1217 Battle of Lincoln Trail

A self-guided trail taking you through a pivotal moment in history following the locations of the Battle of Lincoln through the city.

When the child King Henry III took the throne, some of the rebellious barons involved in the sealing of Magna Carta invited the French Prince Louis to conquer the country and take power.

Lincoln Castle was one of the only remaining strongholds for the King and held out for the royalist cause under the command of a formidable lady constable, Nicola de la Hay and supported by William Marshal, Guardian of the Realm and regent to King Henry III.

This battle was of national significance. If the Royalists had lost, England would have become part of France and our King Louis VIII, instead the Plantagenet dynasty ruled for another 250 years.

The 1217 Battle of Lincoln Trail will take you to Lincoln Castle - the heart of the battle - and the surrounding area where the fighting took place. Then you will follow the retreating French army down Steep Hill to today's modern city centre where they finally made their retreat.

An artistic impression of a roman soldier at the Lincoln Castle

About the 1217 Battle of Lincoln Trail

After the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215, King John went back on his promise which led the country to fall into a civil war. This divided the barons between supporting the crown and rebel barons who invited Prince Louis, the son of the French King, to take the English throne.

In May 1216, King John died and his son, the now King Henry III, was only a child. So William Marshal, a famous medieval knight and the King’s champion, acted as regent. By May 1217, the city of Lincoln and much of the country had been taken by the combined French and rebel English forces, but Lincoln Castle held out for the royalist cause under the command of a formidable lady constable, Nicola de la Hay.

On the morning of 20 May 1217, the Royalist army set out from Stowe to take Lincoln Castle. The Royalists claimed victory but in pursuit of those retreating sacked the city, giving rise to the chronicler’s ironic nickname for the battle, the Battle of Lincoln Fair.

The wise old William Marshal, Guardian of the Realm, offered the Rebel Barons an amnesty and most switched allegiance to the young Henry III.

This battle was of national significance. If the Royalists had lost, England would have become part of France and our King Louis VIII, instead the Plantagenet dynasty ruled for another 250 years.

Trail information courtesy of Rod Wilson for The Lincolnite.

Follow this trail to learn more about the battle and to walk the footsteps of the armies of 1217.