The Register of Historic Battlefields

The English Heritage Register of Historic Battlefields identifies forty-three important English battlefields. Its purpose is to offer them protection and to promote a better understanding of their significance. Each Register entry is based on the available evidence and includes a map of the battlefield area showing the position of the armies and features which were part of the original battleground. These maps are intended to be the starting point for battlefield conservation and interpretation by identifying the most visually sensitive areas.

The Importance of Battlefields - Battlefields are significant in five ways:

• As turning-points in English history, for example the Norman Conquest which followed the Battle of Hastings in 1066, or the turmoil of the Civil Wars in the seventeenth century which changed the roles of monarchy and parliament.
• The reputations of great political and military leaders were frequently built on battlefield success.
• Tactics and skills of war still relevant to the defence of the country evolved on historic battlefields.
• Battlefields are the final resting places for thousands of unknown soldiers, nobles and commoners alike, whose lives were sacrificed in the making of the history of England.
• Where they survive, battlefields may contain important topographical and archaeological evidence which can increase our understanding of the momentous events of history which took place on their soil.

Further Information

A leaflet offering further and more detailed information about the Register, including the criteria used to select sites and its role in the planning system, is available from the Heritage Protection Department, English Heritage, 1 Waterhouse Square, 8 - 142 Holborn, London, EC1N 2ST