On this page are reports, in reverse chronological order, on talks that were given at SWAAG monthly meetings in 2026. To jump to any one report, click the relevant link:
Mar – ‘At the edges of prehistoric domains: the evolution of ‘thin’ and ‘niggardly’ Domesday Fremington and bountiful Domesday Marrick’, by Perry Gardner.
Feb – Battle of Towton, 1461, by Alex Walsh, Chairman of the Towton Battlefield Trust
Jan – Highlights of Peruvian Archaeology, by Jane Harrison
March – ‘At the edges of prehistoric domains: the evolution of ‘thin’ and ‘niggardly’ Domesday Fremington and bountiful Domesday Marrick’, by Perry Gardner.
At the time of the Domesday Book (1086AD) Fremington’s value was one of the very lowest in the North Pennine area, while Marrick’s was one of the highest of all. Using a wide range of analytic techniques and sources, Perry will consider the evolution of the two settlements, identifying the roots of Marrick’s decline into a ‘remote’, ‘marginal’ upland village.
The speaker has used a number of analytical techniques to follow the evolution of the two settlements. He also linked a previous talk on Boundaries in Swaledale to the analysis for this report.
Fremington – exhibited the preservation of prehistoric land use and appears impoverished.
Marrick – post Roman innovation indigenous people / or incomers, and was bountiful in 1096.
Suggestions from the author’s other research:
Fremington – a hybrid space on the edge of an early Bronze Age territory. In C6 coalesced into a version of the current township.
Marrick – a fractured space, a trading zone, that evolved into a version of a modern township under incoming Germanic influences and flourished.
The techniques and research have looked at long term patterns of land use across the settlements:
Groups of field names – indicating use / examples linked to stock rearing / features that indicate under lying geographical features.
Groups of place names
Spatial Syntax analysis – how do spaces connect, what are the spaces used for, how are resources shared.
Limitations of these systems are the maps (1800’s) vs medieval layout – are we looking at the relics of a previous settlement and land use.
Fremington may have been better organised for moving cattle and having access to quarries. It has a lowland connection to Richmond, therefore could provide stone and lead for building – eg Count Alan building of Richmond.
Marrick (Mange in Domesday book) – could indicate the trading of salves (Mango – slave trader) Romans employed slaves in the lead mining. When given to Gospatric (Earl of Northumberland) was described as “very valuable”. Suggesting this may have been a trading zone, simply moving goods across / through, not an organised settlement.
Marrick may have also been derived from Meark / Mare / horse – may be from the supply of pack or draft horses, again could be a link to trading.
The name change from Mange to Marrick was rapid, possibly linked to the conflict between the Priory and the Aske family, causing fragmentation of the settlement. There may also be a connection to coppiced woodland – providing a key crop for many industries, coppice is connected to many local names.
NOTE: raised by a member of the audience – there is a suggestion that Mange arose as a transcription error, conflating the ri of Marige into n!
February – The Battle of Towton, 1461, by Alex Walsh, Chairman of the Towton Battlefield Trust
The battle took place on 29 March 1461 during the Wars of the Roses, near Towton in North Yorkshire. Yorkist forces decisively defeated Lancastrian supporters of Henry VI, securing the English throne for Edward IV.
Alex endeavoured to answer the question: Was this really the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil?
Alex covered some of the differing views on the nature and scale of the battle as well as its significance within Medieval English history.
Until recent history the Wars of the Roses were considered a “Civil War” between the supporters of the Lancastrian House of Tudor (Henry VI) and supporters of the House of York (The Duke of York). During this period (1453 to 1487) the throne saw six changes of monarch.
Alex outlined the history of Henry VI and the Duke of York up to March 1461. At this point there were two monarchs claiming the throne, although at this point Edward, son of the Duke of York was not crowned.
Yorkist Troops moving north in March 1461, had their first encounter with the Lancastrian army at Ferrybridge, there was a short battle for the crossing point of the River Aire. The Yorkist troops won and continued their march north towards the Lancastrian troops now massing at Towton.
The Yorkist army continued to move North and were at Dintingdale / Saxton around midday.
The Lancastrian forces were encamped on the top of the plateau, the Yorkist forces having to move uphill. Initial engagement was from the archers, followed by hand to hand combat. The Lancastrian forces collapsed on the arrival of the Duke of Norfolk, and were forced back to York.
Documentary evidence is limited and is dependant on who has written the account. These records include:
The Rose of Rouen – a contemporary account of the battle as viewed by the Yorkist supporters. This records the battle as lasting just 1 hour.
Parliament Roll – written on the 4 Nov 1461
Paston Letters
Casualties from these records can range from 20,000 to 38,000, (The Rose of Rouen – estimate 27,000). Modern estimates are 2800 to 10,000.
Grave pits have been uncovered under Towton Hall. 37 bodies recovered from beneath the floor of the dining room were studied by Bradford University. The victims were aged between 16 and 50. They had a total of 113 wounds over 27 skulls, averaging 4 heads / skull. In particular the individual known as Towton 16, had suffered a previous serious facial injury.
Thus, there seems to be little evidence of mass burials; however It was claimed in later years that Richard III had the bodies on the Yorkist soldiers moved to the churchyard at Saxton.
The battle of Towton is now considered the turning point of the Wars of the Roses but was it really the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil, maybe not. Despite a significan tnumber of high standing Lancastrian leaders being killed the conflict did not end until 1485/7, following the defeat of Richard III by Henry Tudor at Bosworth.
AJ
January – Highlights of Peruvian Archaeology, by Jane Harrison
Following her visit to Peru, SWAAG member Jane Harrison gave a Zoom presentation on pre-Hispanic societies. She used her photographs to talk about selected highlights of the archaeological record.
The Americas were first populated by nomadic hunter-gathers, who crossed a land bridge that existed between present day Siberia and Alaska during the Last Glacial Maximum. People first reached Peru over 15,000 years ago. The societies and civilisations that emerged there developed independently from those in the ‘Old World’ until the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 1530s.
Geographically Peru has a diversity of landscapes and climates. Prehistoric settlers faced the challenges of oceans, deserts, mountains and jungles as well as natural hazards, such as droughts, floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. They adapted to live in those harsh environments by using astronomy to predict seasonal changes and by developing sophisticated systems of irrigation and terracing to increase their food supply. Their views about life and death were strongly linked to the natural world.
As well as outlining the development of Peruvian societies and cultures, Jane looked at some of the beautiful pottery, textiles, jewellery and metalwork which she saw in museums in Lima and Nazca and more recently, London. She finished by looking at some of the achievements of the Inca Empire, focussing on the 40,000 km “Royal Road” system and the massive building programmes at sites such as Machu Picchu and Ollantaytambo, which were constructed using stone and copper tools.
J. H.
