Category: Battle Of St Albans 1455

First Battle of St Albans

22/5/2018

On this day in 1455, following their exclusion from court, Richard Duke of York, along with Richard Neville Earl of Warwick, assembled their forces in the north and marched south to confront the Lancastrian King Henry VI at St Albans.

The roller coaster ride continued and the tension mounted but eventually it all came to blows at St Albans, considered by some, to be the first battle of the civil war. In a battle that lasted just one hour, a number of notable Lancastrian nobles including, Henry Percy, Thomas Clifford, and Thomas Vaughan’s patron, Edmund Beaufort were killed. After the battle Henry VI was captured, York assured Henry of his loyalty and along with Warwick accompanied the king to London. Just under two months later, at the beginning of July the king opened Parliament and following that Henry, along with Margaret and their son were moved to Hertford Castle. That November saw the Duke of York appointed as Protector for a second time, and just like the first protectorate it was short, it ended in the last week of February 1456, but York remained an important member of the Royal Council. Three very trouble years ensued and the end of which the Duke of York, with Richard Neville as his enforcer, would make his play for the crown of England.

The above is taken from my website, you can read about this battle in context here:

meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/chapter-two-the-beaufort-patronage.html

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First Battle of St Albans

22/5/2017

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22nd May 1455

Many believe that the First Battle of St Albans was as much about the ongoing squabble between the Percy and the Neville family, as it was about the wider squabble, that of the House of York and Lancaster. It cannot be doubted that this battle, for the individual members of these two northern families, was very personal, each trying to destroy the other under the guise of a greater cause.

The origins of Percy/Neville squabble had it roots in land, or the loss of it, bitterness turned to anger, discussion to litigation, skirmishes into outright warfare.

Henry VI, who had been battling with his own internal foes for the previous eighteen months had suddenly recovered and released the imprisoned Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset and dismissed the Duke of York from his post as Protector of the Realm, and as Henry and Somerset had left London and were making their way towards St Albans, they may or may not have known that York had chosen not to appear before the council in Leicester, but were in fact heading their way.

Warwick's troops at the Battle of St. Albans. Graham Turner http://www.studio88.co.uk/index.html

The clash of over five thousand men that took place on the 22nd May was a relatively small skirmish (in comparison to the following Wars of the Roses battles) that is considered by some to be the first battle of this period, however it certainly wasn't the cause.

Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, Thomas, Lord Clifford and Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland along with just over three hundred men lost their lives that day.

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What was the Last Battle of the Wars of the Roses?

17/6/2015

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This is a question with no easy answer, but it can be looked at in a number of ways.

If we consider the Wars of the Roses began in 1455 with the first battle of St Albans we should look at the Battle of Tewkesbury as the final battle in these wars.

The origins of these battles had their roots in the rivalry between the Duke of Somerset and the Duke of York. Following King Henry VI 'regaining his senses' Edmund Beaufort was given back his former post. To make matters worse, Beaufort was also given the captaincy of Calais which really rubbed York up the wrong way, eventually, it came to blows at St Albans. You could say that the following fifteen battles, not including Bosworth and Stoke, were just a continuation of this, although there was far more to it than that.

The beginning of the end was the death of Henry VI's son Edward at Tewkesbury, followed seventeen days later by Henry himself.

You could that say the Wars of the Roses did indeed end at Tewkesbury.

On the other hand, if you consider, like I do, the Wars of the Roses began or at least the seeds were set on the 8th June 1376 with the death of Edward III's heir Edward the Black Prince.

The fallout from the Black Prince's death cannot be underestimated. A boy king, an influential and 'lustful' uncle, an illegitimate brood and a usurper, lead you to follow two lines. Firstly that of the usurper, where you end up at Henry VI and Margaret Beaufort/Henry Tudor and secondly, if you follow the line of John Beaufort, Gaunt's illegitimate son, you get Margaret Beaufort and Henry Tudor. Which line you follow makes no difference you will end up with events of 1483 to 1485.

With all that in mind, you will have to say that the Wars of the Roses ended at Bosworth.

Two years after Bosworth the armies of York and Lancaster met again at Stoke Field in Nottinghamshire. Henry VII found himself in the same position as that of Richard III defending his crown and facing a rebel army who were intent on placing a Plantagenet on the throne, albeit an impostor. Lambert Simnel, a claimant to England's throne posing as Edward, Earl of Warwick, was crowned in Dublin by John de la Pole and Francis Lovell. With a Plantagenet claimant as their figurehead, only Henry VII stood in their way.

John de la Pole died on the battlefield, Lovell's body was not among the dead, but his days were numbered. This battle effectively wiped out the last of the Yorkist rebels, enabling Henry VII to establish the Tudor dynasty virtually unchallenged, on the battlefield at least.

Did the Wars of the Roses end with the Lancastrian victory at Stoke Field?

What is the answer then Tewkesbury, Bosworth or Stoke?

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First Battle of St Albans

First Battle of St Albans

22nd May 1455

What was the Last Battle of the Wars of the Roses?

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