Battle of Northampton, where John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, and half-brother of Eleanor Talbot (Butler), met his death on the Lancastrian side.  Yorkist victory.

Tags: Battles, Eleanor Talbot, Wars of the Roses

We may be 550 years late for the Battle of Northampton, fought on 10 July 1460 between the Yorkist forces commanded by the Earl of Warwick and Henry VI’s Lancastrian forces, but this coming weekend there will be lots of action for latecomers like us (and more peaceful, too).  A wide variety of Battle related activities will take place at at the original battle site at Delapré Abbey,  including a re-enactment of part of the Battle.  Other attractions are: Jousting on horseback with full armour, gunpowder and large canon demonstrations, the display of a soldiers’ encampment and music from the period of the Battle.  And if all this makes you hungry and thirsty there will also be food stalls offering medieval fare.

This fun weekend will be followed by a conference on the Battle of Northampton on the anniversary itself (10 July) at the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, organised by The Battlefields Trust.  The programme promises to be fascinating with talks on “The Wars of the Roses and the Northampton Campaign”, “Developments in Warfare During the 15th Century”, “The Battle of Northampton”, “Where Is the Battlefield?” and “Finding Medieval Battlefields”.

You can find more information on the weekend at Delapré Abbey here and about the conference at Northampton Museum here.

Illustration:  War of the Roses © Andrew Jamieson, www.medieval-arts.co.uk

Tags: Battles, Nevilles, Wars of the Roses

Helen Cox, author of The Battle of Wakefield Revisited, let us know that her book has been launched successfully.  Approx. 30 people attended the official moment, among them Peter Hammond, the Chairman of the Richard III Society; Sue Galloway, the Lord Mayor of York; Richard Watson, the Sheriff of York; Terry Suthers, the Chairman of the York Archaeological Trust and Mark Taylor, the Chairman of the Towton Battlefield Society as well as some more friends from the Towton Battlefield Society.

Obviously this was a very exciting occasion for Helen, as this is her first book that she has written on her own and the result of years of research.  Helen says that she is especially happy that it means she can “take a public stand in support of Richard, Duke of York, who usually gets such a rough ride from historians”.  The site for this rehabilitation was particularly appropriate as this was where the Battle of Wakefield effectively ended with the heads of Richard of York and his son Edmund and the Earl of Salisbury displayed on the York city walls after the battle.

For the launch Helen came kitted out with the full re-enactors necessities like a basket of crocks and 15th century goodies, swords, helmets, padded jacks, bows and arrows and sundry bits of costume as well as obviously cartons of books.

To find out more about the book have a look at the flyer Helen provided to us (here).  You can order the book from YPD Books.  I ordered it yesterday for £12.00 + £9.95 for shipping to Australia, which altogether came to approx. Aus$ 40.00.  And don’t forget to visit Helen’s website as well.

We would also like to thank Helen for providing  the photographs of this exciting occasion to us.

Tags: Battles, Books, Richard Duke of York, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses

When considering which could be my next Ricardian Place in Hertfordshire, the recent 555th anniversary of the First Battle of St Albans (22 May 1455) offered the obvious answer.  During our life in England St Albans was a popular haunt for us, for shopping, eating out or just soaking up the atmosphere.  I also happened to have a number of private students there – hello to Tony and Jacky, should you read this.

There have been settlements in the St Albans area for a long time.  The first that we know of was by the Celtic Catuvellauni tribe, who called it ‘Verlamion’.  During the Roman period it became ‘Verulanium’, the second largest town in England after Londinium, situated on Watling Street heading north.[1]  Most of the remains of the Roman town are today covered by Verulanium Park, but some parts have been excavated and can be visited.  For instance the Hypocaust (including an in situ mosaic); the Roman Theatre of Verulamium; and the remains of the Roman city walls and London gate.[2] Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Battles, Hertfordshire, Wars of the Roses, Yorkists

First Battle of St Albans, Hertfordshire, between the Yorkist forces under Richard, 3rd Duke of York, and the Lancastrian forces of Henry VI under Edmund, Duke of Somerset, who falls in the battle.  Henry VI is captured.  Won by the Yorkists.  This is the first battle in what became known as the Wars of the Roses, with the white rose standing for York and the red for Lancaster (Henry VI).  This battle is unique among all the battles of the Wars of the Roses in that it was entirely fought in the streets of the town and not in a field.  One can’t help wondering what the town’s citizens made of this.

Illustration:  War of the Roses © Andrew Jamieson, www.medieval-arts.co.uk

Tags: Battles, Wars of the Roses, Yorkists

Battle of Hexham, Northumberland, the end of Lancastrian resistance (under Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset) to Edward IV in the north of England.  The Yorkists were led by John Neville (later 1st Marquess of Montagu) and Somerset was wounded and then executed.  Henry VI fled and was later found wandering helplessly around Lancashire.

Tags: Battles, Wars of the Roses

We first heard on the Ricardian grapevine about a  new analysis the Battle of Wakefield and  a fresh perspective on Richard of York’s final battle on 30 December 1460.  The book by Helen Cox is due to be published later this month.

On her website Helen tells us that historians have for a long time tried to reason why the Duke of York would have taken on the much stronger Lancastrian forces in this battle.  Some believe that the Duke was reckless and stupid, an ageing commander past his prime who made a bad decision – or that he charged out in blind fury because the enemy had sent heralds to insult him. Others think he made a heroic but futile attempt to rescue some of his foragers who were under attack; or that he didn’t realise how big the Lancastrian army was, because many of their troops were cunningly hidden in nearby woodland, waiting to charge out and ambush him.

Helen says that she has never been convinced by these theories, which aren’t well supported by contemporary reports of the battle. So in The Battle of Wakefield Revisited she has tried to pull together and re-examine all the surviving historical and archaeological evidence relating to the encounter.  She promises us a far simpler and more plausible explanation of why the Duke of York rode out to face his enemies that day.

The book will be launched on 31 May 2010 at Mickelgate Bar in York.  Helen and her husband Mick will be there in costume to sell and sign copies.  What a pity that we won’t be able to join them!

So we contacted Helen, to find out how we would be able to get hold of copies of this fascinating new study.  She informed us that the book will be available online from York Publishing Services £12.00 sterling plus p+p (at today’s exchange rate approx. Aus $20 plus p+p).

She also told us that writing the book was a real labour of love for the past 18 months.  She is fortunate enough to live only a mile from the Duke of York’s castle at Sandal, so she regularly visits it and often thinks of him and her favourite of his sons.  And I’m sure you can all guess who that is!

Keep an eye on Helen’s website for further information and developments.

Tags: Battles, Books, House of York, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses

Battle of Hedgeley Moor, Northumberland.  The Yorkist forces were led by John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu (brother of Richard Neville ‘The Kingmaker’), the Lancastrians by the Duke of Somerset, supported by Sir Ralph Percy, Lords Roos and Hungerford, and Sir Ralph Grey.  The Lancastrian force soon gave way and fled, except for Sir Ralph Percy, who died in the battle.

Tags: Battles, Lancastrians, Wars of the Roses, Yorkists

This year marks the 550th anniversary of the death of Richard Duke of York and his son Edmund Earl of Rutland at the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460.  Though they were initially buried at Pontefract, their bodies were later exhumed and brought in with great ceremony to Fotheringhay.

Chief mourner at this procession was the Duke’s youngest son Richard Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III).   He rode at the head of his father’s effigy, followed by the lords of the land, including the Earl of Northumberland, Lord Stanley and Lord Welles. They were to stay with the body throughout, attend all the services and masses en route, and have the privilege of standing and kneeling within the barriers of the hearse.  The courtege was also accompanied by officers at arms, the kings of arms and many poor men on foot.   The procession travelled along the Great North Road (now A1) and rested overnight at Doncaster, Blyth, Tuxford le Clay, Newark, Grantham, Stamford and finally at Fotheringhay.  At night sixty men with torches kept guard around the hearse.

This year Wakefield Historical Society will retrace that journey on the anniversary dates of 21st-29th July.   Each day will include visits to places of interest and a chance to walk some stretches of the original route. Each evening will include a performance of a medieval Vespers of the Dead, in the church where the body rested if possible, as well as a talk by an invited lecturer.

You can find out more on the fascinating webpage of the Wakefield Historical Society.  You can order the book by Anne F Sutton & Livia Visser-Fuchs The Reburial of Richard Duke of York, 21-29 July 1476, which is mentioned on the webpage, from the Richard III Society (go to ‘Publications’, then ‘Books, Monographs and Booklets’, then ‘Books by the Richard III Society’).

The above illustration is a drawing of Fotheringhay Church c. 1850.

Tags: House of York, Richard III, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses