The Battlefields Trust

The role and significance of dozens of the most significant battlefields and sieges in the story of the fight for Magna Carta are to be highlighted by The Battlefields Trust and The Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Commemoration Committee thanks to a grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
 

About the Project:

The project will raise awareness of the battlefields and sieges associated with Magna Carta and the resulting Barons Wars. It will develop interpretation and educational resources to tell this story, including the development of an exciting battlefields trail that integrates with a nationwide Magna Carta trail. Look out for #MagnaCartaBattles for up-to-date information about this exciting project.

Click here to read a list of Magna Carta Battles compiled by the Trust.

The Trust has produced commentary on the Great Charter and conflict in its companion Battlefields Magazine. Click to download the following:

Battlefields 2014 Winter issue
Battlefields 2015 Spring issue

Click here to download a bespoke Battle of Lewes leaflet (featured below).

If you would like to get involved in your local area or be kept up to date on developments, please complete the form below:

Dates for your Diary:

March
19th March:Lecture: Edward Dawson, Magna Carta 800th Battlefields Project Director: The Fight for Magna Carta – from King John to the present day.’ The Elizabethan Hall, Hook. North East Hampshire Branch, UKIP, 7.30 pm. Contact Robert Blay for further information – [email protected], 01256 769248
24th March: Civic Day at Hart District Council with theme of, Magna Carta and Freedom. With visit to Odiham Castle on Basingstoke Canal. Led by Cllr Myra Billings Chairman: 01252 622122, [email protected]
click here for more information.

April
9th:Lecture: Dr Nick Barratt of the National Archives 1215 and all that: the real story of Magna Carta. 7.30 pm Church Cottage, St Michael’s Church Square, Basingstoke. Delivered by Basingstoke Archaeological and Historical Society www.bahsoc.org.uk
10th: Lecture: Village Life at the time of Magna Carta. Dr. Nick Karn is Lecturer in Medieval Law at University of Southampton. The Cross Barn, Odiham 7.45 pm. Click here for more information.
16th: Lecture: ‘Magna Carta – The Great Charter of 1215’ by Dr Alex Armstrong. 7.30 pm The Willis Museum, Old Town Hall, Market Place, Basingstoke RG21 7QD. Click here for more information.
19th: Walk: Runnymede 1215. Led by Harvey Watson of the Battlefields Trust. Meet 10.30 am National Trust tearooms TW20 0AE. Brisk 1 km walk up Coopers Hill, to view Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial. Contact Harvey Watson 01494 257847 [email protected]
25th: Conference: King John & Magna Carta England at a Baron Town. 9.30 am Civic Centre, Trowbridge. Speakers include Dr Matthew Bennett and Cath Hanley of the Battlefields Trust, and Sean McGlynn, author. Tickets £10. Click here to book, or call 01225 765072
27th: Friends of Hereford Cathedral Group Study Session and discussion event. Click here for more information.Edward Dawson of the Battlefields Trust will speak on the Magna Carta 800th Project.
28th: Lecture: The Magna Carta Wars, by Dr Matthew Bennett, Trustee, the Battlefields Trust 7.30 pm at Long Crendon, Thame. Long Crendon Preservation Society. Email [email protected] for more information.

May
1st – 3rd – Annual Conference of the Battlefields Trust, Oxford. Lectures will be given by Dr Matthew Bennett, Edward Dawson, and Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Committee Chairman, Sir Robert Worcester. Click here for more information.
14th: Walk: Battle of Lewes 1264. Battlefields Trust and Sussex Archaeology led by Michael Chartier and John Freeman. Meet 11.00 am at Lewes Castle with afternoon walk at 2.00 pm. Contact John Freeman at 07957 829997 [email protected]
24th: Magna Carta Boat Rally: Colt Hill, Odiham with land-based attractions. Basingstoke Canal Society. Click here for more information.
27th Lecture: ‘The Battle for Magna Carta – a forgotten history,’ Edward Dawson, Magna Carta 800th Project Director. The King’s Chapel, High Street, Amersham Civic Society 8.00 pm.Contact Dorothy Symes at [email protected] 01494 434858, or click here.

July
13th: CPRE Hampshire Canal trip at Odiham, meet 2.30 pm Colt Hill Wharf, Odiham, Basingstoke Canal. Edward Dawson, Magna Carta 800th Project Director, will speak on ‘King John and Magna Carta – what it means today’. Click here for more information.
18th: Saturday Study Day: 2015: the year of Anniversaries, talks on Magna Carta Wars and the Magna Carta 800th Project by Edward Dawson and Prof Anne Curry, as well as Sir Robert Worcester. Norwich. Contact: Annmarie Hayek [email protected]

August
1-14th: 750th Anniversary Battle of Evesham 1265, Simon de Montfort Society and Battlefields Trust events series commemorate passing of Simon de Montfort and creation of first English Parliament. Keynote lecture by Professor David Carpenter. Click here for more information.
3rd-4th: Medieval Festival at Verulamium Park, St Albans AL3 4SW 10am – 4pm. Medieval encampment, talk by Battlefields Trust on St Albans and the Barons’ Wars re-enactments, craft activities, displays of equestrian, combat and archery skills. Free Admission

November
26th: Lecture: ‘The Magna Carta Celebrations and Odiham Castle’ by John Champion, Chairman of the Odiham Society. At the Allen Gallery, Alton at 8.00 pm. Contact: Sheila John 01420 82802. Click here for more information.

#MagnaCartaBattles

@Battleftrust

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