The Wars of the Roses

Battle of Tewkesbury – 4 May 1471

Somerset's advance at Tewkesbury Artwork from 'Campaign 131: 'Tewkesbury 1471: The lst Yorkist victory' by Graham Turner © Osprey Publishing Ltd. www.ospreypublishing.com

Queen Margaret landed at Weymouth, with her son Edward, Sir John Langstrother, the Prior of St John of Jerusalem, and a small army of Frenchman, on 14 April, the same day that her ally, the earl of Warwick, was defeated and killed at the battle of Barnet. When the news reached the queen Margaret she must have been devastated but she was not deterred. With her generals, the duke of Somerset and the earl of Devon, she and her army had already moved north-west. Her aim was to recruit a substantial army from the west country and Wales as quickly as possible and then to engage with the Yorkists.  King Edward left London in pursuit of the queen on 24 April. He reached Cirencester on the 29th and almost caught up with her near Sodbury but she carried on north towards Gloucester, racing to get across the river Severn and into Wales to continue her recruitment campaign. Gloucester closed its gates to her and she was forced further north to the next possible crossing of the river - Tewkesbury. Knowing how close the Yorkist army was she did not have sufficient time to make the crossing so she deployed her exhausted army south of the town, choosing the most advantageous ground.

The Royalist March
Reproduced by kind permission of Peter Hammond and David Scuffam

King Edward, having marched some thirty-six miles that day, camped at Tredington, 3 miles from Tewkesbury, on the night of 3 May. As daylight appeared the following morning, he broke camp and moved towards the rebel army deploying his own army into three divisions led by Gloucester, himself in the centre and Lord Hastings. Again, the king kept his untrustworthy brother Clarence with him but his younger brother was assigned great responsibility. Hastings and his division had performed badly at Barnet and Edward now placed his trust and judgement in Gloucester who was facing the division led by the experienced Lancastrian fighter – Somerset. The centre of the Lancastrian army was commanded nominally by Prince Edward of Wales but in reality by Lord Wenlock and the other flank was commanded by the earl of Devon. Compared to the recently fought battle of Barnet the armies were smaller, with Edward possibly having 5,500 men and the Lancastrians numbering 6,000.

The Battle of Tewkesbury
Reproduced by kind permission of Peter Hammond and David Scuffam

The Yorkists began the engagement with gun fire and arrows on Somerset’s division. The duke responded but his gun power was inferior and he was soon forced to make a charge. He did not head straight towards the opposing division but swung left towards the king’s central one, no doubt expecting support from Wenlock in the centre. This was not forthcoming and he was pushed back by Gloucester and Edward with many of his men running from the field towards Bloody Meadow. Somerset returned to the fray and in a probably apocryphal story he turned on Wenlock and killed him with a blow to the head from his battleaxe. In any event, the Lancastrian line was now giving way and the soldiers fled. The leaders were killed - Somerset’s brother John Beaufort, the earl of Devon, Wenlock and during the flight, Edward of Wales. The Yorkists pursued the rebels to the bridge crossing the river Swilgate, to the mill, the weir and the town. Some rebels, including Somerset and Langstrother took sanctuary in the abbey but they were removed and brought to trial and execution on Monday 6 May. 

Closely following his success at Tewkesbury, King Edward learned of problems in the north which required his attention. Whilst at Worcester he learned of the capture of Queen Margaret. She was to remain a prisoner in England for four years until Louis XI of France paid a ransom for her release. The northern uprising came to nothing but London was now under attack by the Bastard of Fauconberg and the king turned back to his capital which he entered on 21 May. That night King Henry VI died in the Tower, undoubtedly by command of King Edward.

Shields of some of the participants

Contemporary Source on-line (courtesy of the US Branch of the Society)

Part 5 of the Anonymous History of the Arrival of Edward IV in England and the Final Recovery of his Kingdom from Henry VI. The Aftermath of Tewkesbury through the Surrender of the Bastard of Fauconberg. 

Contemporary Sources:

Historie of the Arrivall of Edward IV in England and the Finall Recouerye of his Kingdomes from Henry VI edited by J Bruce, Camden Society, 1838.

Mémoires by Philippe de Commines edited by D Godefroy and Llenglet du Fesnoy, 4 vols, Paris, 1747.

The Great Chronicle of London edited by AH Thomas and ID Thornley, 1938.

A Chronicle of the First Thirteen Years of the Reign of King Edward IV by John Warkworth. Edited by JO Halliwell, 1839.

Edward IV’s Memoir on Paper to Charles, Duke of Burgundy. The so-called ‘short Version of the Arrivall’ edited by Livia Visser-Fuchs, Nottingham Medieval Studies, vol 36, 1992.

Anchiennes Croniques d’Engleterre by Jean de Waurin, edited by E Dupont, 3 vols, Société de l’Histoire de France, Paris, 1858-63.

Recueil des Chroniques D’Engleterre by Jean de Waurin edited by W Hardy and E Hardy, 1891.

Further Reading:

‘The Battle of Tewkesbury’ by Alan Baker from British History Illustrated, vol 1, no 1 1975. Well illustrated.

‘The Battle of Tewkesbury AD1471’ by the Rev Canon Beazeley. 1904. Orthodox account of the battle originally published in Transactions of the British and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, vol 26, 1903.

‘The Battle of Tewkesbury’ by Lt-Col JD Blyth. From Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, 1961. Misleading account of the battle.

Extract from a ‘Chronicle of Tewkesbury Abbey’ on the battle, with a list of those slain. From CL Kingsford’s English Historical Literature in the 15th Century. 1913.

‘Battle of Tewkesbury May 1471’ by Hubert Collier. From Lloyds Log, May 1971. Account of the battle based on examination of the battle field.

‘Account of King Edward the Fourth’s Invasion of England in 1471 drawn up by one of his followers, with the King’s letter to the Inhabitants of Bruges upon his success’. Translated from a French manuscript in the public library at Ghent. From Archaeologia, vol 21, 1927.

Tewkesbury: Eclipse of the House of Lancaster 1471 by Steven Goodchild. Battleground. Wars of the Roses series. Pen and Sword 2005

Tewkesbury 1471: The last Yorkist victory by Christopher Gravett. Osprey Publishing  2003. Good account of the battle, detailing command strategies, tactics and battle experiences of the opposing forces in the Wars themselves. Well-illustrated by Graham Turner. Review in The Ricardian 2005. www.ospreypublishing.com

Battle of Tewkesbury 4th May 1471 by PW Hammond and HG Shearring and G Wheeler. 1971. Illustrated commemorative booklet for 500th anniversary.

The Battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury by PW Hammond, Gloucester 1990.  Definitive work on these two major battles. Review in The Ricardian December 1990.

The Battle of Tewkesbury Saturday May 4th 1471 by B Linnell. An account of the battle written for the 500th anniversary. 1971. Misleading account of the battle.

Descriptive Particulars of the Battle of Tewkesbury and of all known local Scenes and Memorials of the Battle. Printed and published by William North. Undated, probably late 19th century.

‘A May Day in Tewkesbury When a Crown was Lost and Won’ by Dorothy Kendall Pearson. From Cotswold Life, June 194. Story of the battle and tries to sift the facts from the legends that have grown up around it.

‘The Burials of Lancastrain Notables in Tewkesbury Abbey after the Battle AD 1471’ by GMcN Rushforth. From Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, vol 47 1925. Identifies the nobles, and the sites of their graves in the Abbey.

‘Battle of Tewkesbury: Museum Diorama’ by Geoffrey Wheeler. From Airfix Magazine Vol 13 No 8 April 1972. Description of the construction of the scale model of the battle in the Museum at Tewkesbury.

Battle of Tewkesbury 1471: a roll of arms by Geoffrey Wheeler 1471. Lists of those present at the battle with brief biographical details and coats of arms.

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