Evesham, Battle of, took place on Aug. 4, 1265, in Worcestershire, England. The battle, near the town of Evesham, effectively ended the Barons’ War, a revolt led by Simon de Montfort against King Henry III of England. The king’s son, Prince Edward (later Edward I), led the victorious royalist forces in the battle.
In 1264, Simon and a group of nobles began the revolt. They hoped to force political reform and limit the powers of the king. Simon’s forces won the first battle of the revolt at Lewes, East Sussex. Prince Edward was captured in the battle, but he soon escaped. Edward then united the barons of the Welsh (borderland). His forces trapped Simon and his army in a bend of the River Avon near Evesham. Cornered and outnumbered, Simon’s army attacked the royalists, hoping to break through and escape. The attack failed, and Simon and most of his army were killed. A tower and memorial to Simon de Montfort stand on the site of the battlefield.
