Battle of Hatfield (Heathfield) AD 632. (The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, translated by Anne Savage, 1983) (1)

In his History of the English Church and People, Bede mentions ‘a fierce battle on the field called Haethfelth on the twelfth of October’, though the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle gives the date as 14th.
‘Heath-’ or ‘Hat-field’ is a common place name meaning simply ‘field of heather’. William Camden the Elizabethan antiquarian decided that the 7th Century battle must have been at the Hatfield which is now a suburb of Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Most significantly, however, there is still a Hatfield Grange just east of Cuckney. In Anglo-Saxon times the whole area between Nottingham and Worksop was heavily forested, so a ‘field of heather’ would have stood out as a suitable place for battle. It is also exactly where armies coming from Northumbria, Gwynedd (North Wales) and Mercia might have converged. Furthermore, since Doncaster was long-established as a Roman town (Danum) it seems likely that any battle fought near there should have been named the Battle of Doncaster, a point which Camden overlooked. (2) (3)

Further evidence for the site near Cuckney came in 1950 by excavations within the nave of the Norman church. At least 200 male skeletons were found jumbled together in a pit at least two metres deep, close to the north wall of the church and with every indication that the pit extended beyond the church wall. The pit pre-dated the construction of the church and the suggestion was made that the burial pit could well have been used to inter the remains of soldiers killed in 633 AD at the Battle of Heathfield. Unfortunately there was no time for a proper archaeological investigation, although Professor M.W. Barley inspected one of the trenches and wrote a brief report (4). The current whereabouts of the human remains is unknown. (4)

See M8707 for the burial pit at the Church of St Mary.

NGR is placed in between Lower Hatfield Grange and High Hatfield to encompass both as this is conjectural evidence and an alternative specific site was not provided by the authors above.

<1> Historic England, 2021, National Record of Historic Environment (Digital archive). SNT5271.

<2> Thoroton Society, 1914, TTS, pp. 19-34 (Published document). SNT340.

“Edwinstowe Church” by Harry Gill

<3> Thoroton Society, 1975, TTS, pp. 40-49 (Published document). SNT388.

“King Edwin and the Battle of Heathfield” by Stanley Revill

<4> Thoroton Society, 1952, TTS, pp. 26-29 (Published document). SNT366.

Professor M.W. Barley. Cuckney church and castle.