Battle of Wakefield – 30 December 1460

York recruited on his march but unfortunately was not nearly as successful as the Lancastrians. He was also hampered by bad weather and a run-in with Somerset’s men at Worksop but arrived at his castle of Sandal on 21 December.  He was joined by Thomas Harrington, Thomas Parre and James Pickering. A faithful retainer, Edward Fitzwilliam, held nearby Conisbrough Castle. The royalist army, meanwhile, was based at Pontefract and as Christmas was approaching it appears a truce was negotiated which would run until Epiphany. In his haste to reach the north York did not have the opportunity properly to victual his army and was forced to organise foraging expeditions to find supplies for his several thousand men, which meant large groups leaving the comparative safety of the castle precincts.

Exactly what happened next is uncertain. The various contemporary sources for the battle are contradictory but the reports do agree that the Yorkists were outnumbered. Estimates of York’s army vary between 5,000 and 12,000 men. The Lancastrian army has been put at between 15,000 and 22,000.  In the event, York was persuaded, either by deception or by bad intelligence, to leave the castle and to ride out towards Wakefield where the royalist army was apparently waiting for him. Keith Dockray comments, ‘the battle was fought later in the day than normal; it did not last very long; and it was a crushing Yorkist defeat.’  The Yorkist losses have been variously reported as between 700 and 2,500. Amongst the Yorkist leaders who died was the duke himself, his nephew Thomas Neville, James Pickering and Thomas Harrington. Tradition has it the earl of Rutland was killed at Wakefield Bridge by Lord Clifford. Salisbury was taken prisoner and executed the next day. The victors, however, were vengeful and decapitated the dead bodies of the leading Yorkists and placed their heads on Micklegate Bar in York. The head of the would-be king, Richard of York, was crowned with a paper diadem.

Shields of some of the participants

Further Reading:

‘The Battle of Wakefield’ by Keith Dockray. From The Ricardian, June 1992, pp. 238-258. Definitive article on the battle.

The Battle of Wakefield: 30 December 1460 by PA Haigh. Alan Sutton Publishing 1996. The only book devoted to the battle. An appendix provides suggestions for further reading with brief commentary. Review in The Ricardian December 1997.

‘The Battle of Wakefield: the Topography’ by Richard Knowles. From The Ricardian, June 1992

From Wakefield to Towton: The Wars of the Roses (Battlefield Series: Britain 1460-1461), 2002. Well illustrated account of the battles of Wakefield, Ferrybridge and Towton. The emphasis is on the military encounters as opposed to the political activity although this is covered briefly to set the battles into their correct context. ‘Tours’ are also given so that readers can find the scene of the battlefields in today’s world and follow their history.

‘The Battle of Wakefield’ by ADH Leadman. Fom Proelia Eboracensia, 1891 (first published in Yorkshire Archaeological and Topographical Journal, vol 11, 1891). Account compiled from various contemporary chronicles.

‘The Battle of Wakefield’ by Clements R Markham. From Yorkshire Archaeological and Topographical journal, vol 9, 1886. Account of the battle based on contemporary sources.

The Battles of Wakefield: an historical narrative of the Battle of Wakefield in 1460 … by George Tyas. 1854. Discursive account of the battle and the circumstances leading up to it, based on later chronicles.

1460-1960: Catalogue of an Exhibition to Commemorate the Battle of Wakefield 1460 at the City Museum, Wakefield, 1960. List of exhibits, no illustrations.