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Anne T visited on 23rd Sep 2018 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 2 Access: 5 Percy's Leap, Beanley (associated with Percy's Cross): Labelled ‘Percy’s Leap’ on the OS with a semi-circular enclosure marked against the edge of the road. Having the car pointed in this direction, and curious to see this site, as it sounded related to Percy’s Cross (by the name), we headed up and parked in the small layby by the information/interpretation board. There is a low stone wall next to the layby and a gate leading into a semi-circular walled enclosure which is heavily littered and not pleasant. Inside the enclosure a two large stones, which look as if they have been dumped there for effect. In fact, these are two glacial erratics. There are two other interpretation boards inside the enclosure. The first interpretation board inside the enclosure reads: “The Red Rose of Lancaster. For 30 years between 1455 and 1485 the two families of Lancaster and York fought for the Crown of England. Between 1461 and 1464 the North of England was the centre of activity in the Wars of the Roses. Edward IV supported by the Yorkists was on the throne which he had taken away from the weak Henry VI After the Lancastrian defeat in 1461 at Towton in Yorkshire Henry VI and his wife, Queen Margaret of Anjou, fled to Scotland to plan another campaign against Edward. / Sir Ralph Percy third son of the second Earl of Northumberland, changed sides four times in the Wars of the Roses. In Spring 1463 he was in the Lancastrian fold as were his castles at Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh. In 1464 Edward IV decided to seek a truce with Scotland to enable him to take action to crush the Lancastrians to the north. Lord Montague, younger brother of Warwick the Kingmaker, was sent to escort a Scottish mission through Northumberland in safety. / Learning of Lord Montague’s attempts to meet the Scottish mission the Lancastrians tried to ambush the Yorkists in Durham but this failed when Montague was alerted to the threat. Before proceeding further north Montague increased his forces at Newcastle. His path to Scotland was barred here at Hedgeley Moor by the Lancastrian troops of Sir Ralph Percy and the Lords Hungerford and Ros. / At the start of the battle Lords Hungerford and Ros decided to leave the field with their troops. Montague’s and Percy’s troops attacked head on. Sir Ralph Percy is reputed to have charged the Yorkist line at which his horse is said to have leapt and was wounded doing so. Sir Ralph fell soon afterwards and said at his death, “I have saved the bird in my bosom”. It is not known whether his final words meant that he died for his rightful monarch, Henry VI, or whether he had kept the secret of where Henry and Margaret were hiding. / Montague’s troops finished off the remaining Lancastrians quickly. Less than a month later the two armies met at Hexham where the Yorkists won a convincing victory which ended the Wars in the north for the time being. / Legend has it that the two stones in front of you mark the leap of Sir Ralph’s horse at the height of the battle.” There is no record on HE for this site.

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