Battle of Towton (1461)

The Battle of Towton is remembered as one of the blodiest battles in history.
It is argued, how many died back then, but numbers vary in the range of about 27.000 men.
That would make the battle, which lasted one day, blodier than battles with modern warfare during the first and second World War.

Both, the Lancastrian and Yorkist side had heavy losses, but Edward IV could dominate the outcome and was able to ascertain his coronation in Westminster Abbey some month later.
Description of the Battle of Towton (pdf-file)

The Towton Battle and Its Connection to King Richard III

King Richard III, who had lost both his father and his second oldest surviving brother, Edward, Earl of Rutland, who was about 16 years old, in the battle of Wakefield a few month earlier, was only 8 years old at that time. He had left the country after the battle of Wakefield and was too young to support his oldest brother Edward, the later King Edward IV, in this battle, which brought the temporary safty for the coronation in London a few month later.

The Towton Battlefield Society

Website: http://www.towton.org.uk/

Contact: chairman@towton.org.uk

Events

Latest re-enactment in the year 2012: