If you are planning a tour to Britian, and would like to take in some of the spectacle of our military heritage we can help you to take advantage of the dozens of re-enactment and other events staged around the country.
We will be adding an events calendar so you can see what is on and where!
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One of a string of Norman castles in theMarches, built to protect the Anglo-Welsh border. During the civil war between Stephen and Matilda, it was held for the latter and besieged by Stephen in 1139. Henry III and Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth met to negotiate a treaty here in 1224. Briefly seized by Simon de Montfort during his rebellion, in the Civil War Ludlow was a Royalist stronghold but avoided damage and slighting by negotiating a surrender. The castle holds various historic themed events throughout the year.
A Welsh
victory in 1402, during the revolt led by Owain Glyndwr. An English
militia force led by Edmund Mortimer intercepted the rebels on the
hill of Bryn Glas above the village of Pilleth. The Welsh held the
high ground which their archers used to advantage, and during the
battle a body of Welsh archers attached to Mortimer's army changed
sides, contributing to the resounding defeat of the English. The
site of the battle is little changed and is marked by a group of
Wellingtonia trees near St Mary's church.
A decisive
clash in the war against the Viking invasion in 893. A Mercian army
under King Alfred the Great joined forces with a Welsh army under
King Merfyn of Powys to besiege a Danish army who had marched
across from Essex. The Danes were forced to fight their way out and
were defeated. Archaeological excavations in the churchyard at
Buttington, near Welshpool, have found skulls and limbs with signs
of battle scars, believed to be the remains of
combatants.
The largest battle of the Civil
Wars to be fought in Wales, Montgomery was a major victory for
Parliament. A Royalist army under Lord John Byron was besieging
Montgomery Castle when a Parliamentarian force under Sir John
Meldrum arrived in order to raise the siege. The Royalists were
routed and never again mustered a field army in North Wales. The
action took place just north of the castle, close to the River
Camladd and Offa's Dyke.
A key battle
in the Glyndwr revolt and a decisive English victory. Gruffudd,
eldest son of Owain Glyndwr, led a Welsh force to assault Usk
Castle. The English garrison repulsed the attack and the Welsh
retreated across the River Usk, to the hill of Pwll Melyn (Yellow
Pool). Welsh casualties were heavy and Gruffudd was captured. A
plaque marks the site of the battle.
Built on the
site of a former Welsh stronghold, construction began in 1282 but
was interrupted when the castle was taken by Madog ap Llywelyn in
the revolt of 1294. The second phase of building is marked by
thicker walls and the addition of the distinctive three octagonal
towers to the gatehouse. The castle resisted sieges in the Glyndwr
revolt and the Wars of the Roses. In the Civil War it was besieged
by Parliamentarians for six months before succumbing to surrender
and 'slighting'.
Fought in
1157 between Welsh prince Owain Gwynedd and the English King Henry
II in Ewloe Wood, Flintshire. Henry's forces were ambushed in the
woods and he narrowly avoided being killed, after which his army
retreated. Despite the defeat, Henry managed to secure Rhuddlan
Castle and subsequently signed a peace treaty with Gwynedd. A
plaque marks the site of the battle, close to the ruined Ewloe
Castle which was built a century later.
as the first time massed
ranks of archers faced each other on English soil. After heavy
hand-to-hand fighting King Henry IV's army crushed the rebel forces
led by Henry 'Harry Hotspur' Percy, who was killed in the battle.
The battlefield is undeveloped though the once open fields have
been enclosed. The church on the site was originally a memorial
chapel erected by King Henry in 1409. A recently built visitor
centre, Battlefield 1403, stands just north of the
battlefield.
A major
battle in the Wars of the Roses in which the Yorkist army of
Edward, Earl of March, intercepted a Lancastrian army led by Jasper
Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, that had marched up from Pembroke. Famous
for the occurrence of the parhelion, or sun dog, that appeared to
show three suns at sunrise. Edward took this as a good omen and
went on to defeat the Lancastrians. The battlefield is believed to
lie between Mortimer's Cross and Kingsland, in Herefordshire, where
a burial mound and a monument mark the site.
Though
counted as part of the Wars of the Roses, this was really a private
feud over the inheritance of Berkeley Castle. In 1470 William,
Baron Berkeley issued a challenge to his rival Thomas Talbot,
Viscount Lisle to settle the dispute in battle. Berkeley was able
to draw on men from the castle garrison and had a numerical
advantage. Lisle was killed in the battle and his manor sacked. A
supporter of the House of York, Berkeley was made a viscount by
Edward IV in 1481. Some of the fallen are buried in Nibley
Churchyard.
An impressive
example of a late medieval fortress, Raglan was begun in the 1430s
by Sir William ap Thomas. It has a large hexagonal keep known
variously as the Great Tower or the Yellow Tower of Gwent. In the
Civil War it was held by the Royalists and withstood a 13 week
siege before surrendering in August 1646. General Fairfax ordered
the castle to be 'slighted' but the strength of the fortifications
meant only a few walls were destroyed. The visitor centre has an
exhibition about life in the castle.
The final battle of the Civil
Wars took place close by the site of the wars' earliest skirmish in
1642, when Prince Rupert's cavalry fought off a smaller
Parliamentarian force at Powick Bridge. In 1651 a largely Scottish
army led by Charles II was defeated by the New Model Army under
Cromwell and Charles was forced into exile. Much of the battlefield
remains open land, and a Civil War Trail links key sites including
the Civil War Museum at the Commandery and Fort Royal, a Royalist
artillery fort.
Based in the Custom House in Gloucester
Docks, the museum is dedicated to the history of the
Gloucestershire Regiment and its antecedents the 28th and 61st
Regiments of Foot and The Royal Gloucestershire Hussars. The
collection contains artefacts accumulated over 300 years with
displays devoted to specific campaigns from the War of the Spanish
Succession to the First Gulf War.
After an
uneasy period of peace following the First Battle of St Albans in
1455, the Wars of the Roses re-erupted in 1459 with both factions
marshalling their supporters. A force marching from Yorkshire to
link up with the main Yorkist army at Ludlow was ambushed by a
Lancastrian army under Lord Audley, at Blore Heath east of Market
Drayton. Audley was killed and the Lancastrians were routed. The
battlefield today is enclosed agricultural land with access by
public footpath.
Housed within Shrewsbury Castle,
the museum holds the collections of the four Shropshire Regiments –
the King's Shropshire Light Infantry, Shropshire Yeomanry,
Shropshire Royal Horse Artillery and 4th Btn King's Shropshire
Light Infantry TA. The displays include pictures, uniforms, medals,
silverware, weapons and other artefacts from the 18th century
onwards. The exhibition traces the story of the Shropshire
Regiments through the French Wars of 1793-1815, the two world wars
and the Korean War.
A large
collection covering the history of aviation and the RAF in
particular. Over 70 aircraft are on display including a Spitfire, a
Lincoln Bomber, a TSR-2 and a Bristol Type 188. The National Cold
War Exhibition has all three V Bombers – the Vulcan, Victor and
Valiant – while the Transport Collection includes a Comet 1A and a
Gnat T1 used by the Red Arrows. There are also collections of aero
engines and missiles. Interactive exhibits include a flight
simulator and the 4D Experience in the Test Flight
Hangar.
Climax of the
second phase of the Wars of the Roses. A Lancastrian army led by
the Duke of Somerset reached Tewkesbury intending to cross the
River Severn and join forces with Jasper Tudor in Wales. Instead
they turned to fight the pursuing Yorkist army led by Edward IV.
The Yorkists prevailed and the Lancastrian heir, Edward Prince of
Wales, was killed. Though partly built over, the heart of the
battlefield near the Abbey retains the medieval field pattern.
There is a battle monument and a visitor trail. A re-enactment of
the battle takes place each July.
Second of the two main battles in
the Second Barons' War. Faced with a much larger Royal army under
Prince Edward, Simon de Montfort attacked but soon found his forces
encircled. The battle went on for some hours, descending into a
bloody massacre in which de Montfort was killed along with the
greater part of his army. Much of the battlefield is undeveloped.
There are two monuments to the battle on site, the
LeicesterTowerand the obelisk, both dating from the
19th
century.