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Battle of Wakefield

30/11/2017

On this day in 1460, the death of one of my all time heroes, Richard, Duke of York.

In the afternoon of the 30th December 1460, the Battle of Wakefield took place, this battle brought an end to the lives of Richard, Duke of York and his second eldest son Edmund, Earl of Rutland.

In the October of 1460, the Act of Accord acknowledged the Duke of York as the heir to Henry VI and effectively disinherited Henry's son Edward. It was hoped that this agreement would put an end to the political tension that had caused so much trouble in previous years, but it was not to be. The Act of Accord naturally left the Lancastrian's foaming at the mouth, many were angry that the act had swept the rules of primogeniture under the carpet, a rule that had protected the rights of the noble family for decades, without which there would be chaos.

Many Lancastrian's rallied to the cause resulting in a number of revolts occurring in the country with Henry's queen, Margaret of Anjou, at its helm. The first serious clash happened in Yorkshire, just over two months after the Act of Accord was signed. As Margaret had headed to Wales, the Duke of York, now heir apparent made his way towards Sandal Castle to meet the forces of the opposing army on the fields you see in the above images, even though York's force outnumbered the Lancastian's by two to one the battle went the the way of Lancaster.

Richard Duke of York died among his men that day at Wakefield, a noble but untimely death you could say, his second son, Edmund Earl of Rutland died that day too only his death was taken in vengeance.

David Hume in his History of England writes of York's death

"The Duke himself was killed and beheaded, and when his body was found among the slain, the head was cut off by Margaret's orders and fixed on the gates of York, with a paper crown upon it, in derision of his pretended title.'

As the country woke to welcome in the new year, the residence of the City of York rose to find the Duke of York’s head had been placed on a pike at the very top of Micklegate Bar. In a pitiless act of humiliation it was plain to see what Margaret of Anjou was saying when she ordered a paper crown placed on his head.

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The King Maker

19/11/2017

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For a number of years, depending on who was on the throne at the time, England had been on good terms with either France or Burgundy, using this to his advantage Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick proposed to the council that a peace treaty be signed with Louis XI of France. Also, some members of the council had agreed with Warwick’s suggestion that it was high time Edward IV was married. Louis thought so too, an English alliance with France was far better for him than a Burgundian alliance, eventually, Warwick succumbed to a bit of flattery and bribery and put it to Edward that Bona of Savoy would be a perfect match.

In the September of 1464 Edward IV made a surprise announcement during a discussion of this subject, and to the amazement of many, Edward indicated that the idea of marriages was indeed a good one, he never batted an eyelid at the suggestion of a French bride, even though he himself favoured Burgundy. After a long silence, he finally relayed the fact that he had already made his choice and in fact, he had already married one Elizabeth Grey, a member of the lowly Woodville family of Northamptonshire.

Edward IV in the Plea Rolls c 1463

Edward had succumbed to lust and not with a weak, mild-mannered virgin either, but with a strong-willed widow with two young sons, and with eight siblings to boot! Edward had undertaken all this without the knowledge of Richard Neville, the one man who was so instrumental in bringing him to the throne.

For Warwick Edward’s news was shattering, he had already pledged Edward in marriage to the sister of the queen of France. Edward's irresponsible behaviour humiliated Warwick and ruined his plans, his prestige both home and abroad was in tatters, and to say that Warwick was enraged would be an understatement, the dagger of betrayal had cut too deep and it was a wound that would never heal. By 1469 he had turned his coat and had gone over to the Lancastrians, by 1470 he had restored Henry VI to the throne.

The Beauchamp bear and ragged staff combined were used by Warwick and used as his families insignia.

Richard Neville was born on the 22nd November in 1428 into a world that shaped him. It was full of powerful characters, in his early life there was his father Ralph Neville and uncle Richard, Duke of York and later there were Charles, the Duke of Burgundy and Louis XI King of France. At some point in his life Warwick had decided to either to outshine or eclipse them all, but in doing so he became overly ambitious, somewhat erratic and most certainly selfish, and yet he was quite remarkable - he was a king maker! Author Micheal Hicks calls him "the very model of medieval nobility" however Paul Kendall calls him a "gigantic failure."

Would I be accused of sitting on the fence if I said he was both? The mind boggles at the thought of what might have been if he had stayed onside in 1469, certainly the Lancastrian cause would have been weaker without him. Richard Neville thought he could rule without a crown, it didn't take him long to come to the conclusion that if he couldn't 'wear' Edward's then he'd wear another. To Richard Neville there was nothing that was beyond his grasp, nothing that could not be overcome yet for someone so brilliant he never considered failure, he never saw himself teetering at the top of a slippery slope that leads to an abyss.

Richard Neville in the 15th century Rous Roll.

Richard Neville should not bare the total weight of responsibility for the events of 1464 to 1469 Edward's behaviour was reprehensible and unforgivable! Yes, Edward IV was a popular king, he was affable, intelligent, an outstanding military leader, but he was a fool, he was also ruthless, vengeful and totally irresponsible. With one swish of the bed sheets, (two as it turns out) Edward undermined everything his father had worked so hard to achieve, not only shortening the life of his brother but that of the Plantagenet dynasty itself.

To end, the words of Philippe de Commynes apply quite nicely here I think.

Now you see the deaths of so many great men in so little time, men who have worked so hard to grow great and to win glory
and have suffered so much from passions and cares and shortened their lives, and perchance their souls will pay for it.

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Death of Margaret of York

19/11/2017

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The last week in November of 1503 saw the death of Margaret of York, the daughter of Richard, Duke of York and Cecily Neville.

In 1465, after the death of his second wife Isabel of Bourbon, Charles the Bold was in need of a new wife. This time the Yorkists were in a far better position than they had been in 1454, now an English marriage was possible. In 1467 Margaret became the wife of Charles, the newly created Duke of Burgundy.

It was as the Duchess of Burgundy that Margaret is mostly remembered and in this position she was undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with especially following the unexpected death of her brother Edward IV in 1483 and again two years later after the death of her last remaining brother Richard III when he died facing the forces of Henry of Richmond in 1485. Margaret did everything she could to prevent Henry Tudor's reign running smoothly, including supporting Perkin Warbeck's claim to the English throne.

Interestingly, Margaret and Warbeck both died on the same day, the 23rd November.

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Proposed Repairs to Sandal Castle

14/11/2017

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While I was visiting Sandal Castle in Yorkshire last month I did think that the site was in urgent need of repair. Walkways were unsafe and were boarded up and this caused people to climb the banks. Also, and to my amazement, three teenagers were climbing and mucking about the walls.

Photographs two and three show the children, click on the photos for a clearer image.

First and foremost is the safety of the public, but this kind of behaviour damages the ruins and once they've gone so has our heritage, and Sandal Castle plays a big part in that. Therefore new proposals to repair and improve the site can only be good news.

Friends of Sandal Castle write:

The proposals take into account the state of disrepair of the monument as a result of the closure of the bridge and walkways and they highlight the fact that the public is concerned that this important historical site is slowly deteriorating. They also make note of the obligations upon them to comply with the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act of 1979.
The proposals are wide-ranging and include removal of the vegetation growing on the monuments, replacement of all the wooden structures, including the platform on the keep, the bridges and walkways and putting a plan in place to maintain the site. A considerable capital investment of up to £734,000 is required.

You can read the report here:

mg.wakefield.gov.uk/documents/s87963/Cabinet%20Report%20Sandal%20Castle%20FINAL%20updated%2026.10.17.pdf

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Death of Edmund Tudor

3/11/2017

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3rd November 1456

Edmund and his brother Jasper had arrived at the court of their half brother Henry VI in 1446, four years earlier, following the death of their mother, Catherine of Valois, the two boys had been placed under the care of Abbess of Barking Katherine de la Pole, the abbey was paid an allowance of £52 12s for their care. It was Katherine who introduced and encouraged the relationship with Henry VI, this was more to do with lack of money for her to continue their support, rather than noticing that they were a couple of likely candidates for the ‘Wales Got Talent’ contest. Henry accepted them into his court, it may have been for dynastic reasons or personal reasons, no one really knows, although it must have been of some comfort to a quiet and retiring king to have brothers on whom he thought he could rely.

The boy's father Owain ap Marededd ap Tudur’s origins, are somewhat vague, he is said to have arrived at the court of Henry V in 1415, but at some point he was under the command of the Welsh warrior Dafydd Gam, the maternal grandfather of the Vaughan's of Tretower and a staunch opponent of Owain Glyndwr. Tudor’s affair with Catherine of Valois had been conducted away from court and resulted in a number of other children, besides Edmund and Jasper. The twenty or so years that covered the Tudor sons adolescence under the control of the aforementioned Katherine de la Pole, appears to be have been unremarkable and prior to them being formally recognised as the Henry VI’s legitimate uterine brothers in 1452 and their ennoblement as earls of Richmond and Pembroke, their ‘Welshness’ can be called into question, Edmund, it seems, had no connection with the Welsh until after his marriage to the teenage Margaret Beaufort in 1452, and neither did Jasper until he moved into Pembroke Castle and took up Lancaster's cause.

In 1455 as mentioned he had married the twelve years old Margaret Beaufort and wasted little time getting her pregnant, the poor child gave birth to the future Henry VII a year later.

However, Tudor was not destined to see his only child, he was dead of the plague by the end of this day in 1456.

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Battle of Wakefield

The King Maker

Death of Margaret of York

Proposed Repairs to Sandal Castle

Death of Edmund Tudor

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