The battle has been called by various names, such as the battle of “Towton,” of “Saxton,” “Palm Sunday Field,” and “Sherburn,” and in the act of attainder of the first of Edward IV. it is called “Saxtonfeld and Tawtonfeeld, in the shire of York.” {87b} This celebrated and decisive battle established for a considerable time, Edward IV. upon the throne of England. {87c} The place where it was fought, lies between the villages of Saxton and Towton, and very near to, but a little to the southward of, the latter village. In order that the locality may be correctly understood, it is necessary to mention, that the district in which the battle was fought consists of an extensive range of high land, the approach to which, on the south side, is by a gentle ascent, which commences about a quarter of a mile on the north side of the village of Saxton, and extends as a small elevated plain (except in one spot, where there is a depression or valley, which will be afterwards described), past the village of Towton, by the modern turnpike road, until within about a mile from Tadcaster, where the road descends rather rapidly into a flat tract of meadow ground, extending to Tadcaster. On the eastward, the high ground slopes gently down towards the present great north road, leading from Ferrybridge to Tadcaster; and the slope of the land continues inclining to the eastward, in the direction of North Milford and of Church Fenton; and the south-eastward extremity extends towards Scarthingwell. On the west side, the high ground terminates very abruptly in steep eminences, some parts of which may, from their steepness and abruptness, without much impropriety, be called cliffs, which overlook a narrow belt of beautiful meadow ground, in which the river Cock, there called Cock-Beck, flows. It runs towards the north; and after passing the spot which will be afterwards more particularly noticed, where the ancient road to Tadcaster formerly was, it makes a turn towards the eastward, and at the foot of the descent before mentioned, the modern turnpike road (the present great north road) crosses it; and it flows from thence across some meadows for about a quarter of a mile, still to the eastward, and there runs into the river Wharfe. The ancient road, upon which men yet living have driven to and from Tadcaster, which is now little more than an occupation road, turns off abruptly, at the north end of, and close to, Towton village, and descends the eminence {88a} in a westwardly direction, to a continuation of the belt of meadow ground before mentioned, where it arrives at the river Cock. This descent by the ancient road is so steep, that it is a matter of surprise, how the heavy coaches formerly in use, and waggons, could safely pass up and down it, yet it was even in modern times part of the great north road. After descending the eminence, the ancient road formerly crossed the river Cock by a stone bridge, now destroyed; {88b} and after passing over a part of