collecting men and heading for the Lancastrian strongholds in Wales.
Edward, keeping his army intact, marched from London to prevent this new
Lancastrian force from reaching Wales.
Gloucester, with its crucial first bridge over the Severn, closed its
gates to the queen at Edward's request, and Margaret had no option but to
bypass the city and move further up river to Tewkesbury. Here Edward caught
up with her on 3 May after a series of forced marches.
The next day – 4 May 1471 – the outnumbered Lancastrians took up a
strong position on a slope between two brooks (see map). The Yorkists
deployed some 400 yards away, with their left flank under Richard of
Gloucester apparently 'in the air'. Somerset took his personal command away
to the right to attack Richard in the flank, giving Lord Wenlock orders to
advance as soon as he saw Somerset attacking, thus pinning Richard in
position. In the event Wenlock failed to advance;
Richard turned to face Somerset, who was now faced by the entire Yorkist
left; and at the same time some 200 spearmen, placed on the extreme flank
by Edward to guard against such a move, advanced to attack Somerset in the
flank. Somerset's force gave ground, then broke and fled. Somerset escaped
to confront Wenlock, and in a rage slew him with his battleaxe. The 'main
battle' now began to give ground, and when Edward's center began a general
advance the Lancastrian army broke and ran.
Most of the Lancastrian nobles were captured and slaughtered, among them
Prince Edward and Edmund, Duke of Somerset, the last male Beaufort. Queen
Margaret was captured and placed in the Tower, where she remained for five
years until ransomed by her father. Henry VI was murdered in the Tower
shortly after the battle.
Edward proclaimed his seven-month-old son Edward Prince of Wales and
sent Hastings with a strong force to take possession of Calais. Richard of
Gloucester was rewarded with Warwick's lands and offices, while Clarence
received the lands of Courtenay in the West Country and the Lieutenancy of
Ireland.
1483-1487
Bosworth, Stoke, Blackheath and Exeter
Edward IV died in April 1483 when his son and heir, Edward V, was only
twelve. Inevitably rival factions immediately emerged – the boy king and
the court controlled by the queen mother and her relations, and Edward's
favorites Lord Hastings and Thomas Lord Stanley, opposed by Richard, Duke
of Gloucester, now the most powerful man in the kingdom, whom Edward IV had
intended should be regent.
Richard acted swiftly. Moving south, he joined forces with Henry
Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, and seized Edward V en route to London in the
care of Lord Rivers, the queen mother's brother. Her son, Dorset, at once
fled the country, while the queen mother sought sanctuary in Westminster
Abbey. Within a month of Edward IV's death, Richard was Protector of the
Realm.
In June Hastings was suddenly arrested and executed. Two weeks later
Richard informed Parliament that Edward's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville
was invalid due to an earlier marriage, and therefore Edward V was a
bastard – which left Richard the rightful successor. Richard became Richard
III, Lord Rivers was executed, and Edward V and his younger brother
Richard, Duke of York, were placed in the Tower.
That autumn there was a revolt in the West Country, led by Buckingham,
apparently in conspiracy with the exiled Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond and
now head of the House of Lancaster. (Henry could claim the throne, in right
of his mother, Margaret Beaufort, as surviving male representative of the
House of Lancaster, the Beauforts being descended from John of Gaunt.)
Buckingham was supported by the Woodvillcs and Courtenays. Richard quickly
and efficiently crushed the revolt, and Buckingham was executed. Henry
Tudor withdrew to France, but in 1485, with about 3,000 French mercenaries,
he landed in Pembrokeshire, where his uncle Jasper was earl. He marched
quickly through Wales and the Marches, picking up considerable support on
the way, and confronted Richard in battle for the throne at Bosworth in
Leicestershire on 22 August 1485.
The two main forces drew up facing each other but both Henry Tudor and
Richard III looked anxiously for support from the forces of the two
brothers Stanley: those of Sir Willaim Stanley were visible to the north-
west of the battlefield, and those of Lord Stanley to the southeast.
The battle commenced without the Stanleys, the opposing forces both
making a bid for Ambien Hill. Richard's troops reached the ridge first, and
his 'vaward battle' deployed on it in a defensive position. The 'main
battle' followed, while the 'rearward battle' was ordered to take position
on the left of this line as soon as possible, and to face due south.
Henry advanced to engage in an archery duel at long range, and Richard
looked in vain for his 'rearward battle': the Earl of Northumberland had
decided to avoid action until the Stanleys showed their hands.
As the archers began to run out of arrows, the two armies advanced to
melee, and only now did the Stanleys move – to attack both flanks of
Richard's line, while Northumberland remained immobile. Richard mounted,
collected his bodyguard around him, and rode into the center of the enemy,
intent on killing Henry Tudor or dying like a king. Unhorsed in the marsh,
Richard was soon overwhelmed by superior numbers and killed. The battle
ceased when his death became known, and his army melted away with little or
no pursuit. Lord Stanley took the circlet indicating Richard's rank from
the dead king's helmet and, placing it on Henry Tudor's head, proclaimed
him King Henry VII.
In the early years of his reign Henry VII was in continual danger, and
it is erroneous to regard Bosworth as the end of the Wars of the Roses. The
first of the king's troubles was a rising in 1486 in the North Riding of
Yorkshire, where Richard III had been very popular. It was led by Lord
Lovel, Richard's chamberlain and admiral, but the rebels dispersed when
Henry marched against them with a large force. Lovel fled to Flanders.
In May 1487 Lovel landed in Ireland with some 2,000 Swiss and 1,500
German mercenaries, supplied by Margaret of Burgundy and commanded by the
Swiss captain Martin Schwarz, accompanied by John, Earl of Lincoln, and
about 200 other exiled Yorkists. This revolt was in the name of Edward,
Earl of Warwick, son of Clarence, but as he was a prisoner in the Tower a
'double' named Lambert Simnel played his part.
The invaders were welcomed by most of the Irish lords and 'Clarence' was
crowned Edward VI at Dublin. Within a few weeks Lincoln had recruited some
4,000 – 5,000 Irish soldiers under Thomas Fitzgerald. These forces now
sailed for England, landing in Lancashire. However, few Yorkists had joined
the invaders by the time Henry VII brought them to battle at Stoke, near
Newark, on 17 July 1487. Despite fierce resistance by the foreign
mercenaries the rebels were routed, Lincoln and Fitzgerald killed, and
Simnel captured. Lovel disappeared.
For the next four years Henry enjoyed a relatively peaceful reign, but
then Yorkist conspiracies began once more to thicken. Ever since 1483 it
had been rumored that one or both of Edward IV's sons had escaped from the
Tower: Henry Tudor claimed they had been murdered by Richard HI, but no
bodies had ever been found or displayed as proof of their death. One Perkin
Warbeck, a citizen of Tournai, was chosen for his similarity of appearance
to Edward IV, and declared to be Richard, Duke of York.
He gained some support in Ireland, and was recognized as York by
Margaret of Burgundy and Maximilian of Austria. For two years Warbeck
followed the Imperial court while his patrons intrigued with English
malcontents; but in the winter of 1494-5 Henry's spies infiltrated the
conspiracy and large numbers of the conspirators were arrested, including
Lord Fitz Walter and Sir William Stanley. The latter was beheaded, as were
several others, while the remainder were hanged or imprisoned.
Nevertheless, in July 1495 Warbeck sailed from Flanders with 2,000
exiles and German mercenaries. He attempted to land at Deal, but his
vanguard was destroyed by Kentish levies and he drew off and made for
Ireland. Henry had anticipated such a move, and had already sent to Ireland
Sir Edward Poynings, who had suppressed the Irish supporters of Warbeck.
Warbeck landed at Munster, but only the Earl of Desmond came to his
support. Unable to face Poynings' forces, Warbeck sailed to Scotland. With
James IV he raided Northumberland in 1496, but a pretender backed by
Scottish spears was not acceptable to the English borderers, and not one
man rallied to the Yorkist banner.
However, discontent over the taxes imposed to pay for the war with
Scotland did lead to rioting in the south-east counties, and in Cornwall
open rebellion broke out. A rebel army marched on Eondon, sweeping over
five counties unopposed and collecting recruits en route, and was only
stopped by a hard fight at Blackheath.
Warbeck, hearing of the rising, landed in Devon in August. Gathering
together 8,000 rebels, he marched on Exeter. The city closed its gates
against him and, after an attempt to besiege the city, Warbeck had to march
away to confront a royal army dispatched to relieve Exeter. When he reached
Taunton Warbeck found his followers so dispirited that disaster was
inevitable. He took sanctuary on the abbey of Beaulieu, and later confessed
his fraud in exchange for his life. In 1498 Warbeck escaped from the Tower
but was recaptured and thereafter confined in a dungeon. The next year he
planned another escape, together with the unfortunate Edward of Clarence,
but spies in the Tower betrayed this. Henry allowed the plot to proceed
almost to completion, then had both Edward and Warbeck executed for
