Quick Links

Pictorial Record
Map: Bramham Village
Houses, Buildings and Businesses which have disappeared

Schools in Bramham

Bramham College
Gas in Bramham
Bramham over the Centuries
Bramham in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
Bramham Moor/Tadcaster Aerodrome
Bibliography
Map: Around Bramham

 

 

 

Bramham Over The Centuries

Bramham in the Wars of the Roses

The Lancastrian dynasty fell again into a position of weakness under Henry VI, who inherited as a child, and was by inclination a pious scholar rather than a warrior. By the 1450's the Yorkists had, furthermore, recovered their strength, so that in 1455 open warfare broke out, with the nation split again.
A crucial battle, the bloodiest ever to be fought on British soil, resulted, at Towton, in a snow storm, on Palm Sunday, 29 March 1461. Over 100,000 troops were in the field with, once again, the Percy's playing a leading role, this time, unexpectedly joining the Yorkist cause and altering the balance. As Cock Beck (by the new golf course at Cocksford) was in spate, and no quarter had been declared, many of the defeated Lancastrian army were trapped, and either drowned or put to the sword.
In those days battles ranged over a very wide area and the fugitives from this battle took refuge in many of the surrounding villages or were slain whilst running away. It is easy to imagine the terror of the inhabitants of the villages as slaughter went on all around them. It is believed that some of the dead from this battle were also buried in communal graves at the East end of Bramham churchyard. In all, over 30,000 men were killed at Towton, the battle which secured the throne for the Yorkist Edward IV. Today one can walk the battlefield and imagine its course, from the memorial just outside Towton, down between the ridges where the two armies face one another, to the bend in Cock Beck from which escape was so difficult.

The Civil War around Bramham

In an abortive rebellion in 1569 against Queen Elizabeth I, Bramham folk were certainly involved when 1600 horse and 4000 foot soldiers assembled on Clifford Moor, under the Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland. However the next major warfare in the area was the Civil War which arose during the deposition of Charles I by Oliver Cromwell and the English Parliament.
The Fairfax family, with many other gentlemen of the West Riding, took sides with Parliament. On 27 September 1642, the old Lord Fairfax, having attempted to be neutral but finding it impossible, accepted the post of Commander in Chief for the Parliament in Yorkshire with his son, Sir Thomas, as Commander-of-Horse. Sir Thomas's homes included Toulston Lodge, part of Tadcaster Grammar School and Hope Hall along the Thorner road. The first skirmish fought in Yorkshire was at Wetherby when Sir Thomas Fairfax accompanied by some three-hundred foot and forty horse soldiers was attacked by about twice that number of Royalists creeping out of the woods. Fairfax had been preparing to ride to Tadcaster but he at first managed to hold the enemy with only a few pikemen. When the rest of his forces realised what was happening, a short struggle took place during which Fairfax's powder magazine was blown up. The Royalists, believing this was the opening of cannon fire, fled back to York, via Tadcaster Bridge with Fairfax chasing them. They would have had to pass through the parish of Bramham and, as there was a lot of activity around Tadcaster Bridge, the local folk must have been drawn into action.
A further battle followed at Tadcaster Bridge in December 1642, when the Earl of Newcastle, with a force of 7,000 men and several pieces of cannon, occupied the position north east of the bridge. Fairfax, with only 800 men, was strongly entrenched around the south west foot of the bridge. For six hours Fairfax and his men withstood the Royalists pressure; reserving their fire until the last moment, they used it with deadly effect and the Royalists were driven back. Although Fairfax had to withdraw, he took possession of Tadcaster on the following day and held it until the siege of York.
However Fairfax was less successful at the battle of Seacroft, fought at Whinmoor. Retreating gradually across Bramham Moor before a larger Royalist force, Fairfax and his men were trapped by a second group which reached the area from the north side of Bramham. As the Royalists attacked from front and rear, the Parliamentary soldiers fled, were slain or taken prisoner, with Fairfax just able to escape into Leeds.
The climax to the Civil Wars came a few miles to the north east of Bramham, at Marston Moor in July 1644, when Cromwell and his Ironsides defeated the main Royalist army, before he became Lord Protector of England after the execution of King Charles I. Prior to this battle Cromwell is reputed to have trained his Ironsides on Bramham Moor, and to have recruited local young fanners whose riding skills made them ideal cavalry.
Once again, after the battle, victims were certainly buried in Bramham churchyard. As, by now, records were being kept, it is possible to name three soldiers whose remains rest here, Samuell Allan, Robert Johnson and Thomas Mirole.

Go Back Next Page
Useful links ....

Bramham Village Website
Bramham Park
Bramham Parish Council
Historic Britain
Bramham Horse Trials
Luminarium - Henry Percy
Old Maps of Bramham

More Links ....

Leeds Music Festival Website
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader

Menu Items ....

Where We Are Map
Search The Site
Contact Us
Copyright
Data Protection
Terms and Conditions
Accessibility

" "   Protected by Copyscape DMCA Copyright Detector