Battle of Blore Heath

The Battle of Blore Heath was the first major battle in the English Wars of the Roses and was fought on September 23 , 1459 , at Blore Heath , two miles east of Market Drayton in Shropshire , England .

After the First Battle of St Albans in 1455 , an uneasy peace held in England. Attempts at reconciliation between the houses of Lancaster and York enjoyed marginal success. However, both sides became increasingly wary of each other and by 1459 were actively recruiting armedsupporters. The Queen ( Margaret of Anjou ) continued to raisesupport for the King ( Henry VI ) amongst noblemen,distributing an emblem of a silver swan to her supporters; whilst the Yorkist command under Richard, Duke of York was finding plenty of anti-royal supportdespite the severe punishment for raising arms against the King.

The Yorkist force based at Middleham Castle in Yorkshire (led by Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury ) needed to link up with the main Yorkist army at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire. As Salisbury marched south-west through the Midlands the Queen ordered James Touchet, Lord Audley to raise a force to intercept them.

Audley chose the barren heathland of Blore Heath to set up an ambush. On the morning of the 23 September 1459 ( St Tecla's day ), a force of some6-12,000 men took up a defensive position behind a 'great hedge' on the south-western edge of Blore Heath facing the direction of Newcastle-under-Lyme to the north-east, the direction fromwhich Salisbury was approaching.

Yorkist scouts spotted Lancastrian banners visible over the top of a hedge and immediately warned Salisbury. As they emergedfrom the woodland, the Yorkist force of some 3-6,000 men realized that a much larger enemy force was awaiting their arrival.Salisbury immediately arranged his men into battle order, just out of range of the Lancastrian archers. To secure his rightflank, he arranged the supply wagons in a defensive laager , a circular formation to provide cover to the men on that flank. Fearing a rout, Yorkist soldiers arereported to have kissed the ground beneath them, supposing that this would be the ground on which they would meet theirdeaths.

The two armies were separated by about 300 metres on the barren heathland. A steep-sided, wide and fast-flowing brook flowedbetween them. The brook made Audley's position seemingly inpenetrable.

Initially, both leaders sought to parley in a futile attempt to avoid bloodshed. In keeping with many medieval battles, theconflict opened with an archery duel between the longbows of both armies. At BloreHeath, this proved inconclusive because of the distance between the two sides.

Salisbury, aware that any attack across the brook would be suicidal, employed a ruse to encourage the enemy to attack him. Hewithdrew some of his middle-order just far enough that the Lancastrians believed them to be retreating. The Lancastrians launcheda cavalry charge. After they had committed themselves, Salisbury ordered his men to turn back and catch the Lancastrians as theyattempted to cross the brook. It is possible that the order for this Lancastrian charge was not given by Audley but it had theeffect of turning the balance in favour of Salisbury. The charge resulted in heavy casualties for the Lancastrians.

The Lancastrians withdrew, and then made a second assault, possibly attempting to rescue casualties. This second attack wasmore successful with many Lancastrians crossing the brook. This led to a period of intense fighting in which Audley himself waskilled, possibly by SirRoger Kynaston of Stocks near Ellesmere .

The death of Audley meant that Lancastrian command devolved on to the second-in-command John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley who ordered anattack on foot with some 4,000 men. As this attack also failed, some 500 Lancastrians joined the enemy and began attacking theirown side. At this, any remaining Lancastrian resistance collapsed and the Yorkists only had to advance to complete the rout.

The rout continued through the night, with the Yorkists pursuing the fleeing enemy for miles across the countryside.

York was concerned that Lancastrian reinforcements were in the vicinity and was keen to press on towards Ludlow . He made his camp on a hillside at Market Drayton, which later took his name. Yorkemployed a local friar to remain on Blore Heath throughout the night and to periodically discharge a cannon in order to deceiveany proximal Lancastrians into believing that the fight was continuing.

It is belived that at least 3,000 men died in the battle, with at least 2,000 of these from the Lancastrian side. Local legendsays that Hempmill Brook flowed with blood for 3 days after the battle.

Legend has it that Margaret of Anjou watched the battle from the spire of the church in nearby Mucklestone , before fleeing when she realised Audley was being defeated. It is said that she employed ablacksmith, WilliamSkelhorn , to reverse the shoes on her horse to disguise her escape. The anvil from the smithy stands in the churchyard atMucklestone to commemorate this event.

A cross was erected on Blore Heath after the battle to mark the spot where Audley was slain. It was replaced with a stonecross in 1765. Audley's Cross stands on Blore Heath to this day.Audley is buried in Darley Abbey in Derbyshire .

The battle is commemorated by a re-enactment each year in September at Blore Heath.

External links

• http://www.bloreheath.org

References

• The Battle of Blore Heath, 1459 edited by Paddy Griffith ISBN 0-9521488-1