Category: John Sutton

The Turncoat

29/9/2017

There are a number of men who fought in the Wars of the Roses who defected from one side to another, Andrew Trollope changed his allegiance from the Yorkists to the Lancastrians after the standoff at Ludlow Bridge in 1459 is one notable traitor, another John Wenlock did the same in 1471 following Richard Neville from the Yorkist camp to assist Margaret of Anjou in her quest.

Changing sides didn't affect Trollope, although he was considered a traitor and had a price placed on his head, Edward IV offered a £100 reward to anyone who killed "certain named enemies of the House of York", which included Trollope. Andrew Trollope died in battle at Towton in 1461 and Wenlock died at Tewkesbury, supposedly at the hand of Edmund Beaufort punished for a mistake that cost many Lancastrian soldiers their lives. I wonder did these men expect to feel the sharpness of a blade on their necks, not in the name of justice but in revenge. John Wenlock is forever labeled Wenlock the Prince of Turncoats because of the number of times he defected.

Sometimes however there are those who changed sides and did well for themselves, one of them was Sir John Sutton, a long-time supporter of the Lancastrians. Sutton had accompanied the body of Henry V from France to England and was chief mourner and standard bearer at his funeral. He held a number of positions under Henry VI. At Blore Heath, along with his son Edmund, had commanded a wing of the Lancastrian army and had survived despite the battle being a Yorkist victory. Sutton was taken prisoner and later released. He fought at Northampton for Henry, but following the king's capture, he switched sides. Despite all this, John Sutton climbed the ladder to success under Edward IV and Richard III, fighting for the last Yorkist banner at Bosworth.

William Dugdale wrote of John Sutton

"he was faithful to King Henry VI, yet he did so comply with King Edward IV, when he obtained the crown, that he received many great favours and rewards from that new Sovereign."

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Battle of Blore Heath

17/9/2017

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The events of the years between 1450 and 1459 can be equated to a giant roller coaster ride, with both sides at differing times, riding the front car.

It comes as no surprise that such a high state of tension would eventually come to blows, and it did at St Albans in the May of 1455. St Albans is considered by some to be the first battle of a civil war that has come to be known as the Wars of the Roses.

In a battle that lasted just one hour, a number of notable Lancastrian nobles including, Henry Percy, Thomas Clifford, and Edmund Beaufort were killed. After the battle Henry VI was captured, Richard, Duke of York assured Henry of his loyalty and along with the Earl of 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 his Margaret of Anjou 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. However, three very troubled years ensued, and at the end of which the Duke of York, with Richard Neville as his enforcer, would make his play for the crown of England.

In those intervening years, two battles took place The Battle of Ludford Bridge in the October of 1459 and the Battle of Blore Heath on the 23rd September 1459, where Margaret of Anjou is said to have watched from the tower of a local church.

Following the Yorkist victory at St Alban's and with the king's health unpredictable Margaret had been determined to rid the country of any Yorkist who she considered was a threat to her and who would take her husband's crown. At the same time, the Duke of York had decided it was time action was taken and had given an order that his forces and that of Richard Neville, the Earl of Salisbury should assemble at Ludlow. It was while Salisbury's forces were marching south from Middleham, that they were intercepted by a Lancastrian force under James Tuchet, Baron Audley, and John Sutton, Baron Dudley.

The geography of Blore Heath battlefield featured a large wood but was mainly open heath with Hempmill Brook running along the bottom of the battlefield. Archaeological work suggests that the brook may have been dammed at the time and this would have made the terrain wet and soft. The battlefield straddles what is now the A53, a road that runs southwest across the country. In 1459 the layout of the land favoured the Lancastrian's for they outnumbered the Yorkist forces by at least two to one, however, in the first attack the Lancastrian forces lost men when they were forced out from their position by a planned retreat by the Earl of Salisbury whose force doubled back ensnaring the enemy. In the second attack, Audley's men successfully crossed the brook on whose muddy banks many of the Lancastrian force had perished in the previous attack, it was in this second attack that Audley lost his life.

Audley's Charge by Robert Sims

Edward Halls writes:

The Earl of Salisbury, which knew the sleights, strategies and policies of warlike affairs, suddenly returned, and shortly encountered with the Lord Audley and his chief captains, ere the residue of his army could pass the water. The fight was sore and dreadful. The earl desiring the saving of his life, and his adversaries coveting his destruction, fought sore for the obtaining of their purpose, but in conclusion, the earl's army, as men desperate of aid and succour, so eagerly fought, that they slew the Lord Audley, and all his captains, and discomfited all the remnant of his people...

Following Audley's death, John Sutton took command and the battle continued for the rest of the day, eventually, the Lancastrian assault collapsed and many on the losing side would flee through the water and mud, pursued and then slain.

On the slope of Hempmill Brook stands Audley's Cross, the very spot where James Tuchet lost his life

The total combined forces at Blore Heath have been estimated at between eleven and nineteen thousand. The Yorkist losses were few, however, the Lancastrian's deaths numbered about two thousand.

Three months later the wheel of fortune would turn again this time favouring Henry VI's forces. On the 12th October, the Yorkists regrouped at Ludford Bridge but discouraged by the size of the Lancastrian army they retreated when they found themselves opposite their enemy across the River Teme. During the night many of York's army deserted, and this was followed by a retreat the next morning, the Duke of York and his son Edmund of Rutland headed for Ireland, Richard Neville, his father and York’s eldest son Edward, later Edward IV fled to Calais.

Following Blore Heath John Sutton, Audley's commander was captured but later released and eventually made Treasure of Henry VI's household. He was a survivor of the Wars of the Roses, in later years he was pardoned by both Edward IV and Henry VII.

The Yorkist leader, the Earl of Salisbury, would lose his life just over a year later at the Battle of Wakefield.

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The Turncoat

Battle of Blore Heath

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