A combination of two battles fought close together in Northumberland in April and May 1464 brought Lancastrian resistance to the Yorkist king Edward IV to an end during the Wars of the Roses until 1469. These battles are of extreme importance but are confused in the primary sources and often elided in modern accounts into a single battle, the last one fought at Hexham on May 15th (although the date of the battle is also unclear). One of the reasons for this confusion is that the battles were fought close together within a very short space of time, only three weeks apart. There are, however, sound reasons to explore each battle in turn.

The last battle, that of Hexham was indeed the most decisive encounter, but the consequences of Hedgeley Moor (fought on April 25th) are often combined with the final and more decisive battle of Hexham and which saw the total defeat of Lancastrian forces. The battle was also followed by a series of executions of prominent Lancastrians which have often taken focus away from the battle(s).

This episode was written by Murray Dahm.

Murray is an ancient and medieval military historian from New Zealand, living in Australia. He has written more than 100 articles on various aspects of ancient and medieval military history and other historical topics from all periods. He is the author of Macedonian Phalangite vs Persian Warrior, Athenian Hoplite vs Spartan Hoplite and Leuctra 371 BC, all from Osprey Publishing. He is a regular on the Ancient Warfare Podcast.