THE
FIELD OF THE BATTLE
OF
TOWTON. {81a}
_Edward_.—“Now breathe we, Lords; good fortune bids us pause,
And smooth the frowns of war with peaceful looks.
Some troops pursue the bloody-minded Queen;
That led calm Henry, though he were a King,
As doth a sail, fill’d with a fretting gust,
Command an argosy to stem the waves.”
SHAKESPEARE’S _Henry VI._ part 3, act ii. scene 6.
(_A Field of Battle_, _between Towton and Saxton_.)
THE most sanguinary and important battle that ever took place in the
civil wars of England, was that of Towton, in Yorkshire; and from the
interest which it has excited, and the historical events which have
resulted from it, I have been induced to pay several visits to that
memorable field of battle. {81b}
Queen Margaret {82a} and the Lancastrians, exulting in the victory
obtained at Wakefield, were encouraged by it to proceed towards London,
in hopes of being admitted into the city; but on their arrival at St.
Alban’s, they encountered the Earl of Warwick {82b} and an army of
Yorkists; and for the second time, within less than six years, a battle
was fought there. {82c} It terminated in the defeat of the Yorkists, and
was of great importance to the Lancastrians, because they regained the
advantage of the use of the name of King Henry VI. {82d} in their
proceedings, as the battle delivered him out of the custody of the
Yorkists. Margaret’s victory was, however, disgraced by an act of great
barbarity: she, or some of the Lancastrian leaders with her sanction, put
to death in cold blood, after the battle, Lord Bonvile, {83a} and Sir
Thomas Kiriel {83b} of Kent, to whose custody King Henry had been
confided before the battle, and notwithstanding they had remained with
him on his express assurance of their safety.
Margaret, however, was very far from deriving the advantages which she
had hoped for, from the victory. The citizens of London were, for the
most part, favourable to the House of York; besides which, they were
alarmed at the outrages, rapine, and violence, perpetrated by Margaret’s
lawless forces, on their march towards London, and, consequently, its
gates were shut against her. Margaret found that she could not obtain
admission into the city, and received intelligence that the Earl of
Warwick had effected a junction with Edward Earl of March, {83c} at
Chipping Norton, near Cotswold, and that they were marching with all the
forces that they could collect, upon London; she, therefore, found it
expedient to retire with her army, and to proceed to the north of
England, in order to raise more forces; and then she hoped to have in the
field an army sufficiently strong to crush her antagonists effectually.
Edward entered London triumphant after his victory at Mortimer’s Cross;
and having the support of Thomas Bourchier, {83d} Archbishop of
Canterbury; George Neville, {83e} Bishop of Exeter, and Lord Chancellor;
and other bishops; the Duke of Norfolk; {84a} the Earl of Warwick; Lord
Falconberg; {84b} and other noblemen and knights of the Yorkist party,
who were then in London; was declared King by acclamation, by a large
body of troops and of spectators, in the fields near Clerkenwell, on the
2nd of March, 1461. {84c} On the 3rd he was petitioned by the noblemen
and leaders of that party, to assume the kingly office, and rode on the
4th to St. Paul’s, and there made his offering, and then proceeded with a
pompous procession to Westminster Hall, and took his seat upon the
throne, with the sceptre in his hand, and was recognised as King,
somewhat in the form of a coronation. From thence he went with a similar
procession to Westminster Abbey, under a canopy, and, having made another
offering there, he received the homage of the noblemen there present, and
was afterwards, in the usual form, proclaimed King of England, in
Westminster, by the title of Edward IV., and the next day was proclaimed
in the same manner, in the city of London. The 4th of March was the day
on which Henry VI. was subsequently declared by Parliament to have been
deposed, and the reign of Edward IV. to have commenced. {85a} Edward’s
great object now was to seek and encounter the Lancastrian army; he had
nothing to gain by delay, but everything to hope from a victory, which he
knew would remove the advantage which Henry VI. had, from his being in
possession of the crown, and having been for so many years recognised by
the nation as King of England. On the 7th of March the Earl of Warwick,
and a large portion of the army of the Yorkists, quitted London, and
commenced their march towards the North. On the 12th, Edward and the
remainder of the army also left London, and proceeded with little rest,
until they reached Pontefract.
The Lancastrian army had assembled at York, and on the approach of the
Yorkists, quitted the city, and marched through Tadcaster to Towton, and
there prepared for the approach of their enemies; whilst King Henry VI.,
Queen Margaret, and Edward {85b} the young Prince of Wales, remained at
York, awaiting the result of the impending battle, which was to decide
whether Henry was to continue to be the sovereign of England, or to
become a poor exile and a homeless fugitive.
It was with feelings of the most intense hatred, that the forces of the
two parties approached each other; the deaths of not a few of the members
of their respective families, and of many friends in battle, and of
others on the scaffold, the forfeitures and confiscations by the act of
attainder of the Parliament held at Coventry, and the bitterness of party
strife, gave to the conflict a degree of inveteracy and fury, perhaps
never equalled in any civil dissensions in England; and it cannot excite
wonder, that in the dreadful battle which ensued, no quarter was given or
expected.
The first hostile meeting of any of the forces, was unfavourable to the
cause of Edward. He had sent troops commanded by Lord Fitzwalter, {86a}
to secure the passage over the river Aire, at Ferrybridge; but in the
course of the night of the 27th of March, or very early in the morning of
the 28th, a body of light cavalry, under the command of Lord Clifford,
{86b} was detached by the Lancastrians, and attacked and defeated the
Yorkists stationed there, slew their leader, and won that position; but
in consequence of Edward’s forces having crossed the Aire at Castleford,
three miles higher up the river, the Lancastrian troops were soon obliged
to retreat from Ferrybridge, and, in endeavouring to rejoin the main body
at Towton, were intercepted at a place called Dintingdale, {86c} near
Scarthingwell, and near Saxton, were completely defeated, and their
leader, Lord Clifford, was slain.
The main bodies of the two armies were now close to each other: that of
the Yorkists being posted at Saxton, and that of the Lancastrians at
Towton; and during the night of the 28th, each party prepared for the
terrible combat of the morrow. On Palm Sunday, the 29th of March, 1461,
at nine in the morning, the battle commenced; and it is to be regretted,
that the old historians have handed down to us, very little information
of value, respecting that most extraordinary and sanguinary conflict; but
some of the few particulars which they have left, will be noticed
afterwards. The battle is said to have raged with great obstinacy and
valour on both sides, during about ten hours, and terminated in a
complete victory on the side of the Yorkists, and the rout and dispersion
of the Lancastrian army.
The place where it was fought, is found without difficulty; indeed the
old chroniclers and annalists mention the locality with sufficient
precision. We know from those sources (independently of tradition), that
it took place near Towton, partly in the township of Towton, and partly
in that of Saxton, {87a} and between Towton and Saxton and as the
distances between the villages of those names, is only one mile and a
half, it defines the exact locality very clearly.
The battle has been called by various names, such as the battle of
“Towton,” of “Saxton,” “Palm Sunday Field,” and “Sherburn,” and in the
act of attainder of the first of Edward IV. it is called “Saxtonfeld and
Tawtonfeeld, in the shire of York.” {87b}
This celebrated and decisive battle established for a considerable time,
Edward IV. upon the throne of England. {87c}
The place where it was fought, lies between the villages of Saxton and
Towton, and very near to, but a little to the southward of, the latter
village. In order that the locality may be correctly understood, it is
necessary to mention, that the district in which the battle was fought
consists of an extensive range of high land, the approach to which, on
the south side, is by a gentle ascent, which commences about a quarter of
a mile on the north side of the village of Saxton, and extends as a small
elevated plain (except in one spot, where there is a depression or
valley, which will be afterwards described), past the village of Towton,
by the modern turnpike road, until within about a mile from Tadcaster,
where the road descends rather rapidly into a flat tract of meadow
ground, extending to Tadcaster. On the eastward, the high ground slopes
gently down towards the present great north road, leading from
Ferrybridge to Tadcaster; and the slope of the land continues inclining
to the eastward, in the direction of North Milford and of Church Fenton;
and the south-eastward extremity extends towards Scarthingwell. On the
west side, the high ground terminates very abruptly in steep eminences,
some parts of which may, from their steepness and abruptness, without
much impropriety, be called cliffs, which overlook a narrow belt of
beautiful meadow ground, in which the river Cock, there called Cock-Beck,
flows. It runs towards the north; and after passing the spot which will
be afterwards more particularly noticed, where the ancient road to
Tadcaster formerly was, it makes a turn towards the eastward, and at the
foot of the descent before mentioned, the modern turnpike road (the
present great north road) crosses it; and it flows from thence across
some meadows for about a quarter of a mile, still to the eastward, and
there runs into the river Wharfe. The ancient road, upon which men yet
living have driven to and from Tadcaster, which is now little more than
an occupation road, turns off abruptly, at the north end of, and close
to, Towton village, and descends the eminence {88a} in a westwardly
direction, to a continuation of the belt of meadow ground before
mentioned, where it arrives at the river Cock. This descent by the
ancient road is so steep, that it is a matter of surprise, how the heavy
coaches formerly in use, and waggons, could safely pass up and down it,
yet it was even in modern times part of the great north road. After
descending the eminence, the ancient road formerly crossed the river Cock
by a stone bridge, now destroyed; {88b} and after passing over a part of
the beautiful meadow ground before noticed, it ascended the rising ground
on the opposite side of the meadow, and so proceeded on towards
Tadcaster.
At present, the river Cock is crossed in the meadow by a narrow wooden
bridge, merely used for foot passengers and horses, the supporting piers
of which are of stone, and they probably were built or rebuilt from the
materials of the older bridge; in fact, I saw several worked and broken
stones lying near it, strengthening the supposition of their having
formed part of an old bridge. It may be correct here to mention that
there is an old stone bridge at the village of Stutton, still existing,
also over the Cock, much nearer to Tadcaster, from which a road joins the
old road before mentioned to Tadcaster, and that human bones, probably of
some of the fugitives, have been dug up on the line of the country where
the modern turnpike road runs between Towton village and the bridge at
Stutton. {89}
The village of Towton is small, and not well built; the houses are
principally of stone, or with rough-cast fronts; it has not any church;
and Towton Hall, where John Kendall, Esq., resides, is close to the
village on the south-westward side of it. The village lies about two
miles and a half to the southward of Tadcaster; and the turnpike road
from Ferrybridge towards Tadcaster, passes through Sherburn and past
Barkston and Scarthingwell Park, and proceeds directly to it (Towton and
Sherburn being nearly north and south of each other); and the turnpike
road passes through the village of Towton, at which it meets the public
road which will be afterwards noticed, from the village of Saxton.
There is also a road leading from Saxton village to Scarthingwell which
joins the turnpike road from Ferrybridge, at Dintingdale, at the distance
of about half a mile from Saxton village; and on the eastward side of the
Ferrybridge road, there is a stone quarry called Dintingdale Quarry,
close to the place where the other road joins it.
Near this spot at Dintingdale, the engagement took place, in which the
savage Lancastrian leader, Lord Clifford, fell, {90a} on the 28th of
March, the day before the battle of Towton; {90b} his crimes merited a
worse fate. His death is introduced by Shakespeare in the _Third Part of
King Henry VI._
(_Enter_ CLIFFORD _wounded_.)
_Clifford_.—“Here burns my candle out, ay, here it dies,
Which, whilst it lasted, gave King Henry light.
Ah, Lancaster! I fear thine overthrow,
More than my body’s parting with my soul.
My love and fear glued many friends to thee;
And now I fall, thy tough commixtures melt,
Impairing Henry, strength’ning misproud York.—
* * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * *
Bootless are plaints, and cureless are my wounds;
No way to fly, nor strength to hold out flight:
The foe is merciless, and will not pity;
For at their hands I have deserv’d no pity.
The air hath got into my deadly wounds,
And much effuse of blood doth make me faint.” {90c}
The elevated land begins to rise about a quarter of a mile on the north
side of Saxton village, from which a public road proceeds from thence in
a northwardly direction, and continues to rise until within little more
than half a mile to the southward of the village of Towton, where there
is a considerable depression or descent in the road, and in the ground on
each side of it. At this place, and on the left or westward of the road,
the depression in the ground deepens through a large meadow, where it
forms a valley, which contracts, and extends through an opening in the
eminence or cliff before mentioned, to the belt of meadow land extending
to the river Cock. On the right or eastward side of the public road, the
depression which is called Towton Dale, extends some little distance into
the adjoining fields, and then becomes a mere undulation in the fields;
and the ground is nearly level from thence towards the eastward. This
place is easily known—not merely by the large meadow and valley, but by a
stone quarry called Towton Dale Quarry, worked close to, and on the
westward or left side of, the road, and which is passed on leaving the
depression, and ascending towards Towton village. {91}
Those marks will enable the visitor to find the scene of action, without
difficulty. The battle of Towton was fought on the spot now occupied by
the large meadow and valley before mentioned (on the west side of the
road), the depression called Towton Dale, the fields extending a
considerable distance to the eastward of the road, and the ground in the
neighbourhood of the stone quarry.
The large meadow is remarkable for producing rich rank grass, and also
for three or four extensive irregularly shaped patches of very small wild
dwarf rose-bushes, which I was told, were both red and white; it forms
the west end of Towton Dale. The meadow is not unfrequently called the
Bloody Meadow, and was, according to tradition, a scene of great
slaughter, and it is said that considerable numbers of the dead were
buried there. The distance across the fields, from the public road at
that spot to the turnpike road leading from Ferrybridge, is about a mile,
and the whole tract of ground between them is enclosed and cultivated.
The Lancastrians had their army drawn up, a little to the southward of
the village of Towton, which was rather more than a quarter of a mile in
their rear, and they occupied the highest ground there. The position was
a good one. Their right wing extended towards the eminence or cliff
before mentioned, and they had the meadow and valley in front of it.
Their centre had the depression called Towton Dale, or at least part of
it, in front, and their left wing extended a considerable distance to the
eastward, {92a} towards the place where the turnpike road from
Ferrybridge now is. Before the land was drained, which lies below and on
the eastward side of the Ferrybridge road, between Dintingdale and
Towton, some boggy and marshy land formerly existed beyond the position
of their left wing, which perhaps might be a protection against its being
outflanked. {92b} Their left wing had no particular advantage over their
adversaries, except from the ground being a trifle, and not much, higher
than that occupied by the right of the latter. The Lancastrian position
extended along the highest part of the ground, in a direction almost due
east and west.
The Yorkists naturally drew up their army opposite the other, and on the
south side of the meadow and depression before mentioned, and with their
centre and right wing extending across the ground, now enclosed fields,
to the eastward, and towards the present turnpike road from Ferrybridge.
I made inquiries from persons residing near the scene of action, but
could not learn that there were any traces of intrenchments visible:
although they might have been expected to have been found at the spot
where the Lancastrians were posted.
Instances have occurred, though not very numerous of late, of the
discovery of parts of human skeletons, and fragments of armour, weapons,
piles of arrows, bridle-bits, spurs, &c. &c., on the field of battle.
The remains of armour, weapons, and other relics, turned up on the field
of this great engagement, have been comparatively, rather small, which
has been very fairly accounted for by Dr. Whitaker, {93} from the
circumstance, that the weather was cold, and the victory complete, so
that the spoil of the field, and the interment of the dead, proceeded at
leisure; he, however, mentions one relic, which escaped the vigilance of
plunder, viz., a gold ring, weighing about one ounce, which was found on
the field about thirty years before (his work was published in 1816); it
had no stone, but a lion passant was cut upon the gold, with this
inscription in the old black-letter character—“Now ys thus.” The crest
is that of the Percies; and Dr. Whitaker considers, that it was a ring
actually worn by the Earl of Northumberland; and that the motto seems to
allude to the times; as if it were expressed, “This age is fierce as a
lion.”
Drake, in his _Eboracum_, says, that about a year or two before he wrote
(his work was published in 1736), he and two other gentlemen had the
curiosity to go and see a fresh grave opened, in those fields, where,
amongst vast quantities of bones, they found some arrow piles, pieces of
broken swords, and five very fresh groat pieces of Henry IV., V., and
VI.’s coin. These were laid near together, close to a thighbone, which
made them conjecture, that there had not been time to strip the dead,
before they were tossed into the pit.
It is to be regretted, that he has not informed us, in what particular
spot, those relics were dug up; but as he, in the preceding sentence, had
mentioned the intended chapel, and the piece of ground called “Chapel
Garth,” it is only reasonable to conclude, that he alluded to the latter.
In the month of August 1774, a man was living at Saxton who, with many
others, had been concerned in opening some graves of the warriors, slain
at the battle of Towton, to satisfy the curiosity of some gentlemen. On
a strict examination of the bones, then found, it appeared, that the
least decayed, were the _internodia digitorum_, of the bones of the
thumbs and fingers. {94a}
Dr. Whitaker informs us, that he was possessed of a silver ring, gilt,
with two hands conjoined engraved upon it, which was found upon the field
of battle. {94b}
A dagger or short sword, discovered there, is now in the possession of
the Rev. William Jepson Newman, of Badsworth, Yorkshire; it is 2 feet 4½
inches long, including the portion which was formerly inserted in the
handle; very narrow, being at the broadest part hardly more than half an
inch in breadth, but thick in proportion, and angular. It has been
somewhat shortened at the point, which is at present round; and it was
picked up by the father of a man who now resides in the neighbouring
township of Lotherton. {94c}
A spear-head, or pike-head, was six or seven years ago amongst some old
iron in a blacksmith’s shop, near the field of battle, which had been
found on the field; it was purchased and taken away by a gentleman. {94c}
There is another curious relic of the battle, which has been preserved.
A battle-axe, of which the blade is of a small size; and the handle is
perfect, of black oak, roughly made, and 2½ inches in the gripe. The
blade and handle of the axe, are together, about 18 inches long. Its
history is curious. It was found very many years ago, in the bed of the
river Cock. It was purchased by Colonel Grant, R.A., at Saxton, from the
wife of a miller there; and she informed him, that it had been preserved
for a long period of time in the family of her husband. She had been in
the habit of using it for the purpose of breaking sugar: an extraordinary
change in the use of a weapon, which, as we cannot doubt, had been
wielded at the battle of Towton, by a Lancastrian warrior, and been lost
in the river Cock, in his flight from Towton Field. It remained a
considerable time in the possession of Colonel Grant, and was presented
by him, to the Duke of Northumberland, for his museum at Alnwick Castle,
where it still is. {95a}
A spur, which I have seen, of brass gilt, found on the field of battle,
is preserved in the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries of London; it is
a rowel spur; the rowel is scarcely larger than that of a modern spur, in
which respect it differs from the very large rowels, of that period,
which have occasionally been discovered. The spur is remarkably perfect,
and is slightly ornamented with a kind of scroll pattern. Upon the
shanks is engraved, in Old English characters, the following
inscription—“en loial amour, tout mon coer;” the style and engraving of
which, indicate its being of about the period of the battle. {95b}
I also learnt, on my visit to Towton Field in 1854, that on the recent
occasion of making excavations for the York and North Midland Railway,
close to Towton, some human bones were discovered; the spot was near the
old road before described, and in the line of the retreat of the
Lancastrians, from the field of battle, towards Tadcaster.
It is said that human bones, which must be presumed to have been those of
some of the fugitive Lancastrians, have been found in the line of
country, leading from Towton village towards the village of Stutton, at
which a part of the fugitive Lancastrians probably crossed the river
Cock, in their flight towards Tadcaster.
Persons residing near the field of battle, readily point out the place,
where Lord Dacre {96} is said to have been slain, and which I have
several times made a point of visiting, in the course of my rambles
there; it is in a field called Nor Acres (or North Acre), which seems to
have been originally much larger, and to have been subdivided. It
belongs to Lord Hawke, and lies a couple of fields’ breadth to the
eastward of the public road, and opposite the large meadow before
noticed, and extends a considerable distance to the eastward. Dr.
Whitaker states, that when Glover made his visitation in 1583, he heard
the tradition, that Lord Dacre was shot at Towton Field, by a boy “out of
a burtree,” and that “the place where he was slayne is called the North
Acres, whereupon they have this rhyme:—
“The Lord of Dacres
was slayne in the North Acres.” {97}
It is remarkable that the farmer who occupies the field, and others whom
I conversed with, repeated the tradition, and told me that Lord Dacre was
slain by an arrow shot by a boy from an auberry-tree, evidently meaning
the same shrub as that called burtree by Dr. Whitaker, who states that he
did not know what the burtree was. I was quite satisfied that the word
auberry, was a provincial name for the elder-tree, and requested a person
near the spot, to point out such a tree to me, and, as I anticipated, I
was shown the elder-tree.
Following the depression or valley before mentioned, to the eastward, and
at the corner of the second field from the public road, there was, until
within about the last twelve or thirteen years, a square space, enclosed
with an embankment, containing about half an acre; it was not usually
ploughed, but in grass; and was said to have been a place of interment of
many of the corpses after the battle; it lay on the corner of the Nor
Acres (or North Acre) Field, at the southward; but the embankment is now
thrown down, and the land has been ploughed. According to tradition, the
greatest slaughter took place at or near the Nor Acres Field.
Great numbers of the slain were interred in Saxton Churchyard, in a large
trench or pit on the north side of the church. Their bones were exposed
to view, lying about four feet below the surface, in making a vault not
many years ago, and again, subsequently, in making another, in 1848, as
will be noticed in another place; we may conclude that they were the
bones of Yorkists of some consideration, from the circumstance of the
survivors taking the trouble of interring the remains in consecrated
ground, at some little distance from the field of the battle. The
persons whose bones were so exposed, must have been either young, or in
the prime of life, because the skulls were remarkable for the soundness
and excellence of the teeth.
Amongst other fields on the spot where the battle was fought, there is
one of considerable extent, lying on the eastward side, to which, or near
to which, the Lancastrian left wing extended, which fronts the west side
of the turnpike road from Ferrybridge; any person desirous of walking
over the field of battle from the Ferrybridge road, will do well to cross
it from this part, and enter the large field which is nearly opposite a
white farmhouse, standing on the eastward side of the Ferrybridge road.
On one occasion, whilst I was in it, I met with a farmer there, who
informed me that some few relics of the battle had been discovered, but
very rarely near the place. I have also obtained considerable
information from several other persons residing near the field of battle.
{98a}
Dr. Whitaker states {98b} that “the field of battle is scarcely more than
a mile long, and with little level ground in front of both armies,
declines in the rear of both. Hence it appears, that as the line could
scarcely exceed 3000 men, the files must have been very deep, and that
the rear must have been perpetually advancing as the front lines fell.”
But that theory of Dr. Whitaker appears to proceed upon the assumption
that each of the armies would be drawn up in only one body. At that
period, the men-at-arms, or heavy cavalry, went to battle in complete
armour; each man carried a lance, sword, dagger, and occasionally a mace,
or battle-axe; his horse also was, to a certain extent, in armour. A
considerable part of the infantry of an English army, consisted of
archers, armed with long bows, and arrows; and another large part
consisted of men armed with bills, pikes, pole-axes, glaives, and
morris-pikes. Such of the forces as were of the latter description,
would probably be drawn up in deep files, the better to resist charges of
horse, but the archers and cavalry, in order to be useful, would require
more space, and would be drawn up with more extended fronts. {99a}
It is, however, certain that each army was drawn up in more than one
body; the rearmost body being in the nature of a _corps de reserve_; and
in that case, of course, the army would present a much more contracted
front. We may fairly conclude, that the Lancastrians must have been
drawn up in at least two bodies or lines, with the foot in rather deep
files, and that their left wing extended to, or very near to, the place
where the present turnpike road from Ferrybridge runs. The old
historians inform us, that the Earl of Northumberland {99b} and Sir
Andrew Trollop {99c} commanded the van of the Lancastrians, which implies
that there must have been a rear body, or force commanded by other
leaders. The van of the Yorkists was commanded by Lord Falconberg, and
the rearward by Sir John Wenlock {100a} and Sir John Dinham or Denham;
{100b} and it is certain, that such enterprising and courageous
personages as Edward IV. and the Earl of Warwick, would take a prominent
part in the battle, and would not willingly remain in the rear;
accordingly they are said to have commanded the main body.
Near the village of Towton, and on its south-west side, King Richard III.
commenced building a chapel, in memory of the slain who had fallen in the
battle, but it never was finished; {100c} and the place where it was
commenced is now called the “Chapel Garth,” or “Chapel Hill.” It is
situated close to, and extends in the rear or westward of, Towton Hall,
which stands on part of the site of it; and a considerable mass of human
bones was found, about sixty years ago, in enlarging the cellars at
Towton Hall. {101a} Behind the garden, and on the west side, are some
inequalities in the ground, seemingly denoting the site of a small
building; and in digging there, tiles and worked stones have been
discovered: strongly conveying the impression, that the walls and
foundations of the chapel had been placed there. In some alterations
which were formerly made, in an old chimney in Towton Hall, there was
found some stone-work, broken, and evidently brought from elsewhere (and
used with other building materials), which had apparently formed part of
the mullions or tracery of a window, of an ecclesiastical edifice, {101a}
which may reasonably be supposed to have been the chapel alluded to.
It is worthy of notice, that the spot was within the line occupied by the
Lancastrians, but probably, many of the slain on both sides were interred
there.
It cannot admit of a doubt, that the meadow and valley before mentioned,
and many parts of the meadows lying between the foot of the declivities
from the north side of the village of Towton, and the banks of the river
Cock, must contain the remains of great numbers of the dead; but in most
parts of the field where the battle actually raged, the soil is not in
general, deep, and therefore, some parts of it would not easily admit of
the interment of the dead in large pits.
We learn from the old historical accounts, that the Lancastrians mustered
for this dreadful conflict about 60,000 men, and the Yorkists about
48,660. The battle is stated to have commenced at nine in the morning,
in the midst of a storm of snow and sleet, and to have lasted until seven
in the evening. {101b} It was a battle of extermination: the dreadful
order not to give any quarter, nor to take any prisoners, having been
issued before its commencement by Edward IV., and responded to by a
similar order, on the part of the Lancastrians.
When the Lancastrians began to give way, they at first retired in the
direction of Tadcaster, in some order, and made several stands to keep
their pursuers at bay; but they could not long continue retreating
without disorder; and in attempting to cross the river Cock in haste, a
dreadful scene of destruction took place there, and such numbers of them
were drowned, or otherwise lost their lives in the bed of the stream, as
to fill it, so that the survivors passed it on the dead bodies of the
sufferers.
The number of the slain is given by the chroniclers, as 36,776, but which
probably includes not only all who fell on both sides in the battle, but
all who were slain in the pursuit, or were drowned in the river Cock, and
also all who fell in the engagements at Ferrybridge and Dintingdale on
the previous day.
The principal leaders of the two parties, at the battle of Towton, were,
on the Yorkists’ side, the new King, Edward IV.; the Duke of Norfolk (who
was intended to have been the principal commander at the battle, but was
prevented by illness from taking an active part in it; his forces,
however, were there, and fought for Edward); the Earl of Warwick; his
uncle, Lord Falconberg; Sir John Wenlock; Sir John Denham; and a number
of the nobles and gentry of the midland and southern districts of
England: on the Lancastrian side, the Earl of Northumberland; the Duke of
Exeter; {103a} the Duke of Somerset; {103b} the Earl of Devonshire;
{103c} Lord Dacre; Sir Andrew Trollop; and Sir John Heron. {103d} The
partisans on the Lancastrian side, comprised most of the noblemen and
gentry of the northern, and part of the western, districts of England.
According to Stow, {103e} the following persons were slain there:—Henry
Percy, Earl of Northumberland; the Earl of Shrewsbury; {103f} John Lord
Clifford; Lord Beaumont; {103g} John Lord Neville; {104a} Lord
Willoughby; {104b} Lord Welles; {104c} Lord Roos; {104d} Lord Scales;
{105a} Lord Grey; {105b} Lord Dacre; Lord Fitzhugh; {105c} Lord Molineux;
{105d} Lord Henry Buckingham; {106a} of knights, two natural sons of
Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter; Sir Richard Percy; Sir John Heron; {106b}
Sir Gervase Clifton; {106c} Sir Edmund Hammes; Sir Thomas Crackenthorpe;
Sir John Crackenthorpe; Sir William Harill; Sir John Ormond; Sir Andrew
Trollop; Sir Roger Mollyn; Sir Ralph Pigot; Sir Henry Narbohew; Sir David
Trollop; Sir John Burton, Captain of York; and other knights and
esquires. Thomas Earl of Devonshire, {106d} was taken prisoner, and
beheaded by order of Edward, at York.
The act of attainder, {106e} passed against the Lancastrians soon after
the accession to the throne, of Edward IV., professes to give a list of
such of them, as had taken an active part for the House of Lancaster, at
or immediately before or after the battle of Towton. The following is an
extract from it:—
“And where also Henry Duc of Excestr’, Henry Duc of Somerset, Thomas
Courteney late Erle of Devonshire, Henry late Erle of Northumberlond,
William Vicecount Beaumont, Thomas Lord Roos, John late Lord
Clyfford, Leo late Lord Welles, John late Lord Nevill, Thomas Gray
Knyght Lord Rugemond Gray, Randolf late Lord Dacre, Humphrey Dacre
Knyght, John Morton {107a} late Person of Blokesworth, in the shire
of Dorset Clerk; Rauff Makerell, late Person of Ryseby, in the shire
of Suff’ Clerk; Thomas Mannyng late of New Wyndesore in Berkshire
Clerk, John Whelpdale late of Lychefeld in the Counte of Stafford
Clerk, John Nayler late of London Squier, John Preston late of
Wakefeld in the shire of York Preest, Philip Wentworth Knyght, John
Fortescu {107b} Knyght, William Tailboys Knyght, Edmund Mountford
Knyght, Thomas Tresham Knyght, William Vaux Knyght, Edmund Hampden
Knyght, Thomas Fyndern Knyght, John Courteney Knyght, Henry Lewes
Knyght, Nicholas Latymer Knyght, Waltier Nuthill, late of Ryston in
Holdernes, in the shire of York, Squier, John Heron of the Forde
Knyght, Richard Tunstall Knyght, Henry Belyngeham Knyght, Robert
Whityngham Knyght, John Ormond otherwise called John Botillier
Knyght, William Mille Knyght, Symonde Hammes Knyght, William Holand
Knyght, called the Bastard of Excestr’, William Josep’ late of London
Squier, Everard Dykby late of Stokedry in the shire of Ruthlond
Squier, John Myrfyn late of Suthwerk in the shire of Suit’ Squier,
Thomas Philip late of Dertyngton in Devonshire Squier, Thomas
Brampton late of Guysnes Squier, Giles Seyntlowe late of London
Squier, Thomas Claymond, the seid Thomas Tunstall Squier, Thomas
Crawford late of Caleys Squier, John Aldeley late of Guysnes Squyer,
John Lenche of Wyche in the shire of Worcestre Squier, Thomas Ormond,
otherwise called Thomas Botillier Knyght, Robert Bellyngeham late of
Burnalshede in the shire of Westmerlond Squier, Thomas Everyngham
late of Newhall in the shire of Leycestr’ Knyght, John Penycok late
of Waybrigge in the Counte of Surr’ Squier, William Grymmesby late of
Grymmesby in the shire of Lincoln Squier, Henry Roos late of
Rokyngham in the shire of Northampton Knyght, Thomas Danyell late of
Rysyng in the shire of Norff’ Squier, John Doubiggyng late of the
same Gentilman, Richard Kirkeby late of Kirkeby Ireleth in the shire
of Lancastr Gentilman, William Ackeworth late of Luton in the shire
of Bed’ Squier, William Weynsford late of London Squier, Richard
Stucley late of Lambehith in the Counte of Surr’ Squier, Thomas
Stanley late of Carlile Gentilman, Thomas Litley late of London
Grocer, John Maydenwell late of Kirton in Lyndesey in the Counte of
Lincoln Gentilman, Edward Ellesmere late of London Squier, John
Dauson late of Westmynster in the shire of Midd’ Yoman, Henry Spencer
late of the same Yoman, John Smothyng late of York Yoman, John
Beaumont late of Goodby in the shire of Leyc’ Gentilman, Henry
Beaumont late of the same Gentilman, Roger Wharton otherwise called
Roger of the Halle late of Burgh in the shire of Westmerlond Grome,
John Joskyn late of Branghing in the shire of Hertf’ Squier, Richard
Litestr’ the yonger late of Wakefield Yoman, Thomas Carr late of
Westmynster Yoman, Robert Bollyng late of Bollyng in the shire of
York Gentilman, Robert Hatecale late of Barleburgh in the same shire
Yoman, Richard Everyngham late of Pontfreyt in the same shire Squier,
Richard Fulnaby of Fulnaby in the shire of Lincoln Gentilman,
Laurence Hille late of Moch Wycombe in the Counte of Buk’ Yoman,
Rauff Chernok late of Thorley in the Counte of Lancastr’ Gentilman,
Richard Gaitford of Estretford in Cley in the shire of Notyngh’
Gentilman, John Chapman late of Wymbourne Mynster in Dorset shire
Yoman, and Richard Cokerell late of York Marchaunt; on Sonday called
comynly Palme Sonday the XXIX day of Marche the first yere of his
reigne, in a feld betwene the Townes of Shirbourne in Elmett, and
Tadcastr’, in the seid shire of York, called Saxtonfeld and
Tawtonfeeld, in the shire of York, accompanyed with the Frenshmen and
Scotts the Kynge’s Ennemyes, falsely and traiterously ayenst their
feith and Liegeaunce, there rered werre ayenst the same Kyng Edward,
their rightwise, true, and naturall Liege Lord, purposying there and
then to have distroyed hym, and deposed hym of his Roiall Estate,
Coroune, and Dignite; and then and there to that entent, falsely and
traiterously moved bataille ayenst his seid astate, shedyng therin
the blode of a grete nombre of his subgetts: In the which bataille it
pleased Almyghty God to yeve unto hym, of the mysterie of his myght
and grace, the victorie of his ennemyes and rebelles, and to subdue
and avoyde th’ effect of their fals and traiterous purpose.” {109}
Besides the persons above mentioned, the act of attainder includes
several other noblemen and personages, who are charged with various
offences, although not with taking a part at the battle of Towton.
Edward, besides punishing his antagonists, did not forget, after his
accession to the throne, and in some instances very early afterwards, to
reward with titles, or with substantial possessions, his adherents, who
had fought for his cause at Towton, or had otherwise befriended him. He
created his brother George, Duke of Clarence; his younger brother
Richard, Duke of Gloucester; Sir John Neville, brother to the Earl of
Warwick, Lord Montague and afterwards Marquis Montague; Henry Viscount
Bourchier, brother to Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury, Earl of
Essex; William Neville Lord Falconberg, Earl of Kent; Sir William
Hastings, Lord Hastings; {110} Sir John Wenlock, Lord Wenlock; Sir John
Denham or Dinham, Lord Dinham; and others. Sir Walter Blount was
rewarded with grants of several important and valuable offices, and in
the fifth year of Edward IV. he was created Baron Montjoy. {111a} John
Lord Clinton, originally a Lancastrian, forsook the party of Henry VI.
for that of the Duke of York, about 1459, and was in arms with the
Yorkists at their encampment at Ludford near Ludlow, {111b} for which he
was attainted, and his lands declared confiscated, by the Parliament of
Coventry, held on the 20th of November, in the thirty-eighth year of
Henry VI., 1459; {111b} but all the acts and proceedings of that
Parliament, however, were declared void, by act of Parliament of 39th of
Henry VI., {111c} and on the accession of Edward, his estates and honours
were restored. {111d}
There are several interesting particulars to be observed, on an
inspection of the field of battle and its vicinity, and a visit to the
river Cock, which tend very much to corroborate the old historical
accounts. We learn, that at first the Lancastrians retired from the
field in some order, but soon became disordered, and retreated in great
confusion. It is easy to believe, that with the ground then unenclosed,
or only partially enclosed, near Towton, they would at first retire in
tolerable order, until they had passed the village; but when they turned
off to the left, or westward, immediately upon leaving the village, and
descended towards the river Cock, by the ancient and steep road, as they
seem to have done, great confusion would most probably ensue in the
retreat of an undisciplined army. Their right wing, in retiring, would
naturally fall back by the ground where Towton Hall now stands, or a
little to the westward of it; but immediately after passing the village,
it is almost certain that they would find their centre and right wing
meeting nearly at one point, and all pressing forward to descend towards
the river Cock. The steep descent from the village by the old road, must
have been very perilous, under such circumstances; their cavalry, many of
the horses doubtless wounded and ungovernable, and their infantry, all
attempting to descend by a steep road, hotly pursued by enemies, who gave
no quarter, would probably soon become a disorderly mass of fugitives,
and when they attempted to cross the Cock, nearly all order would be
lost, and a scene of confusion and carnage would naturally result. The
strong probability is, that there was not then any bridge over the Cock;
but if there were one, we must conclude that it was of small size, and
that it could not have been wide enough to allow so numerous a crowd to
pass; and if there were not one, and all of them were obliged to attempt
to ford the stream, the danger would of course be increased. The river
Cock is narrower than the general width of our inland canal navigations,
and when I visited it in the summers of several years, I could have waded
across it, without having the water much above my knees; but I can easily
suppose that at the close of winter, and when fed with melted snow, it
would be difficult, if not dangerous, to ford it.
There is a passage in Biondi’s work, upon the wars of the Houses of York
and Lancaster, written in old Italian, which tends to confirm the idea
that there was not, at the period of the battle, any bridge there, but
that the river was usually forded; the passage, however, is not
conclusive, because, whether there was a bridge or not, a vast number of
the fugitives would naturally attempt to ford the little river. {112}
“Those who remained alive, took the road for the bridge of Tadcaster,
but being unable to reach it, and believing a small river called Cock
to be fordable, the greater part were drowned therein. It is
constantly affirmed, that those who survived, passed over, by
treading on the dead bodies of the sufferers; the water of this
stream, and of the river Wharfe, into which it empties itself, were
coloured in a manner to appear as pure blood.”
I have several times descended to and visited the river Cock, in two
places—one after passing through the large meadow and valley before
mentioned, and the other after descending from the village of Towton, by
the old road already described; and whilst I drank of its pure and cool
waters, at each place, I could not avoid reflecting upon the lamentable
fact, that after the battle, this interesting stream flowed stained with
human gore; and that both the Cock, and the large river the Wharfe, into
which it flows, were discoloured with it, so as to appear like rivers of
blood. Doubtless very much of that shocking discoloration was produced
both by the wounded, in their endeavours to cross the Cock, and by the
men slain in its bed or on its banks, in their flight; besides which, a
portion of the field of battle near the public road dips towards the
westward, and the melted snow mixed with blood would naturally drain
through the large meadow and valley before mentioned, towards the Cock;
and we learn from history, that the blood of the slain lay caked with the
snow, which at that time covered the face of the ground, and afterwards
dissolving with it, ran down in a most horrible manner the furrows and
ditches of the fields, for two or three miles together. {113}
However well selected the position of the Lancastrians was for fighting a
battle, it was a most dangerous one for defeated forces to retreat from,
because the contiguity of the river Wharfe, which was only from two to
three miles distant on the eastward and north-eastward, prevented their
escape from the field in that direction, and the eminence or cliff
prevented it on the westward; whilst towards the northward the
declivities and river Cock in their rear, were almost certain to cause,
to an undisciplined army, the disorganization and loss of life which
ensued.
There is a point of some historical moment connected with the action at
Dintingdale which is worth notice. Edward IV. was at Pontefract on the
27th of March, and prepared to pass the Aire at Ferrybridge, or both at
that place and at Castleford. Lord Clifford, with a body of light
cavalry under his command, {114a} left the main army of Lancastrians,
either on the night of the 27th, or sufficiently early on the morning of
the 28th, to surprise and defeat the body of Yorkists posted under the
command of Lord Fitzwalter {114b} at Ferrybridge, at daybreak; and Lord
Fitzwalter, unaware of the approach of the enemy, hearing a disturbance
and uproar, went from his bed armed only with a poleaxe, and lost his
life {115a} in the conflict. The Yorkists then passed the Aire at
Castleford (only three miles distant) in great force, in hopes of cutting
off the troops under Lord Clifford, who then retreated from Ferrybridge;
and the Yorkists either intercepted or overtook him, slew him, and
defeated and destroyed nearly all his forces, at Dintingdale. As
Dintingdale is only one mile and a half from Towton, and little more than
half a mile from Saxton, the Yorkists would never have hazarded an action
with so large a body of cavalry as we must suppose that Lord Clifford had
with him, in a place so close to the main army of the Lancastrians,
unless the Yorkists were in great force there, or were within reach of
certain support from their advancing main army. From those
circumstances, and from the fact of the distance from Castleford to
Saxton being but short, it appears very probable that by the middle or
early in the afternoon of the 28th, the Yorkists had advanced to the
village of Saxton, and perhaps to Dintingdale, and occupied the
neighbourhood of those places in considerable force.
Dr. Whitaker states {115b} that Lord Clifford, according to the tradition
of the family, was tumbled into a pit, with a promiscuous heap of dead
bodies.
From the appearance of the road and the neighbouring country, it seems
almost certain that, in 1461, the great north road from Ferrybridge to
Tadcaster, turned off from the present Ferrybridge road, {116a} and
passed through the village of Saxton, and then proceeded by the public
road before mentioned through Towton; and if so, when the Yorkists
advanced towards Towton, they would find the Lancastrian army lying like
a lion in their path.
It is well known, that cannons and other firearms were used in the wars
of York and Lancaster; and there is not any reason to doubt that they
were used at the battle of Towton; yet it is remarkable that the fact is
not noticed by any ancient writer. Guns of some kind or other, appear to
have been used in the following instances in the field (exclusive of
sieges) during those wars: viz., in 1455, at the first battle of St.
Alban’s; {116b} in 1459, at the encampment of the Yorkists at Ludford in
Herefordshire; {116b} in 1460, at the battle of Northampton; {116c} in
1469, at the battle near Hornfield, Lincolnshire, often called the Battle
of Lose Coat Field; {116d} in 1471, on the landing of Edward IV. at
Ravenspur; {116e} in 1471, at the battle of Barnet; {116f} again in 1471,
at the battle of Tewkesbury; {116g} in 1485, at the battle of Bosworth;
{116h} and in 1487, at the battle of Stoke. {116i} It can scarcely
excite surprise, at the chroniclers and annalists not having mentioned
cannons, as having been used at the battle of Towton, when it is borne in
mind, that they do not make the slightest mention of cavalry having been
employed there; although it is certain, that in both armies there must
have been large bodies of cavalry engaged at that battle.
The honour of bearing Edward IV.’s standard, of the Black Bull, at the
battle of Towton, devolved upon Ralph Vestynden, afterwards one of the
yeomen of the chamber, who had for his services, at the battle, an
annuity of £10, granted to him “yerely unto the tyme he be rewarded by us
of an office.” {117a} Besides having been borne upon Edward’s standard
at that battle, “the Bull sable, corned and hoofed, or,” was also used on
other occasions by Edward IV., and others of the House of York, in
consequence of its having been a cognizance or device of the Clares
(Earls of Gloucester), from whom the House of York was descended. {117b}
Henry VI., Queen Margaret, and Edward Prince of Wales, were at York
during the battle of Towton; and on hearing of its disastrous result,
they fled northward with the Duke of Exeter, the Duke of Somerset, Lord
Roos, and Lord Hungerford, {118a} and at first repaired to Berwick, and
from thence to Scotland, where Henry purchased the protection and
assistance of the King of Scotland, by the surrender of Berwick. Edward
IV. was received on the day after the battle into York, with processions
and great solemnity, the mayor and commonalty having sued for grace, and
having obtained it from the King, through the mediation {118b} of Lord
Montague {118c} and Lord Berners. {118d}
King Edward, on hearing of the flight of Henry VI., and the other
personages, northward, immediately despatched a body of light cavalry, in
pursuit of them, but too late to overtake them.
Edward remained at York sufficiently long to celebrate the festival of
Easter there, and then went to Durham, and, after taking measures for the
pacification of the northern parts, proceeded to London.
The decisive victory gained by Edward at Towton, confirmed his previous
assumption of the royal title; he became to all intents the King of
England; he was crowned at Westminster, on the 29th of June; and his
right to the throne was solemnly recognized by the Parliament, which was
held in the month of November following. He was evidently a man of
extraordinary talents, enterprise, and courage; he had already fought and
been the conqueror in three important battles; and, notwithstanding the
serious and numerous obstacles which he had to overcome, he succeeded in
obtaining the sovereignty of England before he was twenty years old: his
birth having taken place at Rouen, in Normandy, on the 29th of April,
1441. {119}
There are some passages in the accounts of the battle, given by
historians, which seem to be exaggerated, or, at least, must be received
with some degree of allowance. We know from the old historical writers,
that the battle commenced in a fall of snow or sleet, which was driven by
the wind into the faces of the Lancastrians. We are told that Lord
Falconberg caused some arrows to be discharged during the snow, at the
Lancastrians, and ordered the archers to fall back three strides (what
difference could three paces make?) and that the Lancastrians, feeling
the shot, but in consequence of the snow, not well knowing the distance
between them and the Yorkists, supposed that they were within the range
of archery, and discharged their arrows, until their quivers were
exhausted, or nearly so, and that the Yorkists then not only shot their
own arrows against the opposite forces, but also picked up and discharged
part of the Lancastrians’ arrows against them, and planted others in the
ground, which sorely galled the legs of the Lancastrians, when they
advanced to close quarters. It is easy to believe, that some amongst the
undisciplined Lancastrian archers, would begin to shoot too soon, just as
young troops will even now occasionally fire too soon; but when we
reflect that there were several men amongst the leaders on both sides,
who had served in France, and had had much experience in war, it is
difficult to suppose that such a circumstance had any material influence
in the result of the battle, or that they would allow their men to
exhaust their quivers, by shooting in such a useless manner; besides
which, if the Lancastrian archers were prevented by the snow from judging
accurately of the distance, the same cause must, to a great extent, have
operated against the archers of the Yorkists. And with respect to
exhausting the quivers, we cannot suppose that the Lancastrian leaders,
after deliberately preparing for the approach of the Yorkists, would be
so remiss, as not to have a plentiful supply of arrows in the rear for
the use of the troops. It is barely possible that some instances may
have occurred of arrows being stuck into the ground, but it is not
credible that it was done on any considerable scale. The Yorkists would
have something else to do on such a dreadful morning, than to occupy
themselves with sticking arrows in any considerable numbers in the
ground. Besides which, if such a measure were adopted with any good
effect, at the battle of Towton, it is clear that it would be equally
useful at other battles fought in the middle ages; yet, as far as I can
recollect, we are not informed by any historian, of such a measure being
adopted, on any other occasion, either in the wars of York and Lancaster,
or in any battle in which the English were engaged. The real
disadvantage, and that was a serious one, under which the Lancastrians
laboured, was, that the wind, with the snow or sleet driven in their
faces, would not only baffle their aim, but would cause a deflection in
the flight of their arrows; besides which, even when they came to close
quarters, it was a great disadvantage to have the snow and sleet driving
against them. There was, however, a good reason for soon coming to hand
blows, which would equally operate on both armies: the wet from the snow,
would affect their bow strings, and render the bows of both parties
comparatively inefficient. We are also told, that the Yorkists pursued
the Lancastrians during all the night, which succeeded the battle. It
seems to be impossible that that can be literally true. After two rather
severe engagements, and a hasty march, which, for a considerable space,
was through cross roads, on the 28th of March, and after so long and
dreadful a conflict on the 29th, without food during the day, except that
they might possibly have broken their fast very early in the morning,
fighting in severe weather, exposed to cold and wet, and with bad roads,
the Yorkists must, from sheer exhaustion, and want of bodily strength,
have been scarcely able to pursue the fugitives after the day had closed
in, about which time the victors would arrive at Tadcaster, glad to find
food, shelter, and rest there, for the night. We hear no more of the
fugitives, as an army, after the 29th; and it is more than probable, that
by the morning of the 30th, they had availed themselves of the hours of
darkness to disperse, or to move northwards in detached parties merely;
and they had one advantage over the victors: the fugitives could throw
away a portion of their arms, offensive and defensive, to facilitate
their flight.
There is one point in the plans of the Lancastrians connected with this
battle, for which it is very difficult to account. Why, with superior
forces, did they act on the defensive? It is very easy to understand,
that the Lancastrians retired from before London, and proceeded
northward, after the junction of the forces of Edward with those of the
Earl of Warwick, in consequence of the then superiority of the Yorkists;
but, if as we are told, the Lancastrians shortly afterwards mustered for
the battle of Towton about 60,000 men, and the Yorkists only about 48,660
men, we should naturally have expected that the Lancastrians would have
been the assailants. It seems contrary to good policy, in military
affairs, to wait with a superior force to be attacked. Such a general as
Cromwell, Marlborough, or Wellington, if commanding a force tolerably
equal, would not have waited for the attack of an enemy. With the
exception, however, of the bold, and at first the successful, exploit by
Lord Clifford, at Ferrybridge, the Lancastrians were not the assailing,
but the defensive parties. {122a} They did not even, as far as we are
informed, attempt either to support Lord Clifford at Ferrybridge, or to
succour him at Dintingdale, where he was slain, and his forces defeated.
{122b} Yet that place was only about a mile and a half from Towton; and
the shouts of the combatants would be within hearing of the main body of
the Lancastrian army. The victors may possibly have exaggerated the
number of the Lancastrians, in order to enhance the merit of the victory.
If some such reason cannot be given, it seems only left to ascribe their
remaining on the defensive, either to ignorance of the numbers of their
enemies, or to want of judgment on the part of the Lancastrian
commanders.
Saxton is a parish containing the townships of Towton and
Saxton-cum-Scarthingwell; the living is a perpetual curacy; and Saxton
Church is dedicated to “All Saints.”
A great number of the slain were interred, as has been before mentioned,
in a large trench or pit, on the north side of, and close to, the church.
In June, 1848, a short time prior to my first visit to Towton, their
bones were exposed to view, when making a vault for the interment of a
son of John Kendall, Esq., of Towton Hall. {122c} The trench runs from
east to west. Besides which, only a few years before that discovery,
another vault was made, nearer to the east than that of Mr. Kendall, and
also on the north side of the church, and the workmen found a similar
deposit of bones, about four feet below the surface; so that there can be
no doubt that the bones of hundreds of men were buried in a continuous
trench extending along that part of the churchyard. {123a} It has been
already mentioned, that the teeth in the skulls found there were sound
and entire, showing that they had belonged to persons who had died either
young or in the prime of life.
The tomb of Lord Dacre, called by Leland and Stow , “a meane tombe”
{123b} (meaning not a contemptible, or shabby tomb, for it certainly has
been a handsome one, but one of medium size), also lies on the north side
of the church, and very near the place where the slain were buried. It
is about two feet high, with the inscription a good deal worn, so that I
was not able to read many words. It stands with its sides nearly
corresponding with the four points of the compass; it has armorial
bearings on each of its sides; and, besides various other quarterings,
which are much defaced by age and weather, I observed the quarters—1st
and 4th, Chequy, or and gules, for Vaux of Gillesland; 2nd and 3rd,
Gules, three escallops argent, for Dacre, which, though not very plain,
are nevertheless still visible; and I consider the engravings of the tomb
in Dr. Whitaker’s work, very like the original. {123c}
The tomb is of dark stone or marble, and the slab or lid is very heavy,
but broken in two pieces, at about two-thirds its length; and it seems
likely to sustain further injury from boys playing and climbing upon it.
It is much to be regretted, that some endeavour is not made by some
person of taste, to preserve it by putting iron rails round it.
Some of the leaders (naturally supposed to be Yorkists) were interred in
the church; and within the recollection of Mr. Kendall, some slabs, with
inscriptions in the Old English letters, were in existence there, which
were said to have covered their remains. The church is evidently very
ancient, principally of the Gothic style of architecture; but it has been
in part rebuilt and altered, without much regard to its style, so as to
detract very much from its appearance. Formerly there was some coloured
glass in a window of the church, which is said to have contained the arms
of the Dacre family; but, in consequence of the window requiring repairs,
the coloured glass was removed about thirty years ago, and was taken to
the mansion of the late Thomas Walker, Esq., of Killingbeck, near Leeds,
where it perhaps may yet be.
It has an ancient plain Norman arch, at the doorway in the south porch;
an antique font, large enough to immerse a child; and a piscina in the
Hungate Chapel, which is on the south side; and one or two very narrow
lancet-shaped windows on the north side of the chancel, are still
remaining.
The tower of Saxton Church appears to have been rebuilt after the
Reformation, and, as is said, between two hundred and fifty and three
hundred years ago. Several representations of crosses have been cut upon
slabs or stones which are built into the tower, and which have evidently
been carved in memory of some of the slain, who were buried there; most
probably, some Yorkist knights or leaders. Several of the crosses have
been transposed and altered, when the tower was rebuilt; and parts of the
shafts and pedestals of two or three of those crosses are still visible,
and are now placed in different layers of the stone, or in the reverse
way to the heads of the crosses, and are imperfect, parts of them having
disappeared, and probably they have been cut and been removed. On the
south side of the tower there is one of these crosses perfect, or nearly
so, and also part of another; on the west side there is one perfect
cross; and on the north side, including an imperfect part of one on the
adjoining buttress of the tower, there are five imperfect parts of
crosses cut upon the stones; there probably are others which have since
been built inwards into the wall, and are, consequently, not visible.
They have been four or five feet long, and the two which are nearly
perfect, owe their preservation apparently to their having been cut on
stones of unusual size, and to their not extending, like some others,
upon more stones than one. The heads of those two crosses are handsome,
and a good deal ornamented. There is a sufficient resemblance amongst
the crosses, to show that they were probably all coeval in point of date;
but they are certainly not, as Dr. Whitaker supposed, all alike.
Sir John Neville, commonly called John Lord Neville, is said not to have
been buried there, but at the chapel of Lead, which is about half a mile
from Saxton, and in the parish of Ryther; but there is not any monument
to his memory.
At the period when Drake wrote (in 1736), Lord Dacre’s tomb was much
defaced, and the inscription was imperfect; he has, however, given it, as
follows:—
HIC JACET RANULPHUS DS. DE DAKEE ET —— MILES
ET OCCISUS ERAT IN BELLO PRINCIPE HENRICO VI° ANNO DOM.
MCCCCLXI. XXIX DIE MARTII VIDELICET DOMINICA DIE PAL-
MARUM. CUJUS ANIME PROPITIETUR DEUS. AMEN. {125a}
Dr. Whitaker, however, who had Drake’s work before him when he wrote,
gives the following, as the correct inscription, with the defects
supplied; and states that less than thirty years before the time when he
was writing, he retrieved much more of it, than would have been then
possible:—
HIC JACET RANULPHUS DOMINUS DE DACRE ET GREYSTOCKE VERUS MILES QUI
OBIIT IN BELLO PRO REGE SUO HENRICO SEXTO ANNO MCCCCLXI. VICESIMO
{125b}
DIE MENSIS MARCII VID’LT., DOMINICA PALMARUM CUJUS ANIME PROPICIETUR
DEUS. AMEN. {125c}
Whichever is the correct version, they, however, both coincide in the
main particulars, of its being Lord Dacre’s tomb; that he was a supporter
of King Henry VI., and was slain in battle, on Palm Sunday, 1461. From
the mention of King Henry VI., it may be surmised that the tomb was not
erected until after the death of Edward IV.
Drake mentions, that many years ago, this tomb was violently wrenched
open (for it had been strongly cramped together with iron), in order to
inter beneath it a Mr. Gascoyne, when the remains of Dacre’s body were
found, in a standing posture; and that a fragment of the slab, and a
material part of the inscription, were then broken off.
He does not inform us who or what Mr. Gascoyne was, when alive; but
whoever he was, whether of a high or low sphere in life, whether he was a
gentleman, or some rag-merchant, it evinced bad taste on the part of his
relations or representatives, to commit such an act; and perhaps some
culpable remissness on the part of the then incumbent of the church, to
permit it. Of Lord Dacre’s general character we know little; but from
that circumstance, we are at least justified in believing, that, unlike
two great leaders of the opposite parties, he was neither perjured like
Clarence, nor a murderer like Clifford; that is certainly only negative
praise; but we do know that he was at least a nobleman of high rank,
consistent in his principles, and one who died a warrior’s death, on the
field of battle: circumstances which ought to have preserved his remains
from profanation, and ought to have caused us to be spared the disgust
and indignation, which we naturally entertain, at the bad taste and bad
feeling evinced, in the violation of a soldier’s grave.
In the dreadful wars of York and Lancaster, it is said that more than
100,000 Englishmen lost their lives; but that is merely the number
believed to have been slain in battle; and, however repulsive it may be
to our feelings, it must be admitted that it cannot include the numbers
who must have perished during that disastrous period, in unimportant
skirmishes, in marauding parties, in private warfare, by assassination,
by the axe or by the halter, in pursuance of or under the colour of
judicial sentences, or by open and undisguised murder. {127a} Besides
this horrible sacrifice of human life, during this distracted period, it
is shocking to think what sufferings unprotected and helpless persons
must have been exposed to, from the lawless partisans of the rival
parties, when they passed through or were located near any district,
which they chose to consider as favouring their antagonists. Pillage,
cruelty, violence to women, incendiarism, and contempt of the laws and of
religion, {127b} were the natural attendants upon a civil war, {127c}
carried on with feelings of bitter hatred by each party; and it is
certain that the examples of cruelty and wickedness which were openly set
by the nobles and leaders of both factions, would readily be copied by
their followers. Voltaire thus expresses himself, in reference to the
wars of York and Lancaster: “Quand les premiers d’une nation ont de
telles mœurs, quelles doivent être celles du peuple?” {127d}
One of our ancient historical writers correctly states, that “this
conflict was in maner unnaturall, for in it the sonne fought against the
father, the brother against the brother, the nephew against the uncle,
and the tenant against his lord.” {128a}
The following is an extract from a very interesting scene, from the pen
of Shakespeare, relative to the battle of Towton; and, although the
tragedy in which it is introduced is not well adapted to the stage, it
will well repay the student for the time bestowed, in reading the whole
of it:—
_The Third Part of King Henry VI._
Scene—A Field of Battle between Towton and Saxton. {128b}
(_Enter a Son that has killed his Father_, _bringing in the body_.)
_Son_.—“Ill blows the wind, that profits nobody.
This man, whom hand to hand I slew in fight,
May be possessed with some store of crowns;
And I, that haply take them from him now,
May yet, ere night, yield both my life and them
To some man else, as this dead man doth me.
Who’s this?—O Heav’n! it is my father’s face,
Whom in this conflict I unawares have killed.
O heavy times, begetting such events!”
(_Enter a Father that has killed his Son_, _bringing in the body_.)
_Father_.—“Thou that so stoutly hast resisted me,
Give me thy gold, if thou hast any gold;
For I have bought it with an hundred blows.—
But let me see: is this our foeman’s face?
Ah, no, no, no, it is mine only son!
Ah, boy, if any life be left in thee,
Throw up thine eye; see, see, what showers arise,
Blown by the windy tempest of my heart,
Upon thy wounds, that kill mine eye and heart!
O pity, Heav’n, this miserable age!
What stratagems, how fell, how butcherly,
Erroneous, mutinous, and unnatural,
This deadly quarrel daily doth beget!”
_King Henry_.—“Sad-hearted men, much overgone with care,
Here sits a King more woful than you are.”
It may be said, that the portion of the scene in which those
circumstances are introduced, is one of imagination, and the offspring of
the grand and admirable talents of Shakespeare. Be it so; still the
truthful records of history disclose quite enough, to prove that deeds of
bloodshed and violence, nearly as repulsive to our feelings, and almost
as disgraceful to mankind, as those which that scene represents, were
frequently perpetrated during those disastrous times; and we may well
feel grateful to the supreme Disposer of events, that we are now
preserved from the miseries and calamities which were experienced in this
country, during the wars of York and Lancaster.