Appendix 1: The Register of Historic Battlefields (English Heritage: 1995)

Conserving Historic Battlefields

The English Heritage Register of historic battlefields identifies over forty areas of historic significance in England where important battles took place. This leaflet describes the role of the Register, how it was drawn up, and offers advice to owners, occupiers, planners, and other interested groups on ways to conserve and enhance the value of England's historic battlefields. The need to take into account the effect of development on historic battlefields has been highlighted by the Government in Planning Policy Guidance note 15.

The role of the Register

Like the Register of parks and gardens, also compiled by English Heritage, the Register of historic battlefields contains information for the conservation of areas of special historic interest. It provides expert guidance for those involved in conserving the sites on both the extent of the areas of historical significance and the most important amenity features within and around these areas. However, the Register does not imply any statutory controls, nor any additional powers to regulate development or other work beyond the normal planning system. Each Register entry is based on the best available evidence and includes a map of the battlefield area showing the position of the armies and features which were part of the original battleground. These maps are intended to be the starting point for battlefield conservation by identifying the most visually sensitive areas. They highlight particularly valuable features that should be conserved for understanding the battle and, where appropriate, emphasised for visitors in displays or information boards. They also make clear the extent of current public access.

The importance of battlefields

If, as Winston Churchill wrote, battles are 'the punctuation marks of history', then battlefields are the fragmentary pages on which those punctuation marks were written in blood. Their importance is four-fold.

• Battlefields have been the setting for crucial turning-points in English history, for example the Norman Conquest which followed the Battle of Hastings in 1066, or the turmoil of the Civil Wars in the seventeenth century which changed the roles of monarchy and parliament.
• The reputations of great political and military leaders were frequently built on battlefield success.
• Tactics and skills of war still relevant to the defence of the country evolved on the medieval battlefield.
• Battlefields are the final resting places for thousands of unknown soldiers, nobles and commoners alike, whose lives were sacrificed in the making of the history of England.

Where they survive, battlefields may contain important topographical and archaeological evidence which can increase our understanding of the momentous events of history which took place on their soil. They also have a use in education and recreation.

Selection of entries for the Register

The National Army Museum has researched 69 possible battlefields for the Register. Each candidate was considered by a small panel of invited experts with diverse skills and perspectives. For each battlefield they considered whether the fighting constituted a battle rather than a lesser level of engagement, and then whether or not the extant evidence, physical or documentary, defined the geographical area within which the battle took place. In order to be considered for the Register, an engagement must have involved recognised military units. Incidents of civil unrest, while undoubtedly of historical importance, are impossible to include consistently because frequently examples of these have no real boundaries and documentation is often poor. Sieges are better considered separately from battles because they are usually associated with physical remains which can be conserved through existing statutory mechanisms such as scheduling or listing. Having passed these hurdles, for an engagement to qualify as a battle three criteria have been used:

• the political significance of the engagement; was it, in fact, 'a little local difficulty' or can its impact be traced nationwide?
• its military historical significance; were the tactics of particular note, such as the turning of the table at Blore Heath?
• the biographical significance; was it the crowning glory of a military career, or was a famous leader killed or captured?

If an engagement was assessed as being not a battle but, for example, a skirmish instead, we have not listed it on the Register. The reliability of the detailed evidence for each battle was then considered. Where the evidence of documents, archaeology, topography, and landscape history was sufficient, the outer reasonable limit to the area within which the bulk of the fighting took place has been defined as the battlefield area. In those cases where the general location of the battle was known but where the evidence did not allow a boundary to be drawn, we have added the engagement to an appendix to the Register as the 'site of a battle. A small number of battles cannot even be located generally, and these will not be included on the Register until further evidence emerges. The 43 candidates which passed these tests to form the Registered battlefields are listed on the back of this leaflet.

Conserving battlefields

Battlefields rarely have identifiable remains. The land on which they took place was often farmland at the time of the battle and has continued to evolve since. English Heritage does not wish to prevent such changes, nor do we advise the 'restoration' of battlefields to a form consistent with the date of the battle. For the conservation of battlefields, as for the countryside in general, continued management is both desirable and necessary. Where detailed presentation to visitors is being considered English Heritage can provide only limited further information on the battlefield sites; we recommend that owners and developers bring in appropriate consultants to any such projects. Any proposal for development, of course, has to be considered in the context of the specific circumstances. Nevertheless, there are four themes which can guide the conservation of battlefields for current and future generations.

Authenticity

An essential part of the experience of visiting battlefields, whether for educational, recreational, or research purposes, is the knowledge that the landscape is essentially the one in which the battle took place. Superficial changes since the battle, such as the creation of enclosed fields, do not diminish the authenticity of the battlefield. However, a largely synthetic landscape, for example following quarrying or the creation of a golf course, will have lost most of its historical significance. We recommend, therefore, that large-scale changes to battlefield topography should be avoided. Cumulatively, small-scale changes can, over time, have a similarly damaging effect.

Visual amenity

The best-preserved battlefields are those where visitors' appreciation of history is least distracted by inappropriate elements in the landscape of the battlefield. These can include buildings sited in key views. Tree plantations or other barriers such as road embankments can be equally disruptive to the ability to appreciate the course of a battle. Conversely, carefully placed screening can enhance greatly the look of battlefields. Where new buildings are necessary, grouping them with existing structures can reduce their visual impact on the landscape.

Integrity

Archaeological methods, especially combined with historical research, can increase our understanding of battles by reconstructing the contemporary landscape and by studying the spread of battle-related objects such as musket balls. With inadequate information, for example from unscientific use of metal detectors, there is a risk of reducing rather than increasing the understanding of the battles. For this reason, we recommend that only planned field research should be carried out. While small-scale ground disturbance such as pipeline laying is unlikely to diminish the value of battlefields, it should be remembered that earlier archaeological remains may exist in the same area.

Accessibility

Providing and maintaining public access to battlefields deserves to be encouraged, while respecting the interests of owners and occupiers. Even where there is little prospect of visitor access to battlefields at present, conserving their educational and amenity value for future generations is consistent with principles of long-term development. Their long- term conservation will be helped by proper consideration of the effects of development through the planning system.

The best prospect for battlefield conservation, however, is the early recognition of their value to local communities and to local tourism. There will be circumstances where the potential of battlefields can be realised in the near future, whether through owners' or occupiers' initiatives, through the policies of local authorities, through the work of local amenity groups, or through a combination of all of these. Where such initiatives coincide with broader conservation and interpretation priorities, English Heritage may be able to give financial and technical assistance. In any case, we will retain an overview and will offer strategic advice.

Into the future

The Register will be periodically reviewed by English Heritage in consultation with a panel of expert advisers. If you have proposals for entry to, or exclusion from, the Register, please write with full details to English Heritage (Battlefields Register), 23 Savile Row, London WIX IAB, or telephone 0171 9733214. Local planning authorities, however, are the best agents for ensuring that battlefields are conserved, and for promoting tourism and educational visits. If you have concerns about the conservation of historic battlefields in your area, write to the planning officer or conservation officer at the district or county council.

Registred Battlefields

Maldon (Essex) 991
Stamford Bridge (North Yorks) 1066
Hastings (East Sussex) 1066
Northallerton (North Yorks) 1138
Lewes (East Sussex) 1264
Evesham (Hereford and Worcs) 1265
Myton (North Yorks) 1319
Boroughbridge (North Yorks) 1322
Halidon Hill (Northumberland) 1333
Neville's Cross (Co Durham) 1346
Otterbrn (Northumberland) 1388
Homildon Hill (Northumberland) 1402
Shrewsbury (Shrops) 1403
Blore Heath (Staffs) 1459
Northampton (Northants) 1460
Towton (North Yorks) 1461
Barnet (Greater London/Herts) 1471
Tewkesbury (Gloucs) 1471
Bosworth (Leics) 1485
Stoke Field (Notts) 1487
Flodden (Northumberland) 1513
Solway Moss (Cumbria) 1542
Newburn Ford (Tyne and Wear) 1640
Edgehill (Warwickshire) 1642
Braddock Down (Cornwall) 1643
Hopton Heath (Staffs) 1643
Stratton (Devon) 1643
Chalgrove (Oxon) 1643
Adwalton Moor (West Yorks) 1643
Lansdown Hill (Avon) 1643
Roundway Down (Wilts) 1643
Newbury I (Berks) 1643
Winceby (Lines) 1643
Nantwich (Cheshire) 1644
Cheriton (Hants) 1644
Cropredy Bridge (Oxon) 1644
Marston Moor (North Yorks) 1644
Naseby (Northants) 1645
Langport (Somerset) 1645
Rowton Heath (S) (Cheshire) 1645
Stow-on-the-Wold (Gloucs) 1646
Worcester (Worcs) 1651 with Powick
Bridge 1642
Sedgemoor (Somerset) 1685