The Mary Rose and the Battle of Flodden Field | The Mary Rose
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The Mary Rose and the Battle of Flodden Field
Historical | 30 Nov, 2018 | Museum Blogger
The Mary Rose is probably better known for fighting the French, but did you know she also fought another of England’s neighbours?

While today relations between England and Scotland are mostly civil, it’s not always been that way. Scotland were long-time allies of France, so in 1513 King James IV of Scotland demanded that the English army withdraw from French Soil. Henry, unsurprisingly, declined, so James IV built up an army of 30-40,000 soldiers and invaded northern England.

Battle of Flodden Field

The Mary Rose was, at the time, flagship of Sir Thomas Howard’s flagship, and so when he was ordered to join the troops at Flodden Field, she took him, along with 1,000 troops and sailors, to Newcastle upon Tyne. There the troops disembarked, and while they made their way on foot to Branxton, where the Battle of Flodden Field was fought, the Mary Rose went up to Berwick to pick up the hopefully victorious troops after the battle.

Victorious they were, as the battle, although fought hard by the Scots, resulted in the death of James IV, who was alleged to have been killed with a bill, a bladed staff weapon similar to ones found on the Mary Rose. It’s unlikely that particular bill would have still been on the Mary Rose 32 years later when she sank though!

In 2013, the Mary Rose became part of the Flodden Eco Museum, a collection of sites across the UK related to the battle. You can find out more at https://www.flodden1513ecomuseum.org/