Hexham    -    15th May 1464

Lord Montagu had returned from York and was now at Newcastle. On hearing that the Lancastrian army had reached Hexham, he decided go there with all his retainers to meet with the Lancastrians, without waiting for reinforcements. On 15 May the Yorkists reached Hexham, taking the Lancastrians totally by surprise. Somerset had no chance to move his troops into to an advantageous position, and was obliged to from a line at the base of a hill on which Montagu had already taken up position.

The centre of the Lancastrian army was commanded by Somerset, Lords Roos and Hungerford the right flank and Lords Grey and Neville the left. The Yorkist centre was commanded by Montagu, with Lords Willoughby and Greystoke, both former Lancastrians who had been pardoned by Edward, commanded the flanks.

It was early morning when Montagu ordered his men to charge down the hill and engage in fierce hand to hand fighting with the Lancastrians. When the Lancastrians began to give way under the onslaught, they could not retreat, as they had their backs to a stretch of river called Devil's Water. As Somerset tried in vain to reorganise his troops, the front ranks to be pushed back, those in the rear were pushed into the water, many were drowned under the weight of their armour, others were crushed to death.

Now the rest of the Yorkists under the command of Greystoke and Willoughby advanced, and the fighting was intense but brief. Somerset tried to rally his army, managed to organise his left flank, but when he turned to deal with the right flank, discovered Roos and Hungerford had repeated their actions at Hedgley Moor and had fled the battlefield, taking their men with them. As the Lancastrian line broke, Grey and Neville and their soldiers began to flee.