SAXTON CIRCULAR AND LEAD CHURCH
This is an easy going 3.5 mile walk with no stiles and just a short hill at the start of the walk.
Start Point: The Crooked Billet Inn, Wakefield Road (B1217), Saxton, Tadcaster. LS24 9QN
From the Crooked Billet, take the track starting at
the right hand side of the pub. Follow this track,
which eventually becomes a path, uphill and then
across fields, following a straight line for ½ a mile
to arrive at a road by a wooden footpath sign.
From the top of the track, there are fine views
across to the Vale of York and the North York
Moors beyond.
At this point, turn left to walk along the road for ¾
of a mile with Saxton Church eventually coming
into view in front of you. Approximately 200
yards after the road bears right, turn left by white
railings along a track and at the end, turn left
through a wood gate. Now, turn right to walk
along the edge of a field to carry straight forward
at the next footpath sign to emerge at a road. At
this point, turn right to head towards the village of Saxton.
Saxton is a small village one mile from the village
of Towton, famous as the site of a major War of the
Roses battlefield. Although Towton seems to have
much of the media credit for the battle, much of the
fighting did in fact take place within Saxton. There
is very agreeable inn named the Greyhound within
Saxton, the landlord is very friendly and the food
always excellent. The Battle of Towton took place
on a snowy 29 March 1461 (Palm Sunday ) on a
plateau between the villages of Towton and Saxton
. The battle was part of the Wars of the Roses , fought
between the Houses of York and Lancaster for
control of the English throne. The battle was a
decisive victory for the Yorkists. The Lancastrian
army suffered heavy losses and ceased to exist as an
effective fighting force. Towton was the largest battle
in British history. It is estimated that between 50,000
and 80,000 soldiers fought in the battle, including 28
Lords (almost half the peerage at that time), mainly
on the Lancastrian side. One of the most commonly
quoted figures is 42,000 for the Lancastrians and
36,000 for the Yorkists. All estimates for the battle
agree that the Lancastrians started the battle with the
larger force. It is also regarded as the bloodiest
battle ever fought on English soil. Exact losses are a
matter of continuing debate, and are extremely
difficult to assess with any accuracy, however estimates of about 28,000 (perhaps more) casualties are
frequently cited. If correct, such a figure would equate to roughly 1% of the entire English population at the
time.
Walk down the side of the road towards Saxton, following a path through trees and take the first road on your
left – Milner Lane. Continue along the lane and at the next cross roads, continue straight across the road to
join a wide farm track by a footpath sign to ‘Lead Church’. Now follow this track for ¾ of a mile without
deviation on to any of the farms track off to the left. Approximately 50 yards after passing under an electric
pylon, turn left following the footpath towards ‘Lead Church & Crooked Billet’. Continue to follow this path
along the left hand side of a field with a hedge on your left and at the brow of the small hill, continue following
the track between two fields with the Crooked Billet in view, ahead of you. Your route back towards the start
point is very easy, following this path downhill and back to the road. However, on arrival at the last field
before this road, bear left across the field to visit the Lead Church, which is always open to the public.
St Mary, Lead stands alone set at some distance from the road just
above the deserted medieval village of Lead where stands the
Crooked Billet Public House. It is a small church, no more than 18ft
(5.5m) long, in the middle of a field that is normally home to grazing
sheep. The building, a simple rectangle with a bell-cote at the
western end, is thought to date from the 14th century however, from
records such as the Doomsday survey of 1086, that the area of Lead
was populated before this date. Therefore, it is possible that an
earlier church structure might have existed although no mention of
it was made in 1086. Although St Mary’s has never served as a
parish church, it is clear that it has been used as a private chapel.
If this is the case it is likely that the local noble family who were familiar with the church retained it for their
own use, and by doing so excluded those residents in the adjacent villages from using it. Alternatively, the
building might have offered hospitality and the opportunity for quiet contemplation and prayer to travellers
making their way to or from the larger medieval cities, particularly Leeds and York. The church is thought to
have been positioned near to the manor house. From the 12th century this
property belonged to the Tyas family.
Their connection with the church is a
lasting one: four members of the family are now commemorated at the
church. The Tyas family paid homage
to and gave their allegiance to the de
Lacy family and it is possible that they
may also have had some influence in
the building of the present church. The
de Lacy family was a powerful Norman family, who owned a great deal of
land in the area. It is thought that the
Tyas family settled at Lead during the
12th century and accompanied the de
Lacys to the Crusades. The Tyas family connection with Lead survived until
the 14th century, when the Skargill
family inherited the manor house
through marriage. However, the simplicity of the church and the area where it stands gives no indication of
the dramatic events witnessed here in the middle of the 15th century. At the height of the Wars of the Roses,
between the Lancastrian and Yorkist factions, the battle of Towton was fought not far from Lead on 29 March
1461, Palm Sunday. The fields of Towton became the last resting place for thousands of soldiers, and recent
archaeological evidence confirms that there were so many casualties that bodies were heaped on top of one
another in makeshift burials.
Except where explicitly stated, all rights are reserved, and content should not be copied, adapted, redistributed, or otherwise used without the prior
written permission of Harry Bratley the author. The author permits the use of this document for the purpose of following the walk.