Towton

Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Human settlement in England

Unitary authority

Region

53°51′00″N 1°15′49″W / 53.849925°N 1.2634889°W / 53.849925; -1.2634889

Towton /ˈtaʊtən/ is a small village and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England. It was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974.^[3]

History

In 2010 and 2011 a pair of gold torcs dating to the Iron Age were discovered by metal detectorists. The 'Towton torcs' were acquired by the Yorkshire Museum in 2013.^[4]

The village is best known for the Battle of Towton, fought on Palm Sunday, 29 March 1461, during the Wars of the Roses. It was at this battle that Sir David Ap Mathew saved the life of Edward IV. Once King, Edward granted Sir David Ap Mathew permission to use 'Towton' on the Mathew family crest.^[5]

The battle has been described as "probably the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil."^[6]

^ "Parish population 2011". Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
^ "Towton Parish Council Website". Towton Parish Council. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
^ "History of Towton, in Selby and West Riding | Map and description". www.visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
^ "Yorkshire Museum buys second Towton bracelet". BBC News. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
^ Gravett, Christopher (2003). Towton 1461—England's Bloodiest Battle. Campaign. Vol. 120. Oxford, United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing. p. 44. ISBN 1-84176-513-9.
^ Gravett 2003, p. 7.