Battle of Evesham Battlefield

On August 4, 1265, the Battle of Evesham ended the Second Barons’ War in savage fashion. Simon de Montfort, the rebel baron who had created England’s first Parliament, was trapped by Prince Edward’s royalist forces. In a battle more like a massacre, de Montfort and his knights were slaughtered to the last man. De Montfort’s body was mutilated, his limbs hacked off as trophies. His ghost, dismembered and vengeful, still haunts the battlefield and Evesham Abbey.

The History

Simon de Montfort

The rebel baron who became a reformer:

• Led the baronial opposition to Henry III
• Captured the king at Lewes in 1264
• Created the first elected Parliament
• But his support crumbled
• Trapped at Evesham by Prince Edward
• Chose death before surrender

The Trap

Prince Edward’s tactical brilliance:

• Three armies converged on Evesham
• De Montfort was surrounded
• Escape was impossible
• The rebels were outnumbered 2-to-1
• A loop in the River Avon created a natural trap
• De Montfort knew he was doomed

The Slaughter

Not a battle but a massacre:

• The royalists gave no quarter
• De Montfort’s son was killed
• The baron himself fought to the death
• Surrounded and hacked down
• His body deliberately mutilated
• Head, hands, feet, and genitals cut off
• Sent as trophies to noble ladies

The Aftermath

Brutal medieval warfare:

• Nearly all rebel leaders killed
• Few prisoners taken
• Bodies stripped and desecrated
• De Montfort’s remains collected by monks
• Buried at Evesham Abbey
• His shrine became a pilgrimage site

The Hauntings

Simon de Montfort

The most disturbing ghost:

• A figure missing limbs
• Horribly mutilated
• Sometimes just floating body parts
• The moment of his dismemberment replays
• A powerful, vengeful presence
• Seeking his stolen pieces

The Green Hill

Where de Montfort fell:

• Surrounded by enemies
• Fighting to the last breath
• The death of England’s first parliamentarian
• His son dying beside him
• Father and son’s final stand
• The most intense area of activity

The Massacre

Complete slaughter with no mercy:

• Sounds of brutal combat
• Men being cut down from all sides
• No surrender accepted
• The screaming and dying
• The royalists’ revenge
• The murder of unarmed men

Prince Edward

The future Edward I appears:

• Commanding the slaughter
• His tactical genius
• But also his cruelty
• The lesson he learned
• Total victory through total destruction

De Montfort’s Son

Henry de Montfort died with his father:

• The younger Simon fighting desperately
• Trying to protect his father
• Killed before him
• The family destroyed
• Their ghosts together still

The Storm

A thunderstorm broke during the battle:

• Paranormal weather returns
• Sudden storms appear over Evesham
• Thunder and lightning
• The heavens protesting the slaughter
• “The murder of Evesham”

The Monks of Evesham

Collecting de Montfort’s remains:

• Finding his scattered limbs
• Piecing him back together
• Praying for his soul
• Ghostly monks still searching
• Still trying to make him whole

Evesham Abbey

De Montfort’s burial place:

• The abbey was dissolved
• Only the bell tower remains
• Intense paranormal activity
• De Montfort’s tomb site is known
• His shrine was a pilgrimage destination
• The site is still powerful

The Abbey Bell Tower

All that remains of the abbey:

• Sightings of a mutilated figure
• The sounds of medieval prayers
• Monks praying for de Montfort
• Cold spots and oppressive atmosphere
• The tower remembers

The Green Hill Monument

Marks where de Montfort fell:

• Activity concentrates here
• Anniversary gatherings of ghosts
• The moment of death replays
• His final words: “God have mercy on our souls”
• The place where Parliament’s founder died

Anniversary Phenomena

August 4 brings peak activity:

• The massacre replays
• Sounds of brutal combat
• De Montfort’s death
• The mutilation
• The storm breaks again
• The “murder of Evesham” continues

The Cult of Simon

Medieval pilgrimage site:

• Miracles attributed to him
• The Church never canonized him
• But the people made him a saint
• His ghost has power here
• The rebel baron’s spirit endures

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The Battle of Evesham was called the “murder of Evesham” even in medieval times—not a battle but a massacre. Simon de Montfort, the baron who created England’s first Parliament, was trapped and slaughtered. His body was deliberately mutilated, his limbs sent as trophies. More than 750 years later, his dismembered ghost still haunts the field where he fell, and the monks still try to piece him back together. Evesham has never forgotten its butchery.