville.
Apparently neither side was keen to go on the offensive but what tilted the balance was the attack by anything up to a thousand Lancastrian bowmen that forced the Scots to advance rather than face continued punishment. This meant the Scots traversing difficult terrain that disrupted their formation so badly they were easily dealt with by the English men at arms. King David suffered the indignity of being held prisoner in the Tower of London for eleven years until his ransom was finally paid in full.
The battle is notable for the following points :
- It demonstrated the organisational resilience of the English war machine. England was able to mount a rapid response that took the Scots by surprise within 24 hours of the Scots encamping outside Durham.
- What is even more impressive is that this response took place when the vast bulk of the English army was away in France, laying seige to Calais.
- Furthermore , the two men who would otherwise have commanded an English response were also on the French Campaign - King Edward III and the Bishop of Durham.
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