Little Book of Bath by Dean Mike

Author:Dean, Mike
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780750982009
Publisher: The History Press

BATTLES IN AND AROUND BATH

The Battle of Badon (c. late fifth century): Famous for the supposed involvement of King Arthur, this was fought between a force of Britons and Anglo-Saxons in the late fifth or early sixth century. Sometimes known as Mount Badon, it has been suggested that the ‘mount’ might refer to Bathampton Down. Due to the scarcity of sources there is no definite information as to the exact date of the battle, its location or details of the fighting. Other locations in England also lay claim to be the battle site.

The Battle of Dyrham (AD 577): Dyrham (or ‘Deorham’, as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle calls it) lies to the north of Bath, and it was here that the battle was fought between the West Saxons and the Britons. The Saxons were led by the two chieftains, Ceawlin and his son Cuthwine, and according to the Chronicle, they defeated three kings and captured three cities: Gloucester, Cirencester and Bath. Bath then remained a Saxon town until after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

The ‘Battle of the Bells’ (1408): Not strictly a battle, this was a heated quarrel which broke out between the prior and the mayor. The prior claimed the right for his bell in the church of St Mary de Stalls to be the first and last to be rung each day. The independent-minded mayor opposed this and arranged for other church bells to be rung outside of the ‘permitted hours’. The argument raged for years and was only finally settled in 1423 by the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who came up with a compromise that satisfied both parties: time was to be taken from the prior’s clock, but the mayor’s clock was permitted to be rung at certain times during the night.

The Battle of Lansdown (1643): This was fought on Lansdown Hill, to the north of Bath during the English Civil War. The Parliamentarians, under Sir William Waller, took up a position on Lansdown Hill and waited for an attack by the Royalists, commanded by Sir Ralph Hopton. The Cornish contingent of the Royalists was led by Sir Bevil Grenville. After several unsuccessful attempts to take Waller’s position, during which Grenville was killed, darkness fell and the King’s men retreated to wait for dawn. They could see the flickering lights of the enemy camp on the top of the hill. When dawn came and they attacked again, they found that Waller and his troops had retired to Bath and the lights they had seen were simply lengths of match which had been left hanging on the walls. Shortly after, an ammunition wagon exploded, severely wounding Hopton, and the despondent Royalist army moved away.

Today, the site of the battlefield is marked by a stone monument to Sir Bevil Grenville, erected in 1720 by his grandson, Lord Lansdown. It carries an inscription in which Sir Bevil’s ancestor Sir Richard Grenville (1542–91), the great Elizabethan seaman and heroic captain of the Revenge, is mentioned.

Norton St Philip (1685): This village a few

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