I’m on familiar turf as I was raised in Evesham, my alma mater plonked on the foothills of the battlefield. It was one of our more significant battles, the decisive moment of the 2nd Barons’ War.

The rebels were fronted by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, brother-in-law and rebellious subject of a king, Henry III, accused of misrule. Relations between the two were not always harmonious and when the civil war erupted de Montfort was the barons’ natural leader. He’s oft lauded as the father of our parliamentary democracy, having summoned the most representative assembly to date in January 1265. He also held the king prisoner as Henry was captured at the Battle of Lewes, a rebel victory, in May 1264.