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Battle of Northampton 1460, Coppini, Earl of Warwick, History of Artillery, King Edward IV, King Henry VI, Latest News, Northampton history, Northampton in the 15th century, Queen Eleanor's Cross, Uncategorized, Wars of the Roses

Battle of Northampton timeline 1.

26 June 1460.

The Calais Lords, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick; Edward, Earl of March; and William Neville, Lord Fauconberg landed at Sandwich with 2,000 men.

27 June 1460.

The Calais lords arrive at Canterbury. Robert Horne, John Scot and John Fosse and their men, sent by King Henry to stop them change sides and help negotiate the surrender of the city.

28 June 1460

Yorkists send out letters summoning help from the Cinque Ports. At least Rye and Winchelsea send men. After paying respects at the shrine of St. Thomas, a growing number of Yorkists leave Canterbury heading for London via Rochester and Dartford.

29 June 1460

The Common Council of London agree to resist the rebels but refuse to let the Lancastrian Lord Scales to act as the cities Captain. Men at Arms are placed on London Bridge. A deputation is sent to the advancing Yorkists warning them they would be refused entry to the city. Thousands flock to the Yorkist standard ‘like bees to the hive’.

1st July 1460

The Yorkist army reaches London and camps at Blackheath. As well as the Calais Lords it was said to include ” the many footmen of the commons of Kent, Sussex and Surrey”. By this time, according to some observers their number was between 20,000 and 40,000.

2 July 1460

11 Aldermen of London rebel in support of the Yorkists. The Yorkists enter London and are met by the Bishops of Ely and Exeter in Southwark. There is a crush on London Bridge and 13 Men at Arms are trampled when they fell.

3 July 1460

The Calais Lords make an oath of allegance to King Henry on the cross of Canterbury at St. Pauls. Warwick announces that they had come with the people to declare their innocence or else die in the field.

4 July 1460

Francesco Coppini, Bishop of Turin and Papal Legate joined the Yorkists at Calais. His official mission from the Pope was to persuade the English to join a crusade. However, he has a secret mission from Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan (If you have seen “The Borgias” on TV you will get the idea), to help put the Yorkists on the throne. The French were becoming heavily involved in Italy and Margaret of Anjou’s brother wanted to be King of Naples, thereby threatening Milan. If the Yorkists were kings of England they might be persuaded to invade France and take the pressure of of Italy. At St. Pauls and by letter, Coppini issues a chilling warning to King Henry… ‘….out of the pity and compassion you should have for your people and citizens and your duty, to prevent so much bloodshed, now so imminent. You can prevent this if you will, and if you do not you will be guilty in the sight of God in that awful day of judgement in which I also shall stand and require of your hand the English blood, if it be spilt’

Warwick’s Uncle, William Neville, Lord Fauconberg, advances north from London, with according to one chronicler, 10,000 men. Faucoberg was the Yorkist’s most experienced soldier having taken part in many of the later battles of the 100 Year War. He appears to have been heading for Ware. Warwick secures a loan of £1,000 from London to finance the coming campaign.

5 July 1460

The main Yorkist army commanded by Warwick leaves London heading north along Watling Street. They bring with them a train of artillery.

The Lancastrian’s make plans to leave their base at Coventry. Summonses are sent out to towns and to lords to assemble their forces. They too have a large train of artillery which they had been stockpiling at Kenilworth Castle.

Salisbury and Cobham stay in London to lay siege to the Tower

July 7 1460

The Lancastrians reach Northampton and begin to build a fortified camp in fields between Hardingstone and Delapre Abbey. Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor of England , William Waynflete, surrenders the Great Seal to the King in ‘Hardingstone Field’ Then he and a number of other senior members resign and flee.

In the meantime the two separate Yorkist armies join at Dunstable where they wait for the artillery and slower foot soldiers to catch up.

Battle of Northampton 1460, Latest News, Uncategorized, Wars of the Roses

NBS recieves Battlefields Trust Presidents award

We are proud and pleased to announce that yesterday Mike Ingram and NBS was awarded the Battlefields Trust’s Presidents Award for outstanding battlefield preservation, conservation and interpretation. It will be formally presented by Sir Robert Worcester at the battle anniversary event at Delapre Abbey on the morning of 9 July.

If you have not brought the new book on the battle it is available direct from NBS or Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Battle-Northampton-1460-Mike-Ingram/dp/099307779X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466329476&sr=8-1&keywords=mike+ingram 13178704_1336243056391728_3784066177715858635_n

Latest News, Meetings, Talks, Uncategorized, Wars of the Roses

Talks

23 June. Anthony Rich – The Battle of Mortimers Cross

THE BATTLE OF MORTIMER’S CROSS (2 Feb. 1461), was fought near Wigmore in Herefordshire, between the Lancastrians under Jasper Tudor, and the Yorkists under Edward, Earl of March (later Edward IV).According to legend, on the morning of the battle, Edward witnessed a conjunction of three suns in the sky; after the victory, Edward, now Duke of York, took the white rose-en-soleil as his personal badge in remembrance. Anthony is an NBS committee member and  badged member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides. He has done considerable work on the site of the Battle of Mortimers Cross

21 July. Harvey Watson – The First Battle of St. Albans

The First Battle of St Albans, fought on 22 May 1455 at St Albans, 22 miles north of London, traditionally marks the beginning of the Wars of the Roses. Richard, Duke of York and his allies, the Neville Earls of Salisbury and Warwick, defeated a royal army commanded by Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, who was killed. With King Henry VI captured, a subsequent parliament appointed Richard of York Lord Protector.
Harvey is co-author of the book “The battles of St. Albans” published by Pen and Sword, currently editor of the Battlefields Trust’s quaterly magazine Battlefield, and Chair of their London and South East Region.

All 7:30pm start. Free to full NBS members otherwise £5.00 on the door

Location : https://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/maps/travel/ormnh-northampton-marriott-hotel/#directions

Battle of Northampton 1460, History of Artillery, King Edward IV, King Henry VI, Latest News, Northampton in the 15th century, Queen Eleanor's Cross, Talks, Uncategorized, Wars of the Roses

New Event

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Battle of Northampton 1174, Battle of Northampton 1264, Falkes de Breauté, Henry III, Magna Carta, medieval knights, Northampton Castle, Northampton in the 13th Century, the Schismatics, Uncategorized

Christmas 1223

It was Christmas 1223, the rebel alliance (the Schismatics) were on the run. They planned to meet in ‘great array’ at the castle of Northampton which was held by one of the rebels, Sheriff of Northampton, . However, they were beaten to it, and on 23 December, the young King Henry III arrived at Northampton Castle with Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury and many bishops, earls, barons and Knights intending to spend Christmas there. It was not the first time, the King had celebrated Christmas at Northampton, as de Breauté, had entertained him in the castle after the victory at the Battle of Lincoln Fair during Christmas 1217. The Dunstable annalist noted that neither in the days of his father (King John), nor afterwards, is such a feast known to have been celebrated in England. The next day Langton excommunicated all the rebels, and they were summonsed to appear before the King at Northampton on 30 December. When they arrived the Schismatics were shown letters from the Pope ordering the restoration of their castles to the King. They surrendered their castles and de Breauté and the Earl of Chester lost their sheriffdoms. It was not until mid Jan that Ralph de Trublevill was appointed as de Breautés replacement. The following June, de Breauté was convicted of 16 charges of seizing other peoples land. In reply he captured one of the judges Henry of Braybrook in Northants and threw him in the dungeon of his last surviving castle at Bedford. The King who had been at Northampton ordered his army to march on Bedford. It was to be one of the longest sieges during this period lasting eight weeks, with over 200 killed by the missiles of the defenders. After a fourth assault broke the walls de Breautés brother William and 80 knights were captured, refused pardon and hanged. De Breauté himself was exiled and died in 1226, allegedly from a poisoned fish.henry iii

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2015 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,700 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Battle of Northampton 1460, Coppini, King Edward IV, King Henry VI, Latest News, New book, Northampton in the 15th century, Queen Eleanor's Cross, Uncategorized, Wars of the Roses

Book launch

There will be a  launch for our new book at Northampton Museum on Sat 19 December 2:00 – 4:00 where you will be able to buy copies and get them signed. We will also be on John Griff show on BBC Radio Northampton discussing the book on 18 Dec at 3:10.

http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/local/story-of-the-battle-of-northampton-told-in-new-book-1-7112372

Mike Northampton2 cover

Battle of Northampton 1460, Coppini, Earl of Warwick, Henry IV, King Edward IV, King Henry VI, Latest News, Northampton history, Northampton in the 15th century, Queen Eleanor's Cross, Richard III, Richard Neville, Uncategorized, Wars of the Roses

New Book

We are pleased to announce the publication of our new book on the 1460 Battle of Northampton. Written by medieval historian Mike Ingram and illustrated by Matthew Ryan. Forward by Earl Charles Spencer.

It should have been the battle that ended Richard of York’s rebellions. With the Yorkists politically destroyed and the estates confiscated, all that remained was to carry out the punishment for treason – death. On 10 July 1460 King Henry VI and his army waited for the Yorkists in a heavily fortified camp in fields outside Northampton. However, they did not count on the treachery of Lord Grey of Ruthin. For the first time, this is the full story of the Battle of Northampton which took place during the turbulent period now known as the Wars of the Roses. It was the first and only time that a fortified camp was assaulted and was the last time protracted negotiations took place before a battle. In its immediate aftermath the House of York laid claim to the throne of England for the first time and so began the bloodiest phase of the Wars of the Roses – the war of succession. As well as the battle itself, the book looks at Northamptonshire’s medieval history and its involvement in the Wars of the Roses.

Foreword by Earl Charles Spencer

Northampton today is, frankly, an under-appreciated, often overlooked, town. The joke is, people only know of Northamptonshire because they shoot through it on the M1: they note the name of the county town on notice boards from exits 15 to 16. But this was, once, one of the great centres of power and influence in early and Medieval England. It was also, with Oxford, home to one of the first two universities in the land. Mike Ingram brings fine scholastic research to play, in reminding people of Northampton’s past importance – strategic and social. His energetic prose gives colour to every page, while his revelations intrigue and entertain. He helps us appreciate why one of the great battles of English history took place in this Midland town, and he skilfully resurrects the generals and ordinary soldiers who clashed in an engagement that helped lay the foundations of this nation’s past. You don’t need to be a champion or resident of Northampton to appreciate this overdue appraisal of the battle that bears its name. This is a book that everyone who loves History – particularly the almost forgotten kind – will savour.

The book is published by Northampton Battlefield Society priced £9.99 and is available in printed version and for kindle etc. Available from Amazon or from Northampton Battlefields Society.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/099307779X?keywords=mike%20ingram&qid=1449230084&ref_=sr_1_5&s=books&sr=1-5