Battlefields Trust London & South East

Introduction
The Second Battle of St Albans was perhaps the most complex encounter of the Wars of the Roses, with both sides using unusually sophisticated tactics for the period. The Earl of Warwick’s innovative weapons included the debut in England of the handgun and the petard.

Location
The battle started in the Market Place and spread to the heaviest fighting at Bernards Heath in northern St Albans. From here, Warwick staged a fighting retreat through Sandridge to Nomansland.

Landscape Interpretation
In 1461, St Albans clustered around its Abbey, now the Cathedral. St Peter’s Church marked the northern edge of the town. St Albans’ only defence was the 13th Century Tonman Ditch, which, on the western side of the town, was built on Saxon ramparts, along the line of Folly Lane. Barriers on roads including George Street and Catherine Street enhanced the ditch

The Lancastrians forded the River Ver, which is now crossed by a bridge. The ford was one of several along a boggy valley. They then advanced up Fishpool Street, Romeland and George Street to be repulsed by the Yorkist archers in the Market Place, near the fifteenth century Clock Tower. A second attack along the line of Branch Road, Verulam Road, Folly Lane and Catherine Street found a weak point in the defences.

St Peter’s Church was the northern extent of the town in 1461 and allegedly a burial site for the dead of the battle. Frozen bodies were reputedly buried upright, but recent research states that this is a myth.

Although some of the old common remains on either side of Harpenden Road, it is largely impenetrable scrubland. The heath probably extended from Marshalswick in the east to Beech Bottom Dyke in the west. The latter is an ancient earthwork that remains thirty feet deep in places and was so formidable in 1461 that it formed part of the initial Yorkist defences.

At Dead Woman’s Hill in June 1865, skeletons and 15th Century coins were discovered during the construction of the railway embankment. Twenty-five skeletons, armour and cannonballs were also found on Nomansland Common in the nineteenth century.

Historical Background
By October 1460, the Yorkists had regained political control of England. Despite five turbulent years and three battles against enemies committed to their destruction, however, they refused to countenance the removal of the anointed king, Henry VI. Furthermore, the fact that Richard, Duke of York had only participated in the first of these battles and remained in exile whilst his allies had fought a decisive military campaign, made him seem an uninspiring alternative monarch.

York’s special position was recognised in a compromise, which he reluctantly accepted. On 24 October, the stakes were raised by the Act of Accord, which declared that York and his heirs would succeed Henry to the throne. Edward, Prince of Wales was thus disinherited to the fury of his mother, Queen Margaret. On 9 November, York was proclaimed heir apparent in London.

Outside the Yorkist capital, resentment at the duke’s arrogance raised a formidable alliance against him. Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, together with Lords Clifford, Dacre, Greystoke, Latimer, Neville and Roos met in York, ravaged local Yorkist estates and coerced men to join them. Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset sailed from France, where he had been besieging Calais, to join Thomas Courtenay, Earl of Devonshire at Corfe Castle. At Margaret’s command, they moved quickly north and were joined en route by Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter. Reports reached London that 15,000 men were mobilised in Hull, which, as well as being accessible by sea, was in the domain of the Earl of Northumberland.

Margaret then went to Wales and persuaded Owen Tudor and his son Jasper, Earl of Pembroke to mobilise on her behalf. She arranged for James Butler, Earl of Wiltshire to join Pembroke with his Irish retainers and Breton and French soldiers. Margaret achieved this due to her French roots and to concern that the relatively aggressive Yorkist administration would revive war with France. In December, she sailed to Scotland, where reinforcements were agreed on condition that her son would marry James III’s sister and that Berwick and Roxburgh would be ceded to Scotland.

The Yorkists responded by fatally splitting their forces: York and Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury headed north to meet the threat in Yorkshire; Edward, Earl of March went to recruit in the Welsh Marches; Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick remained in control of London. At the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December, York was killed and Salisbury captured and executed. Their cause and titles were assumed by their sons March and Warwick respectively.

In London, in early January 1461, Warwick mobilised an army in preparation for the inevitable southward march of his enemy. Margaret returned to her allies in York with Scottish reinforcements and left for London around 20 January. Her force included French mercenaries and northern English and Welsh retainers. As March was still some way off London after his victory at the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross on 2 February 1461, Warwick had to organise the defence of the capital.

Contemporary Sources
The Second Battle of St Albans is, by medieval standards, well documented, notably in the rare eyewitness accounts in Gregory’s Chronicle and in the Registrum Abbatis Johannis Whethamstede. William Gregory was possibly in the Yorkist army and Abbott John Whethamstede possibly watched part of the action from the Abbey tower. The later Chronicques D’Engletrre of Jean de Waurin describes the role of Sir Henry Lovelace.

Certain other details remain unclear from contemporary sources, notably the reasons for the manoeuvres before the battle and the identity of the Lancastrian commander. Some authors have attributed the unusual tactics to either Queen Margaret or Andrew Trollope, but it is believed that the senior nobleman Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset would have had at least nominal control.

The Campaign
As the Lancastrians moved south, the Scots in particular pillaged in lieu of pay with the blessing of Margaret and the Crowland Chronicle evokes feelings of panic and fear of the ‘northemen’ reminiscent of the Viking raids. The Bishop of Ely hired Burgundian mercenaries to guard his cathedral on hearing of looting in Grantham, Stamford, Peterborough, Huntingdon, Melbourn and Royston. The fact that these were Yorkist towns on the Great North Road led to Yorkist propaganda publicising the Lancastrians’ depredations, in the hope of attracting support. Fear, however, pushed many into the enemy camp, hoping that this was the best way to protect their interests. Panic spread as far as London, where citizens boarded up property and hid possessions and the streets were deserted. Here and in East Anglia, men did rally to the Yorkists. The Lancastrian army was weakened by desertion as the pirates returned home with their booty, thus rendering Margaret’s efforts at reinforcement ineffective. She had left Yorkshire with 30,000 men, but had only half that number by the time she approached St Albans.

After mobilising inexperienced Kentish recruits, Warwick left London via Watling Street on 12 February, since this was the direction from which March would approach. Warwick’s army included his brother John, Lord Montagu, the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, the Earl of Arundel, the captive Henry VI and some Burgundian handgunners.

After reaching St Albans late on 13 February, Warwick prepared defences north of the town, making use of Beech Bottom Dyke. This ditch was supplemented with innovative technology such as cannon, caltrops, nets of cord set with spikes, pavises, handguns and petards. The Burgundian handgunners in the Yorkist ranks were the first such soldiers to be used in England.

Warwick spread his force facing north-west, in four bodies thinly covering a four mile front: in the town centre; blocking one road at Bernards Heath; blocking another at Sandridge; at Nomansland. He presumably knew that the enemy was at or approaching Dunstable in a flanking manoeuvre, since an approach from the Great North Road would have come from the north-east. There was no effective communication between the unconnected and complicated defensive positions, which apparently aimed to cover all possible approaches. Montagu commanded at Bernards Heath, Warwick at Sandridge, and Norfolk at Nomansland.

The Lancastrians, meanwhile, had marched west from Royston to reach Dunstable on 16 February, overcoming a hastily raised Yorkist force. They possibly knew of Warwick’s defences north of St Albans, perhaps via Sir Henry Lovelace and planned to outflank the Yorkists by attacking from the west. A scout reported the Dunstable episode to Warwick, who refused to believe it, on the grounds that the Lancastrians couldn’t have got so far. Keen to maintain the advantage of surprise, the Lancastrians staged a twelve-mile night march, along Watling Street through Markyate and Redbourn towards St Albans.

The Battle
The Lancastrians, wearing the red and white ostrich feather of the Prince of Wales, reached St Michael’s Church, west of St Albans between 6 am and 7am on 17 February. Trollope’s advance party crossed the River Ver. With the advantage of surprise, the gate on Fishpool Street was unlocked and unmanned, enabling the Lancastrians to cross the Tonman Ditch and enter the town via George Street. Hindered by the narrow street, the Lancastrians were stopped by the Yorkists defending the buildings in the Market Place and retreated under a hail of arrows.

Lancastrian scouts then reported that Catherine Street was unguarded. A second attack was therefore launched, via Branch Road, Verulam Road, Folly Lane and Catherine Street. The force then entered St Peter’s Street to outflank and outnumber the Yorkists. Despite fierce resistance, the Lancastrians overran the town centre with heavy casualties on each side.

The remaining Lancastrians then entered the town and the whole army rested before mobilising. After noon, they moved north along St Peter’s Street to attack Bernards Heath, where Montagu’s 5,000 men were still in the process of realigning to meet the new threat. The new nine hundred yard line covered the Harpenden and Sandridge roads, about half a mile from St Peter’s Church. The main fighting in the battle now developed between here and the high ground above Sandridge, one mile to the north.

The handguns failed dismally, some blowing up and killing their owners, but the other innovations helped Montagu’s defence and Trollope's foot was caught in a caltrop. Despite these difficulties, the outnumbered Montagu held firm in the hope of relief from Warwick. Gradually, weight of numbers began to push Montagu back as the narrow lanes, hedgerows and the distance between the Yorkist positions meant that it was early afternoon before Warwick heard of his brother’s predicament. The earl then moved towards Bernards Heath. By the time that Warwick reached Dead Woman’s Hill, there had been several hours of fighting, Montagu had been captured and his demoralised men were retreating in bloody chaos.

Although pockets of resistance continued, Warwick staged a fighting retreat back through his men, who, unnerved by their retreating comrades, began to flee at dusk. Warwick rallied his men on a ridge five hundred yards south of Nomansland and was saved by darkness.

Aftermath
Up to 3,000 men were killed, most of whom were Yorkists.

Henry VI was found under an oak tree near Nomansland, oblivious to the Abbot of St Albans’ request to end the plundering of the town. He was united with his wife and son and spent the night in the Abbey. William Harington, Lord Bonville and Sir Thomas Kyriell had guarded the captive king and stayed at his request instead of fleeing for their lives, when they realised that the battle was lost. Despite Henry’s guarantee of safety, they were condemned to death by his young son Edward, Prince of Wales. The queen instigated this, in order to instil the sense of ruthlessness in her son that was painfully lacking in her husband. These and other captives were executed, although Montagu was imprisoned in York, as he was required as a hostage to exchange for Somerset’s brother, who remained in Warwick’s hands.

Warwick withdrew overnight with 4,000 men to Chipping Norton, where he united with March on 22 February and persuaded his cousin to take London and the crown.

With the road to London now open, the Lancastrians moved south to Barnet, from where representatives were sent to negotiate with the mayor at Aldgate. As panic spread throughout the predominantly Yorkist city, prominent citizens left, including Cicely, Duchess of York, who fled to Utrecht with her youngest sons George and Richard.

Conscious of the fear generated by the depredations of her army, Queen Margaret withdrew her force to Dunstable and guaranteed that there would be no plundering. Demands made to open the gate in the name of the king and to declare March a traitor were refused. The city agreed to admit only the king and queen with a small escort, but this was useless to the Lancastrians without the bulk of the army.

Negotiations collapsed as the Yorkists approached from the west. With desertion increasing due to lack of food and money, the Lancastrians chose to withdraw to Yorkshire by the end of February to regroup on friendly territory. The devastation of the southward march was repeated, vindicating London’s decision.

Consequences
March and Warwick entered London to popular acclaim, after the Lancastrian withdrawal. Although London was again under firm Yorkist control, the political situation had changed drastically since their previous occupation. As they had lost possession of Henry VI at St Albans, the Yorkists could no longer govern the country with legal authority. As they could, however, claim that the Lancastrians had broken the Act of Accord, the solution was to prematurely elevate March from heir apparent to the throne.

In St John’s Field in Clerkenwell on 1 March, George Neville, Bishop of Exeter and Chancellor of England stated March’s claim to the throne in front of a crowd of citizens and Yorkist soldiers. There was enthusiatic endorsement of the claim, prompted by a combination of stage management and relief at the city’s salvation from the barbarian hordes.

At Baynard’s Castle on 3 March, a council was held which included the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishops of Exeter and Salisbury, the Duke of Norfolk and Warwick. It agreed to offer the throne to March, on the grounds that the Lancastrians had contravened the Act of Accord. They had done so by provoking the Battle of Wakefield and thereby causing the death of March’s father Richard, Duke of York, whom the Act had made heir to the throne. March was proclaimed King Edward IV in the Great Hall at the Palace of Westminster the following day. Edward postponed his coronation, however, because most of the nobility was in the Lancastrian camp in Yorkshire and he would therefore be insecure until he decisively defeated his enemies.

With captains now able to issue commissions of array in the name of two rival kings, the stage was now set for the epic Battle of Towton, in which victory would establish Edward as the first king of the House of York.

The Second Battle of St Albans, however, had begun an unlikely chain of events that would lead to Edward’s downfall. The Lancastrian dead included Sir John Grey, whose widow Elizabeth would later marry the king, leading to an irrevocable rift with Warwick.

Conclusion
The Second Battle of St Albans was a stunning victory for the Lancastrians and an embarrassment for Warwick, whose previously unblemished military reputation was damaged. What could have been a decisive Lancastrian advantage was lost, however, when Warwick managed to escape and unite with March. Furthermore, the occupation of London, which had been the objective of the Lancastrian campaign, escaped them, due in part to the trail of devastation that they had left on their southward march.

Although the Lancastrian return to fight a battle in their northern heartland was logical and could have been advantageous, the failure of such an exhausting campaign must have damaged their morale and contributed to their disastrous defeat at Towton.

References
R Auckland, Sandridge Village History (http://www.sandridgevillage.com, 2003)
A Boardman, The Battle of Towton (Alan Sutton, 1993)
P Burley, M Elliott, H Watson, The Battles of St Albans (Pen & Sword, 2007)
A Burne, The Battlefields of England (Greenhill Books, 1996)
P Haigh, The Military Campaigns of the Wars of the Roses (Bramley Books, 1995)
JJ Norwich, Shakespeare’s Kings (Penguin, 2000)
M Rayner, Threat to the Battlefield of St Albans II (Battlefield Volume 7 Issue 1, 2001)
D Seward, The Wars of the Roses (Viking, 1995)
H Watson, The Second Battle of St Albans 1461 (Battlefield Volume 7 Issue 3, 2001)
A Weir, Lancaster and York: The Wars of the Roses (Jonathan Cape, 1995)