Home > Battle of Tewkesbury
The Battle of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, which took place on May 4, 1471, completed one phase of the Wars of the Roses, and temporarily put an end to Lancastrian hopes of regaining the throne of England. There would be fourteen years of peace before another political coup in the form of Henry Tudor finally settled the dispute between the two dynasties.
At the time of Tewkesbury, the mentally unstable Lancastrian king, Henry VI of England, had just been deposed for a second time by his rival, the Yorkist Edward IV of England, who throughout his career was never defeated in battle. This change in circumstances had come about because of the interference of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, "the Kingmaker", who had at first supported Edward, then Henry. Warwick was now dead (killed at the Battle of Barnet three weeks earlier) and the remaining Lancastrian forces were led by Henry's queen, Margaret of Anjou, and her seventeen-year-old son, Edward of Westminster, Prince of WalesThe eldest son of the reigning monarch of Great Britain is traditionally invested with the title of Prince of Wales . This tradition began in 1301, when King Edward I of England, having completed the Norman conquest of Wales, gave the title to his heir, P. Had Margaret, arriving back in England to the shocking news of Warwick's final defeat, been able to team up with her ally, Jasper TudorJasper Tudor, 1st Duke of Bedford (ca 1431- December 1495) was the uncle of King Henry VII of England and the architect of his successful conquest of England and Wales in 1485. Jasper was the third son of Owen Tudor and the former queen Katherine of Valoi, (uncle of Henry Tudor), she might have stood a chance against the Yorkist forces of King Edward. Her only hope was to cross the river Severn at GloucesterThis is about Gloucester, England for other uses see Gloucester (disambiguation Gloucester (pronounced 'Gloster') is a city in south-west England, close to the Welsh border. In 1991 it had a population of 106,526. Traditionally Gloucester has been the cou, and this she failed to do when access to the crossing was denied by the Yorkist governor of the town and castle at Gloucester, Sir Richard Beauchamp.
Margaret relied heavily on the Duke of SomersetEdmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset (1438?-May 4, 1471) was an English nobleman and military commander during the Wars of the Roses. He was the son of Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, and became duke at the death of his brother Henry in 1464., her remaining experienced commander, but his skills were no match for those of the king. The Yorkists were superior in artillery, and Somerset misjudged his battle position just enough to allow the king's young brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III of EnglandRichard III ( October 2, 1452 August 22, 1485) was the King of England from 1483 until his death and the last king from the House of York. After the death of his brother Edward IV, Richard briefly governed as a regent for Edward's son Edward V, but he imp), to attack their flank. Panic set in among the retreating Lancastrians, and Somerset is alleged to have killed one of his own commanders, Lord Wenlock, as punishment for his fatal lack of initiative. There are some who contend that there is evidence Wenlock survived the day and was allowed to escape, however (until Warwick's recent rebellion, Wenlock had been a Yorkist captain of long standing). In a field known as the "Bloody Meadow", perhaps as many as half Somerset's forces were slaughtered. Some fled to the nearby Tewkesbury AbbeyThe Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, is the second largest parish church in England. The Abbey Chronicle records that the first Christian worship was brought to the area by a missionary, Theoc, from Northumbria, who built his, where their enemies are said to have pursued them. One of the casualties was Edward, Prince of Wales, though whether he died during or after the battle is uncertain. He remains the only Prince of Wales to have died in battle. All his commanders, including Somerset, were summarily executed shortly afterwards, leaving Queen Margaret and her daughter-in-law, Anne NevilleAnne Neville ( June 11, 1456 March 16, 1485) was queen consort of King Richard III of England 1483- 1485. Anne was born on June 11, 1456, at Warwick Castle, the younger daughter of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick and Anne Beauchamp. Throughout her short, as the king's most prestigious prisoners. King Henry VI, already imprisoned in the Tower of London, was murdered there a few days later.
