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Saxton with Scarthingwell
Saxton with Scarthingwell is a civil parish just south of Tadcaster in North Yorkshire, England. The parish contains the villages of Saxton and Scarthingwell, with two churches and the remains of a castle. Historically the area was a township, however it has been its own civil parish since 1866. Although the main part of the Battle of Towton was fought to the north out of the parish, some of the dead were interred in the parish, and at least one minor skirmish was fought within the parish boundaries. The parish shares a grouped parish council with Lead.
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622 m
All Saints' Church, Saxton
All Saints' Church is the parish church of Saxton, North Yorkshire, a village in England.
The church was built in the 11th century, initially serving as a chapel of ease in the parish of All Saints' Church, Sherburn in Elmet. The nave and chancel survive from this period. A south chapel was added in the 14th century, followed by a tower in the early 15th century. The church was restored in 1867, the work including the addition of a vestry, and was again restored in 1907. It was grade I listed in 1967.
The church consists of a nave with a chapel to the south, a chancel with a north vestry, and a west tower. The tower has two stages, a chamfered plinth, a narrow round-arched south door, a three-light west window with a hood mould, a clock face, two-light bell openings with hood moulds, a corbel table, and an embattled parapet with corner pinnacles. The south doorway is Norman, and has a round arch, and shafts with waterleaf capitals. At the east end are three stepped lancet windows. Inside, there is a Mediaeval octagonal stone font on a 19th-century base, an aumbry dating from about 1180, four 17th-century tombstones, three of which are set into the wall, and two late-18th century memorials.
In the churchyard is the tomb of Ralph, Lord Dacre, who died at the Battle of Towton in 1461. The tomb is made of limestone, and has an oblong plan, measuring about 1.75 metres (5 ft 9 in) by 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) and is about 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) in height. It is plain, and has weathered coats of arms on the sides and ends. It is grade II listed.
673 m
Saxton, North Yorkshire
Saxton is a village in the civil parish of Saxton with Scarthingwell, in North Yorkshire, England, 14 miles (23 km) south-west of York and 12 miles (19 km) east of Leeds. The resident population is about 250. The closest town is Tadcaster.
Saxton is home to an Anglican church, a primary school, a village hall, the Greyhound public house which is owned and operated by Samuel Smith Old Brewery and a cricket club.
1.1 km
Church of the Immaculate Conception, Scarthingwell
The Church of the Immaculate Conception is a historic church in Scarthingwell, in North Yorkshire, in England.
The church was constructed in 1854 to a design by John Bownas and William Atkinson. It was commissioned by Edward William Hawke-Harvey, 4th Baron Hawke, as a private chapel for his seat, Scarthingwell Hall. It was the first church in England to be dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. The hall was demolished in 1960, but the chapel survived as a Roman Catholic church. It was Grade II listed in 1988.
The church is in the Norman style, built of limestone, with a slate roof. It has a nave with a chancel in the form of an apse. The west end is gabled, and houses four niches. There is also a small stone turret at the west end. The nave has four tall windows, each with two lights, while the chancel has seven lancet windows. Inside, there is highly decorative plasterwork and a wooden gallery at the west end, reached by a staircase, which originally housed the family pew, but now contains an organ.
1.2 km
Battle of Towton
The Battle of Towton took place on 29 March 1461 during the Wars of the Roses, near Towton in North Yorkshire. Yorkist forces decisively defeated Lancastrian supporters of Henry VI, securing the English throne for Edward IV. Fought for ten hours between an estimated 50,000 soldiers from both sides in a snowstorm on Palm Sunday, it was "probably the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil".
Henry VI succeeded his father, Henry V, when he was nine months old in 1422, but was a weak, ineffectual and mentally unsound ruler, which encouraged the nobles to scheme for control over him. The situation deteriorated in the 1450s into a civil war between his Beaufort relatives and his wife, Queen Margaret, on one side, with those of his cousin Richard, Duke of York, on the other.
In October 1460, Parliament named York as Henry's successor, but the Lancastrians refused to accept the disinheritance of Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales. In December, their army defeated and killed York at Wakefield. His eldest son Edward now declared himself king, and marched north with his own forces. On reaching the battlefield, the Yorkists found themselves heavily outnumbered, since levies under the Duke of Norfolk had yet to arrive. However, Yorkist archers under Lord Fauconberg took advantage of the strong wind to outrange their enemies, provoking the Lancastrians into abandoning their defensive positions. The ensuing combat lasted hours, exhausting the combatants. The arrival of Norfolk's men reinvigorated the Yorkists who routed their foes.
Many Lancastrians were killed while fleeing, with several high-ranking prisoners executed, while Henry fled the country, leaving Edward to rule England. In 1929, the Towton Cross was erected on the battlefield to commemorate the event. Various archaeological remains and mass graves related to the battle have been found in the area.