English Battlefields
500 Battlefields That Shaped English History
Published on 14. March 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
978-0-7524-4167-2 (ISBN)
Description
'Fascinating' - The Sunday Telegraph
England has been fought over for centuries, by invaders and in civil wars. The sites of these desperate struggles are as varied as the reasons they were fought over, be they fields, towns or fortresses, by land, sea or air. These haunted acres are places of commemoration, memory and, above all, history. These are the places where history was made, and as such they form a crucial part of the historic environment.
By 'reading' them like any other form of historical evidence, much can be learned about the events which took place there. Through stripping away later features and land use with an eye for the ground, the battlefield historian can, with the use of contemporary accounts, archaeology and military history, reconstruct the events which have shaped the present.
In this fully updated, ground-breaking volume, covering over 500 battlefields, Michael Rayner unravels these various strands and weaves them back together to give clear, concise accounts of the battles that shaped England.
England has been fought over for centuries, by invaders and in civil wars. The sites of these desperate struggles are as varied as the reasons they were fought over, be they fields, towns or fortresses, by land, sea or air. These haunted acres are places of commemoration, memory and, above all, history. These are the places where history was made, and as such they form a crucial part of the historic environment.
By 'reading' them like any other form of historical evidence, much can be learned about the events which took place there. Through stripping away later features and land use with an eye for the ground, the battlefield historian can, with the use of contemporary accounts, archaeology and military history, reconstruct the events which have shaped the present.
In this fully updated, ground-breaking volume, covering over 500 battlefields, Michael Rayner unravels these various strands and weaves them back together to give clear, concise accounts of the battles that shaped England.
Reviews / Votes
'A painstaking survey of English battlefields ... expunges myths, illuminates facts, and puts these haunted acres into their proper context. A first-rate book.' -- Richard Holmes 'A fascinating and, for all its factual tone, an atmospheric volume.' * <i>The Sunday Telegraph</i> * 'It may come as a surprise to some just how many battles have been fought on English soil ... An authoritative work.' * BBC <i>History</i> magazine * 'The most comprehensive reference book on English battlefields ever written.' * <i>Eastern Daily Press</i> *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Stroud
United Kingdom
Illustrations
16 Plates, color; 32 Illustrations, color; 80 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 165 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
720 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7524-4167-2 (9780752441672)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2025
The History Press Ltd
€18.49
Available for download
Person
MICHAEL RAYNER is Chair of the Battlefields Trust's Battlefield Panel, and a member of Historic England's Expert Advisory Group. He has been at the forefront of battlefield preservation and interpretation in the UK for over 30 years since helping to set up the Battlefields Trust, a charity dedicated to protecting battlefield sites across the UK and internationally. His other work includes Battlefields: Exploring the Arenas of War, 1805-1945. He lives in Norfolk.