THE WARS OF THE ROSES were NORTHAMPTONSHIRE’S FAULT

Northamptonshire and the Wars of the Roses

The Wars of the Roses were a set of civil conflicts between two rival factions of the Plantagenet Dynasty, the Yorkists and Lancastrians. Both believed they had the right to rule England.

These wars ended with one royal house replacing another, and the monarchy set on a completely new path.

But they didn’t just happen. Again and again, they were triggered or escalated by events in, and people from, Northamptonshire.

The Battle of Northampton 1460

Before this battle, the conflict between Lancaster and York was dangerous but still containable. Kings always had favourites, nobles always had private armies, and everyone was always one insult away from violence; but England had seen all that before.

What turned a nasty political feud into a full dynastic catastrophe was the capture of the Lancastrian king, Henry VI.

At the Battle of Northampton, Yorkist forces smashed the Lancastrian army. Lord Grey of Ruthin decided that loyalty was optional and switched sides.

Henry VI was taken prisoner. In the aftermath came the Act of Accord, which recognised Richard, Duke of York as Henry’s heir, disinheriting the king’s son, Edward of Westminster.

From that point on, the struggle was no longer about influence over the crown, but about who had the right to wear it.

Margaret of Anjou

The Act of Accord was meant to be a compromise: Henry could remain king, and Richard would succeed him. In reality, it was the moment compromise died.

Henry’s wife, Margaret of Anjou, was never going to accept it. It disinherited her son, and threatened everything she had fought to maintain.

Margaret had already exercised political power during Henry’s periods of mental illness. After Northampton, she became the driving force behind the Lancastrian cause, turning resistance into full-scale war.

Edward IV

Margaret rallied her forces, leading to the Battle of Wakefield, where the Yorkists were defeated and Richard, Duke of York was killed.

But “disinherited” did not simply reverse itself. The Yorkist claim passed to Richard’s son, soon to be King Edward IV.

A formidable military leader, Edward soon captured and deposed Henry VI, taking the throne and continuing the war in his family’s name.

Elizabeth Woodville

Elizabeth Woodville was born in Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire. Her marriage had enormous consequences.

In 1464, Edward IV married her in secret, without consulting key allies; not even Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, who had been arranging a foreign royal match.

Warwick, feeling humiliated and sidelined, turned against Edward. He allied with former enemies, including Margaret of Anjou, invaded England, and briefly restored Henry VI to the throne.

Although Edward reclaimed his crown within a year, this episode dramatically prolonged and intensified the conflict.

When he died, his twelve year old son became Edward V.

Richard III

Richard III, younger brother of Edward IV, was born at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire.

He was appointed Lord Protector for the young Edward V, but soon seized the throne himself.

Richard argued that Edward IV had been pre-contracted to marry Lady Eleanor Butler, rendering his later marriage to Elizabeth Woodville invalid, and their children illegitimate.

Edward V was deposed, and Richard became king. This act of usurpation set off another chain of rebellion and instability.

Buckingham’s Rebellion

Buckingham’s Rebellion was a direct response to Richard’s seizure of power.

Led by Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, it united those uneasy with Richard’s rule. Initially, rebels aimed to restore Edward V. But as rumours spread that he was dead, support shifted to Henry Tudor, the future Henry VII.

An invasion attempt from Brittany was thwarted by storms, and a premature uprising in Kent exposed the plot. The rebellion failed, but it set the stage for Henry Tudor’s eventual victory.

The Takeaway

So, as we can see, Northamptonshire has fingerprints all over the Wars of the Roses.

Without the Battle of Northampton, there is no Act of Accord, and no direct challenge to the line of succession. Without that, Margaret of Anjou may never have escalated the conflict to the extent she did, and Edward IV’s rise might have looked very different.

Without Grafton Regis, there is no Elizabeth Woodville. Without her marriage, Warwick may never have rebelled, Henry VI may never have been restored, and Richard III would have had no pretext to question the legitimacy of Edward IV’s heirs.

And without Fotheringhay, there is no Richard III, whose usurpation helped elevate Henry Tudor into the decisive challenger who would end the war.

Therefore, by the highest standards of pub-history logic, the Wars of the Roses were clearly Northamptonshire’s fault!

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Sources

Northamptonshire Battlefields Society (2016) 1460 Battle of Northampton timeline 2