Battle of Halidon Hill - Halidon Hill

Halidon Hill

Edward and his army took up position on Halidon Hill, a small rise of some 600 ft. two miles to the north-west of Berwick, which gives an excellent view of the town and surrounding countryside. From this vantage point he was able to dominate all of the approaches to the beleaguered port. Any attempt by Douglas to by-pass the hill and march directly on Berwick would have been quickly overwhelmed. Crossing the Tweed to the west of the English position, the Guardian reached the town of Duns on 19 July. On the following day he approached Halidon Hill from the north-west, ready to give battle on ground chosen by his enemy. It was a catastrophic decision. The Book of Pluscarden, a Scots chronicle, describes the scene:

They (the Scots) marched towards the town with great display, in order of battle, and recklessly, stupidly and inadvisedly chose a battle ground at Halidon Hill, where there was a marshy hollow between the two armies, and where a great downward slope, with some precipices, and then again a rise lay in front of the Scots, before they could reach the field where the English were posted.

The approach was observed by Henry Beaumont, who would have advised Edward of the tactics that brought victory at Dupplin Moor when the two met at York the previous December. The order of battle now employed mirrored those used at Dupplin, with some variations owing to superior strength. The army was divided into three divisions, comprising infantry, men-at-arms and knights. All made ready to fight on foot in a defensive position. The left was commanded by Balliol; the centre by Edward; and the right by Thomas Brotherton, Earl of Norfolk and Earl Marshal of England. Standing on the flanks of each division were six supporting wings of archers. The bowmen projected slightly forward in a wedge formation to offer maximum use of supporting crossfire, an arrangement later adopted at Crécy. Edward was required to take no further action: for if Douglas refused to give battle, as caution and good sense demanded, Berwick would fall by default.

Douglas' army was also arranged in three divisions, drawn up in traditional schiltron formation: the Guardian commanded the left; Robert Stewart, the future king, commanded the centre; and John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray the right. As Pluscarden says, to engage the English they had to advance downhill, cross a large area of marshy ground, and then climb up the northern slope of Halidon Hill. Although the Scots spearmen had proved their worth against cavalry at Stirling Bridge and Bannockburn, the battles of Dupplin Moor and Falkirk had shown how vulnerable they were to arrows. Not only was the ground bad, but it must have been obvious to the Guardian as he looked towards the massed ranks of Edward's archers that this was not going to be a cavalry battle. The prudent course of action would have been to withdraw and wait for a better opportunity to fight; but this would mean the automatic loss of Berwick. The Scots were now to fight one of the most disadvantageous battles in their history.