News

New information board for Fenny Bridges battlefield

29 July 2024

A new information board about the 1549 Prayerbook Rebellion battle of Fenny Bridges has been installed at Feniton parish hall carpark, close to the battlefield.

The board, which was funded by the Battlefields Trust and Feniton Parish Council, was unveiled by local MP Richard Foord at the end of a day long event commemorating the battle on 27 July 2024.

Two well attended talks, one examining the military aspects of the Rebellion by Dr Ed Fox and another by Professor Mark Stoyle looking at the events of the uprising, preceded the board opening ceremony.

Further colour was added to the day's procedings by the Commotion Times living history group, which provided a display of Tudor arms, armour and camp life.  

Jenny Wilson was the local driving force behind the information board, obtaining the support of the Parish Council and organising the commemoration event.   

The Battlefields Trust was represented by Research and Threats Coordinator, Simon Marsh, who said:

‘the turn–out here today is amazing and everyone is very engaged with the talks provided by these leading experts on the events and battles of the rebellion'.

‘It also demonstrates the level of interest that can be generated in battlefields and how, by working locally, the Battlefields Trust might better achieve its aims of preserving, interpreting and presenting battlefields as educational and historical resources'.

The Prayerbook Rebellion was an uprising in Devon and Cornwall caused by longstanding resentment against central intrusion in local affairs, and more particularly by King Edward VI’s radical religious reforms and the introduction of a new book of common prayer.

Fenny Bridges was the first battle fought by loyalist forces against the rebels on 28 July 1549.  The final battle, at Sampford Courtenay on 23 August, marked the end of the revolt, though surviving rebels were subsequently tracked down and executed.   

Further information about the battle of Fenny Bridges can be found on the Battlefields Trust Battlefield Hub at The Battlefields Hub → Early Modern → The Battle of Battle of Fenny Bridges (battlefieldstrust.com)