Battle of Radcot Bridge

Radcot Bridge is the first bridge over the River Thames as it enters the county of Oxfordshire, it is also reputed to be the oldest bridge on the river. The Patent Rolls in the reign of King John state​

'Sciatis nos recepisse in custodiam et protectionem nostram fratrem Aylwin qui reperacionem pontis de Redeot
suscepit et homines et res suas'.' 

"Know that we have received in the custody and protection for our brother Aylwin, who took Redeot
reperacions (?) the bridge of the people and their property"

In the history of medieval warfare, this ancient crossing of the Thames has been mentioned twice.

One incident that took place in 1645 was a civil war skirmish, the Royalist vanguard of Lord George Goring, who was on an order to join Charles I's troops at Oxford, came across a small parliamentary force scouting the area for a place to cross the Thames which resulted in the bridge coming under the control of the Royalist party. The first and not dissimilar skirmish took place in December of 1387 when the Royalist forces of the Earl of Oxford were defeated by the army under the command of the Lord Appellant. 

The crisis that had come to a head at Radcot Bridge had really begun ten years previous when ten year old Richard of Bordeaux had become King Richard II. At the centre of the troubles was Richard's reliance on favourites - a group of young nobles of his own age, two of which would find themselves on opposing sides, they were Robert de Vere, who would lead the royalist forces at Radcot Bridge and Thomas Mowbray who would be one of the five members of the Lords Appellant.  Mowbray, of course, would eventually feel the wrath of the king years later, however, Richard would stay loyal to Robert de Vere.  ​

Robert de Vere, the 9th Earl of Oxford received the Earldom when he was nine years old, and it is easy to see why the two boys formed a friendship, their fates were linked by the loss of their fathers and the sudden 'gift' of money and power- all the things that can lead the young astray. In the year of Richard's ascension to the throne, Robert de Vere was knighted along with the king, Henry, the Earl of Derby, the future Henry IV and Richard's uncle Thomas of Woodstock. As the days of Richard's minority turned into years, resentment and anger in court was building, Richard resented his ambitious uncle John of Gaunt, and his favourites envied Gaunt's power and status - it has been suggested that Robert de Vere was the ringleader of a plot to murder Gaunt. Robert de Vere benefited greatly from his friendship with the king he was given his own rooms in Richard's castles, granted estates, gifts and other nobles' inheritances. He was also given the title Marquess of Dublin, yet he never set foot in Ireland. ​

At the royal table, favourite Robert de Vere can be seen sitting on the right of Richard II

By the end of 1387, the Lords Appellant had Robert de Vere at the top of their list of traitors, however, it was not just the king's younger friends who were targeted, Richard's Chancellor, Michael de la Pole, was second on that list.

​Pole owed his place in Richard's court to his father William, who had supplied ships and lent money to Richard's grandfather Edward III. William de la Pole didn't benefit greatly from the association with the royal family but Michael did, he was placed in Richard's court to advise but was really manipulated by the charismatic young king. He too was rewarded by but found himself on the wrong side at the wrong time - a family trait it seems. 

By December, the Lord Appellant numbered five their case against Richard's favourites ended in a charge of treason. Michael de la Pole was impeached, but despite Richard's involvement he was forced to flee to France, however, Robert De Vere, with more bravado than military experience, stood his ground.

Fosse Way heading away from Stow on the Wolds

Robert de Vere raised an army of about five thousand men, they headed for Northampton but their way was blocked, and he was forced to take another route along the Fosse Way to Stow on the Wold. In the third week of December, he had reached Radcot Bridge, but at this crossing over the Thames, he was intercepted by the small force of Henry Bolingbroke, who in order to impede de Vere's progress broke the central navigation arch - a grant of pontage (a toll raised for repair to buildings and bridges) was issued in 1393 to repair the damage. At this point suggested 14th-century chronicler Thomas Walsingham, de Vere nearly turned tail and ran but was 'encouraged' to continue with the fight by his men. It was Walsingham who also suggested that de Vere was homosexual. Robert de Vere's force was encircled and after a short clash of weapons he was quick to realise the danger of his position, he soon abandoned his men, leaving many of them to the mercy of their enemy and made his cowardly escape by crossing the river, supposedly in disguise, and headed to the Netherlands.

A year later, in what has come to be known as the Merciless Parliament he was found guilty of treason, and a death sentence was passed in his absence.

Robert de Vere spent the rest of his life in exile, thus avoiding the executioner's blade. He died in 1392, leaving Richard II bereft.




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