Battle of Evesham - The Battle

The Battle

Along a ridge called Green Hill, just north of Evesham, Edward set up his forces on the left, with Gloucester commanding the right. At about eight in the morning, Montfort left the town of Evesham as a great thunderstorm began to rage. At the Battle of Lewes, the baronial forces had gained confidence to win the day by a sense of divine destiny, reinforced by white crosses on their uniforms. This time the royal army had taken their lead, and wore a red cross as their distinguishing mark. According to the chronicler William Rishanger, when Montfort saw the advance of the royal troops, he exclaimed that 'They have not learned that for themselves, but were taught it by me.'

The respective forces of the royal and baronial armies have been estimated to be 10,000 and 5,000 strong. Montfort, facing such unfavourable numbers, decided to concentrate his forces on the centre of the enemy’s front, hoping to drive a wedge through the line. Though the tactics were initially successful, the baronial forces soon lost the initiative, especially as the Welsh infantry that Llywelyn the Last had provided proved unreliable, and deserted at an early point. The flanks of the royal army closed in on Montfort's, surrounding them. With Montfort confronted by a force twice the size of his own, on unfavourable ground, the battle rapidly turned into a massacre.

With the Battle of Lewes still fresh in memory, the royalists fought with a strong sense of bitterness and resentment. As a result, and despite attempts to surrender, most of the baronial rebels were killed on the battlefield rather than taken prisoner and ransomed, as was the common custom and practice. In what has been referred to as "an episode of noble bloodletting unprecedented since the Conquest", Montfort's son Henry was killed first, then Simon himself lost his horse and died fighting. His body was mutilated; his head, hands, feet and testicles cut off. King Henry himself, who had been in the custody of Montfort and dressed up in his colours, was barely rescued from the mêlée by Roger de Leybourne, a converted rebel.