Battle of Bosworth – 22 August 1485

The Battle of Bosworth by Graham Turner
Reproduced by kind permission of the artist
www.studio88.co.uk

The threat of an invasion of England by Henry Tudor became a reality when he landed at Milford Haven in Wales on 7 August 1485. King Richard had based himself at Nottingham, in the centre of his kingdom, so as to be within striking distance of wherever Tudor decided to make landfall.

On 11 August Richard learned of Tudor’s arrival and he wasted no time in contacting his captains to join him at either Nottingham or Leicester. These included the duke of Norfolk and his son, the earl of Surrey, the earl of Northumberland and Sir Richard Brackenbury. He also commanded the Stanley brothers, Lord (Thomas) and Sir William to appear. Their support was critical, both in terms of men and loyalty. Lord Stanley was married to Henry Tudor’s mother, Margaret Beaufort, and there was the very real danger that they would desert the king, especially when Lord Stanley excused himself on the pretext of illness. Meanwhile the Stanleys began to assemble their forces.

The Landing of Henry VII at Milford Haven
Artwork from The Battle of Bosworth by Graham Turner
© Osprey Publishing Ltd.
www.ospreypublishing.com

Tudor, having despatched messages to his supporters to join him, marched rapidly eastwards with his 2,000 mercenaries and crossed the river Severn at Shrewsbury. He proceeded to Stafford, where he met with Sir William Stanley on 16 or 17 August and from that point his progress slowed down considerably, presumably to allow time for further support to arrive. On the evening of 20 August he arrived at Atherstone. The Stanleys had been shadowing Tudor and his army, which had now increased to 5,000 or more. As yet they were not committed to either side. 

King Richard left Nottingham on 20 August, arriving at Leicester that evening where he was joined by Norfolk and Brackenbury. Northumberland arrived the following day and the royal army marched out of Leicester over Bow Bridge heading westwards to meet the enemy. Passing through small village of Sutton Cheney the king moved towards Ambion Hill where, it is believed, he occupied on the night of the 21st.  The deployment of his army had Norfolk leading the vanguard and Northumberland probably the rearguard whilst the king commanded the central division. The rebel divisions were led by that seasoned warrior, the earl of Oxford, leading the van and probably flanked by John Savage and Gilbert Talbot with Tudor at the rear with a small detachment of cavalry. The Stanleys, with a joint force of between 5,000 and 6,000 lay somewhere between the armies, their position still not giving commitment to either side. It is also uncertain whether their force was combined or split between two positions.

King Richard had begun his manoeuvres soon after the sun rose on the 22nd but it was Oxford who now advanced towards Ambion Hill. King Richard responded with artillery fire and Oxford changed position to direct his attack on Norfolk’s division and out of range of the royalist fire. Norfolk responded with the command to his archers to loose their arrows and Oxford retaliated with the same as Norfolk now descended the slope of Ambion Hill to meet head-on with the earl. This probably took place at the foot of the hill and the two divisions clashed violently in close combat. Oxford stood his ground, ordering his men not to stray far from their standards. The rebels now used a classic Roman manoeuvre. They formed wedges or columns and pushed through the royalist line to break it up. At some point during the general mêlée Norfolk was killed and the loss of the local leader would have had a devastating effect on morale in the vanguard and some of the men began to flee.

The last charge of Richard III Artwork from The Battle of Bosworth by Graham Turner © Osprey Publishing Ltd. www.ospreypublishing.com

Meanwhile intelligence was brought to King Richard that Tudor was on the move and the king, once the rebel was sighted, took the decision to charge and kill his enemy and thus secure the day. Desperate measures were needed, the Stanleys were still inactive and the earl of Northumberland had yet to engage in the battle. The king called his close companions to his side, including the knights Ralph Ashton, Richard Radcliffe, Thomas Pilkington, Percival Thirlwall, James Harrington, Marmaduke Constable and Robert Percy and together with a force of several hundred rode down Ambion Hill in an all or nothing charge – ‘the swan-song of medieval English chivalry’. The king killed Tudor’s own standard-bearer, William Brandon and unhorsed the mighty Sir John Cheney. Treachery now took a hand, as Sir William Stanley finally made up his mind and led his men to support Tudor and to cut down his anointed king. The enemy closed in on Richard, who was now unhorsed with Thirlwell who refused to relinquish the royal standard despite horrific injuries. And so died the last Plantagenet king of England.

With the king dead, his army began to disintegrate and many surrendered. Amongst the Yorkist dead were Sir Richard Brackenbury, the lieutenant of the Tower, John Kendall, the king’s secretary, Lord Ferrers of Chartley, Sir Robert Percy, the controller of the royal household and Sir Richard Radcliffe. William Castesby was captured and executed three days later and the earls of Surrey and Northumberland committed to the Tower although later released. Richard’s close friend Francis Lovell and Humphrey and Thomas Stafford all escaped and survived to threaten Tudor in the future. It is uncertain whether the earl of Lincoln, Richard’s probable heir, was at the battle or whether he was sent on another mission by the king, but within a few weeks he too surrendered to the new king.

Tudor, now proclaimed as King Henry VII, marched in triumph to Leicester, with the body of late king, stripped and ignominiously flung across a horse. King Richard’s reputation in the years to follow would be treated as contemptuously as his person.

Shields of some of the participants

The Battle of Bosworth is one of the most poorly recorded battles in English history and as a consequence there is uncertainty as to where the battle actually took place. The above account is based on the traditional site which is in the area of Ambion Hill, where Leicestershire County Council have established the Battlefield Centre but alternative sites have been suggested at Dadlington and Atherstone. The Council’s official site on the battlefield includes a comprehensive section on the various theories and a link is given below. The website of the Society’s US Branch has also created a special section on Bosworth which includes maps, photographs and contemporary and Tudor sources.

A grant by the English Lottery Fund made to the Battlefield Centre in 2005 and part of this will be spent on archaeology to learn more about the site. Paul Startin of the Bosworth Battlefield Centre wrote for the Society’s Winter Bulletin 2004 about the re-assessment of the site.  Progress will be reported on this website under our Archaeology section in due course.

Links:

Bosworth Battlefield Site – Leicestershire County Council

http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/community/community_services/environment_and_
heritage/country_parks/country_parks_bosworth.htm

The Battlefield Trust Resource Centre Website

http://dev.battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/warsoftheroses

US Branch Website – Bosworth

http://www.r3.org/bosworth/index.html

Further Reading:

The Battle of Bosworth by Michael Bennett. Gloucester 1985.

‘Three Prophecies that came True’ by Vivian Bird. From Birmingham Sunday Mercury c. 1960. Short description of the battle and battlefield before opening of the Battlefield Centre.

‘The Buckinghamshire Six at Bosworth’ by Lesley Boatwright, The Ricardian 2003.

The Last Battle of the Roses: a paper on the Battle of Bosworth … to which is added Saville’s Chronicle and Drayton’s Description of the Battle by JT Burgess. 1872. Based on talks given to local archaeological and historical societies.

‘The Landing Place of Henry of Richmond’ by SB Chrimes. From Welsh History Review Vol 2 No 2 1964. Suggests Henry’s landing place can be identified as Mill Bay, near Dale at the entrance to Milford Haven.

‘When Treason Crowned a Tudor’ by James Cleugh. From Everybody’s Weekly 8th August 1953. Somewhat over-imaginative account of the battle!

‘Bosworth Field: A Footnote to a Controversy’ by Margaret Condon. The Ricardian, March 1987.

‘The Battle of Bosworth: towards a re-assessment’ by Peter J Foss. From Midland History, vol 13 1998. Uses documentary and topographical evidence to suggest that Dadlington rather than Ambion Hill was site of the battle.

The Battle of Bosworth – where was it fought: a provisional re-assessment by Peter J Foss. August 1985. Peter Foss’ first brief paper questioning the traditional site of the battle.

The Field of Redemore: the Battle of Bosworth 1485 by Peter J Foss. Comprehensive re-assessment of the evidence, proposing a new scenario for the movements of the armies before, during and after the battle, and emphasising the importance of Dadlington.

‘The Battle of Bosworth’ by James Gairdner. From Archaeologia, vol 55 1896. Detailed account of the battle.

The Battle of Bosworth by James Gairdner with a new introduction by PW Hammond. 1975. Gairdner’s article from Archaeologia plus extracts from the Chronicle of Croyland, Vergil’s Anglica Historia and the Ballad of Bosworth Field.

The Battle of Bosworth by Christopher Gravett. Oxford 1999. Readable and concise account of the battle. Illustrated by Graham Turner.

‘An Amended Itinerary to Bosworth Field’ by Arnold J James. The Ricardian, June 1989.

‘A Castilian Report on English Affairs 1485’ by Anthony Goodman and Angus MacKay. From English Historical Review, vol 88, January 1973. De Valera’s letter describing events in England from August 1485 to January 1486.

‘Traitors on the Touchlines’ by CV Hancock. From Birmingham Post. Brief account of the battle and the battlefield before the opening of the Battlefield Centre.

‘Entry for August 22nd’ by William Hone. From Every-day Book Vol 2 1827. On the battle and the erecting of the cairn over the Well.

‘The Battle of Bosworth Field’ by Raymond Hudson. From The Lady 27 July 1978. Short description of the battle and battlefield after the opening of the Battlefield Centre.

‘The Battle of Bosworth’ by Brian A Jesson. The Ricardian, December 1975.

Extracts from Bosworth and the Tudors edited by Dayydd Glyn Jones and John Ellis Jones and translated from the Welsh by Stephen O’Regan. 1985. Deals with the battle itself and the events leading up to it from a Welsh point of view.

‘Wales and Bosworth Field – selective historiography?’ by Emyr Wyn Jones. From National Library of Wales Journal Vol 21 No 1 1979. Discusses the literature on Bosworth and its ignoring the role of Wales and Welshmen.

‘Bosworth Field: an episode of Welsh history’ by W Garmon Jones. From Transactions of Liverpool Welsh National Society 1910-12. Welsh attitudes to Richard III and Henry Tudor.

Bosworth 1485: Psychology of a Battle by Michael K Jones. Tempus Publishing 2002.  A recent work which has had a major impact in terms of the alleged illegitimacy of Edward IV and the location of the battle which the author identifies as Merivale near Atherstone.

‘The Battle of Bosworth Field’ by Capt DC Kibble-Rees. From The Trumpeter: journal of the Junior Leaders Regiment Royal Artillery No 40 Winter 1971. Short account of the battle from a military viewpoint.

‘Places to Know – No 10: Bosworth Field’ by Inspector KW Maddox. From Tally Ho: magazine of the Leicestershire ad Rutland Constabulary Autumn 1966. Not wholly accurate, illustrated account of the battle.

‘The Road to Bosworth Field’ by Albert Makinson. From History Today April 1963. On the battle and what led up to it.

A Church for Bosworth Field: St James Dadlington and the Battlefield Chantry by Tim Parry. 1987. Booklet on the history of the chantry and the light it sheds on the siting of the battle.

‘The Route to Bosworth’ by Laurie Parsons. From Esprit de Corps: the historical wargames magazine NO 5 1987. Discussion of the events influencing the final location of the battle – was this a Welsh invasion of England?

‘The Battle of Bosworth: Further Reflections on the Battlefield Site’ by Michael J Phillips. The Ricardian March 1987.

22nd August 1485: the Battle of Bosworth. A record of an exhibition at the Public Record Office (now The National Archives), to mark the quincentenary of the battle.  Typescript listing of documents in the TNA relevant to Bosworth and its aftermath, with summaries of their contents and their call numbers.

‘The Battle of Bosworth’ by Colin Richmond. From History Today Vol 35 August 1985. A new analysis of the course of the battle, and the first suggestion that it was centred round Dadlington rather than Ambion Hill.

‘1485 and All That, Or what was going on at the Battle of Bosworth’ by Colin Richmond. From Richard III: Loyalty, Lordship and Law edited by PW Hammond 1986. Suggests one of the causes of the Battle of Bosworth was the lack of foreign wars since 1453 and gives an analysis of who fought on both sides in the battle.

‘The Battle of Dunesmore’ by Colin Richmond. The Ricardian, September 1997.

Battlefield of Bosworth: where it is and what there is to see by Edward Turner. 1974. Guide to the battlefield.

‘The Battle of Bosworth’ by DT Williams. Detailed but occasionally misleading account.

‘A Place Mete for Twoo Battayles to Encountre’: The Siting of the Battle of Bosworth, 1485’ by Daniel Williams. The Ricardian, September 1985.

‘Henry of Richmond’s Itinerary to Bosworth’ by W Tom Williams. From Y Cymmrodor, the magazine of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion Vol 29 1919.  Henry’s route from Milford Haven to Bosworth, day by day.

‘Bosworth Feilde’ and ‘Ladye Bessiye’. From Bishop Percy’s Folio Manuscript – Ballads and Romances Vol 3 edited by JW Hales and FJ Furnivall 1868. Near-contemporary metrical account of the battle.

The Field of Bosworth by KS Wright. Kingsway Publishing 2002.

‘A Fine Armour … Bosworth’  by Frank Yeoman. The Ricardian, December 1974.