Battle of Lewes 1264
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1264 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | England | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Second Barons' War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 50.8786, -0.0139 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Lewes was one of two main battles of the conflict known as the Second Barons' War. It took place at Lewes in Sussex, on 14 May 1264. 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'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 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.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Lewes (revision 1376128297), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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