The Battle of Lewes took place on 14 May 1264, the first major battle of the Second Barons' War. The prelude to this was widespread dissatisfaction with the manner of King Henry III's reign, particularly over issues such as taxation and inheritance. Matters came to a head and a rebel baronial faction led by Simon de Montfort, the Earl of Leicester, took up arms against the king. De Montfort's force of about 5,000 approached Lewes, a royal stronghold with about 10,000 troops, from the downland to the north. The King's son, Prince Edward (later Edward I), rode out from Lewes Castle with heavy cavalry, engaged de Montfort's inexperienced left flank and chased it from the field. De Montfort, meanwhile, charged downhill at Henry's main army in the vicinity of Landport Bottom and won a decisive victory. Most of the fighting took place there, around the Black Horse pub on Western road, now a residential area and on the High Street. The king took refuge in Lewes Priory and was forced to surrender to de Monfort. Edward too was held captive - though later escaped. There is a link to a battlefield walk below. The address is for the Black Horse pub; walk from there up Spital Road, past the prison, and up onto the downs.

The Battle of Culloden on 16th April 1746 was the last pitched battle on British soil and brought the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 to a bloody end. Charles Edward Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie, had taken his largely Highland Army as far as Derby, before retreating north to Inverness, pursued by Government forces under the Duke of Cumberland. On the morning of the battle, many of the Prince's troops were exhausted after an aborted attack on the Government army camped at Nairn. The ground chosen for the battle was partly marsh, wholly unsuited to the favoured tactic of the Highland charge. Moreover, on this occasion the Jacobites were no match for the well-trained, disciplined, Government troops. They were also slightly outnumbered. The battle lasted less than an hour and was a decisive victory for the Government. Afterwards, Cumberland ordered his troops to ruthlessly pursue and search out any surviving rebels and a shameful bloodbath ensued.

The National Trust for Scotland runs an impressive visitor centre at Culloden, where there is a detailed explanation for the Jacobite Rebellion, an impressive audio-visual experience and various talks and tours. It is possible to explore much of the battlefield, which the NTS is in the process of returning it to its appearance in 1746, taking in the opposing lines and the sad burial markers.

The Battle of Winceby took place on 11 October 1643. A Royalist force under Sir John Henderson and Sir William Saville was on its way from Lincoln to relieve Bolingbroke Castle, under siege by Parliamentary Forces. The Cavaliers were greeted by Roundhead cavalry waiting for them on high ground close to Winceby. The Roundheads, commanded by Oliver Cromwell and Sir Thomas Fairfax, were outnumbered two to one, but charged into the enemy. Cromwell had his horse shot from under him and was almost captured, but seized another mount and continued the attack. The Royalist horsemen panicked, fell back into their own infantry and it turned into a rout with the King’s men stuck in a hollow (to the right of the picture), graphically known as ‘Slash Hollow’. About a thousand Royalists perished and a similar number was taken prisoner; Parliamentary losses were few. Although the Cavaliers were pursued all day, the fight itself lasted about half an hour and gave Parliament virtual control in Lincolnshire.

The site is agricultural land and the post code is very approximate. Look out for an information panel in a lay-by on the north of the B1195.