Halidon Hill is a

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

, about west of the centre of

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

, on the border of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It reaches 600 feet (180 m) high. The name of the hill indicates that it once had a fortification on its top. At the

Battle of Halidon Hill The Battle of Halidon Hill took place on 19 July 1333 when a Scottish army under Sir Archibald Douglas attacked an English army commanded by King Edward III of England () and was heavily defeated. The year before, Edward Balliol had seized ...

in 1333,

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

used

longbow A longbow (known as warbow in its time, in contrast to a hunting bow) is a type of tall bow that makes a fairly long draw possible. A longbow is not significantly recurved. Its limbs are relatively narrow and are circular or D-shaped in cross ...

men on the heights of the hill to defeat the Scottish army led by Archibald the "Tyneman" Douglas,

Regent of Scotland A regent is a person selected to act as head of state (ruling or not) because minority reign, the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there is only one ruling Regency (government), Regency in the world, sovereign Liechtens ...

. An English army camped at Halidon Hill on 27 March 1560. The soldiers were sent into Scotland to help at the

siege of Leith The siege of Leith ended a twelve-year encampment of French troops at Leith, the port near Edinburgh, Scotland. The French troops arrived by invitation in 1548 and left in 1560 after an English force arrived to attempt to assist in removing the ...

during the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke with the Pope, Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Church of Scotland, Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterianism, Presbyterian in ...

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

came to Halidon Hill to view Berwick on 15 November 1566 and met John Foster, Marshal of Berwick. When

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

visited Halidon Hill near on 27 April 1588 there was a cannon salute and he spoke with members of the garrison. He gave the English commanding officers a gift of 100 gold crowns and to the porters (officers of lesser rank) 40 crowns described as "

drinksilver Drinksilver was a kind of tip or gratuity given to artisans in Early Modern Scotland, a sum of money suitable for buying drinks and celebrating. Records of payments give insights into labour, service, and patronage. Payments and contexts Building ...

". In April 1595 James VI and

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

planned to come on a progress towards Berwick, including a visit to Halidon Hill which overlooked the town and its fortifications. The governor of Berwick,

Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon Knight of the Garter, KG Privy Council of England, PC (4 March 1526 – 23 July 1596), was an English nobleman and courtier. He was the patron of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, William Shakespeare's playing company. ...

wondered if the town should give them a cannon salute.''HMC Salisbury Hatfield'', vol. 5 (London, 1894), p. 192: William Acres, ''Letters of Lord Burleigh to his son Robert Cecil'' (Cambridge, 2017), p. 171.

References

External links

English Heritage: Battle of Halidon HillGOOGLE book: "Halidon hill: a dramatic sketch from Scottish history" by Sir Walter Scott
Hills of Northumberland Mountains and hills of the Scottish Borders {{Borders-geo-stub

See also

References

External links