27 February – The Battle of Ancrum Moor and a legendary stone

On 27th February 1545, the Battle of Ancrum Moor, part of the War of the Rough Wooing, took place near Jedburgh in Scotland.

In today's video, I explain what caused the War of the Rough Wooing and what happened when the English and Scots' forces clashed that day. I also talk about the legend surrounding Lilliard's Stone, which can be found on the battlefield.

Also on this day in history:

• 1531 – Birth of Roger North, 2nd Baron North, politician, diplomat and administrator at the court of Elizabeth I. North served as a Member of Parliament, Privy Councillor and Treasurer of the Household.
• 1555 – Death of Sir William Babthorpe, Member of Parliament and a man who was created Knight of the Bath at the coronation of Edward VI in 1547. Babthorpe had originally been on the rebel side in the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536, but fortunately swapped sides.
• 1574 – Death of Sir William Harper, Lord Mayor of London, in London. He was buried in St Paul's, Bedford, in the chancel. He was Lord Mayor from September 1561 to his death.
• 1583 – Death of Richard Madox, diarist and Church of England clergyman, near Espirito Santo harbour, near Vitória, Brazil. He was chaplain and secretary to Captain Edward Fenton on his 1582 voyage to the Moluccas and China. Madox's last diary entry was 31 December 1582. It is thought that he was buried at sea.
• 1601 – Execution of Mark Barkworth (also known by the alias Lambert), Benedictine monk and martyr, at Tyburn. He was hanged, drawn and quartered dressed in the habit of the Benedictine order. He was beatified in 1929. Two others died that day: Roger Filc*ck, Jesuit, and Anne Line, a widow who had harboured Filc*ck. Line was canonised in 1970 and Filc*ck was beatified in 1987.