The Palm Sunday Campaign and the Battle of Towton 1461: from Ferrybridge to Tadcaster
A One-day Symposium looking at the Sites of Conflict
Saturday 21 March 2026
Please note the venue has changed to WX, Union St, Wakefield
Following on from Paul Dawson’s talk to the Society and the publication of his book, ‘Richard Duke of York, Father of Kings, The Origins of Tudor England’ (Frontline Books, 2025), and Dr. David Grummitt’s, ‘The Wars of the Roses: War and Martial Culture, 1455-1487‘ (Oxford University Press, 2025), Paul and David are holding a one-day symposium at the Wakefield Unitarian Chapel on Westgate. It will be free to attend the event and we look forward to further details of the arrangements. The promotional material tells us that ‘The Palm Sunday Campaign is best known for the Battle of Towton, 29 March 1461, often called the ‘biggest and bloodiest battle fought on English soil.’ What is less known is that over the course of three days – 28 and 30 March – several places between Ferrybridge and York were sites of conflict. This symposium looks at the latest research on this most important of Yorkshire battles and considers how historians, archaeologists, heritage professionals and local communities can work together to recover the lost history of the Palm Sunday Campaign.’
The event, which is supported by the Open University and The Battlefields Trust (Yorkshire Region), includes talks from Dr. David Grummitt (historian, The Open University and member of WHS), Paul L. Dawson (local historian and author, and member of WHS) and Keith Dowen (arms and armour specialist and historian, The Wallace Collection). Wakefield Historical Society will be interested to hear their research.”