Lancastrian Resistance 1461-1464

Based on Charles Ross’s Edward IV, London 1974

Following his successful usurpation, Edward IV began a policy of conciliation with the old regime but areas of the country remained loyal to the Lancastrian cause, particularly Northumberland and Wales. This is hardly surprising in view of over sixty years of rule by the house of Lancaster. Northumberland was the territory of the Percy family and the situation was to be exploited by the Scots who had given refuge to the former king and queen. Wales was home to Jasper Tudor, earl of Pembroke and half-uncle to the deposed Henry VI, and therefore staunchly Lancastrian.

A raid on Carlisle in June 1461 by a force of Scots and Lancastrians was easily repelled by John Neville, Marquess of Montagu, the brother of Richard, Earl of Warwick. Later in the month the Lords Roos, Dacre and Rougemont-Grey raised the Lancastrian standard at Brancepath but were similarly repelled by the bishop of Durham. In July the earl of Warwick was appointed warden of the East and West Marches and he gained control of Alnwick castle but it was re-captured by William Tailboys during the winter. The way forward for the new Yorkist king was to establish a truce with the Scots thus depriving the rebels of support from over the border. This was negotiated and arranged to run from June to August 1462 and during this period Warwick used the time to strengthen and consolidate his position in Northumberland.

The west of Wales remained loyal to the Lancastrians. The king’s lieutenants in the country were William Herbert and Sir Walter Devereux and they began a campaign in the late summer of 1461 when they defeated Jasper Tudor and Henry, Duke of Exeter, but it was not until May 1462 that the penultimate Lancastrian stronghold fell. The formidable castle at Harlech remained in rebel hands.

Meanwhile, Margaret of Anjou sailed to France to seek support, leaving her husband in Scotland. Her success was limited but she returned to Scotland to collect her husband before sailing for England. The former king and queen landed near Bamburgh castle on 25 October where they were welcomed and the garrisons of Alnwick and Dunstanborough soon followed suit.

King Edward’s speedy preparations to move north sufficiently frightened the royal pair to flee the country leaving the fortresses in the hands of their garrisons. Warwick, deputising for a measles-ridden king, based himself at Warkworth and proceeded to starve out the defenders of the Northumbrian castles. Dunstanborough and Bamborough surrendered on Christmas Eve 1462 and the duke of Somerset, one of the leading rebels, swore fealty to the king. The loyalist forces now focussed their efforts on Alnwick but on 5 June a force led by Margaret of Anjou’s general, Pierre de Brézé, and the earl of Angus appeared and surprisingly Warwick withdrew. Lord Hungerford led his men out of Alnwick and together with de Brézé and Angus they withdrew to Scotland unhindered.

The peace was short-lived. Sir Ralph Percy, now turned traitor for a third time, together with Sir Ralph Grey, allowed a Scottish-Lancastrian force to occupy the three Northumbrian fortresses yet again and these would be held by the rebels until 1464. In response, a royalist force led by Warwick and Sir Thomas Stanley left London on 3 June but by the end of the month the Scots led by the queen mother, Mary of Guelders, the youthful King James III, Henry VI and his wife invaded England and laid siege to Naworth castle.

Edward immediately prepared to leave for the north and quickly raised about £10,000 to finance his forces. Meanwhile Warwick and Montagu, with the support of the archbishop of York, who had raised the northern levies, drove the invaders back over the border. Edward failed to follow up on the success with a full-scale attack on Scotland, possibly due to lack of sufficient resources.  The populace, however, were disillusioned by the king’s apparent lethargy in the prosecution of the Scots and the initial unrest soon turned to riots in fifteen counties. Such was the commotion in Gloucestershire that the king went in person to take action. Possibly at the instigation of the duke of Somerset, more serious Lancastrian-led disturbances occurred in Cheshire, Lancashire and Wales. John Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, was sent to north Wales whilst John Donne, the brother-in-law of the king’s great friend William Hastings, with Roger Vaughan dealt with the rebels in south Wales who were defeated at Dryslwyn on 4 March 1464. In the north of England, meanwhile, the rebels led raids from Bamborough and took Norham Castle. In the Yorkshire Dales the Cliffords declared for Henry VI.

The king had dealt effectively with the problems in the south and he returned to London. However, rebel activity in the north, led by the turncoat duke of Somerset, Lord Roos and Sir Ralph Percy, demanded his attention as they threatened his negotiations with the Scots for a treaty which was effectively the strategy to cut off rebel support. Montagu was sent to escort the Scottish embassy south but was attacked at Hedgeley Moor where he defeated the rebels and Sir Ralph Percy was finally eliminated.

As the king made leisurely preparations to move north finally to rid himself of the rebels in his country, the self-same rebels tried to gain a quick success before the might of the royalist army reached them. They moved south from Alnwick to the Tyne Valley and camped close to Hexham. The ever-vigilant  Montagu sped to Hexham where he confronted and defeated the rebels on 15 May. There followed a series of executions, including that of the duke of Somerset, which left the Lancastrian party leaderless except for the exiled king and queen. Montagu’s success led to the capitulation of the great Northumbrian castles of Dunstanborough and Alnwick. Bamborough’s defenders, Sir Ralph Grey and Sir Humphrey Nevill were obdurate and a full siege ensued. Grey was wounded and Neville then surrendered. ‘The surrender of Bamborough at the end of June 1464 marks the end of the decisive phase in the Yorkist effort to master a stubborn and determined Lancastrian resistance. Henceforth, the cause of Henry VI could be of significance only when allied with powerful Yorkist dissidents.’ (Charles Ross)