Battlefields Trust London & South East

After several months of meticulous preparation, the eagerly anticipated inaugural event of the London & South-Eastern Branch of the Trust occurred on 14 April 2002. This was an anniversary walk around the Battlefield of Barnet, led by Frank Baldwin and myself.

Approximately thirty victims appeared in time for the 10am start at the south-eastern corner of Hadley Green. These appropriately included two members of the Neville Household re-enactment society, a soldier and a camp follower. A cool start to the day had given way to warm, sunny weather, which, although pleasant and useful logistically, would have disappointed purists hoping for the fog which gave the battle its special character.

Early proceedings included explanation of the historical background and the topography of the site, aided by Frank's excellent large-scale map drawn on two boards. Wooden blocks painted red and white illustrated the likely deployments. David Warren then outlined the results of his research, including the lack of archaeological evidence for the site, giving rise to possible alternatives on the old St Albans road to the west.

We then followed a public footpath downhill past trees from Hadley Green until a view opened up to the north from the Yorkist right. We concluded that this might have been a plausible site for the Yorkist encampment, given that most soldiers would have simply camped out in the open.

Walking north-east, we followed a track across a narrow valley with a stream in the bottom, skirting the eastern edge of the battlefield, illustrating the broken ground over which the Yorkist right advanced. We then emerged on the western edge of a football pitch, from which a footpath was followed north onto Hadley Common.

Walking west, we crossed the site of the Lancastrian left wing, where the Yorkist right outflanked the Duke of Exeter, although opinions varied as to how this could be achieved. One possibility would be an unexpected uphill attack from the east, accomplished under cover of the fog.

Crossing Camlet Way, we walked through Monken Hadley Churchyard to reach the northern edge of Hadley Green, from where the ground over which Edward IV advanced was viewed to the south. Crossing the Green, we took a public footpath west beside allotments, then north-west across the golf course to follow the remnant of the hedge alongside which the Lancastrians deployed. The Earl of Oxford's right wing advanced south from here to push the Yorkist left back into Barnet in the decisive manoeuvre of the early stages of the battle.

Returning to the Green, the view south took in the ground over which Oxford returned to the battlefield. Here, he was attacked on inadvertently approaching his allies and fled, thus precipitating the Lancastrian rout. Doubt was cast on the rather neat theory that Oxford's cry of treachery caused morale to plummet throughout the ranks, especially as the best source for this phase of the battle is Warkworth, a Lancastrian seeking to explain the cause of his side's defeat. His account of Montagu being killed while trying to change sides can be seen in similar light, but both stories indicate the fragility of the alliance of convenience holding the Lancastrians together.

Walking north from the north-west corner of the Green, we followed the Lancastrian retreat by a track on the line of the medieval road, turning into a public footpath emerging on Kitts End Road. We then took a short walk south for the obligatory photos at Hadley High Stone, traditionally the site of the Earl of Warwick's death.

Walking north along for five minutes along Great North Road, we followed a track between Beaumont Place and Greenacre Close. At the end of the track, we saw the impressive view into Dead Man's Bottom, a vast bowl into which the Lancastrian fugitives were mercilessly pursued. South of Dead Man's Bottom, we saw the ridge on which the Lancastrians deployed, with Monken Hadley Church denoting the left flank.

The unlikely future course of history was then outlined, in which with the Duke of Gloucester became King Richard III and was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field, where Henry Tudor's army was commanded by the Earl of Oxford.