The Wars of The Roses

The Wars of The Roses is a fairly modern term for a period of around thirty years    when England’s royal family, aided and abetted by the nobility, fought amongst themselves for control of the crown of our Nation.

During the thirty years or so that this conflict covers, there were long periods of peace marked by short campaigns and, mostly, fairly swift and brutal battles, where political opponents were illuminated, even after capture, a major swing away from the chivalry of the wars with our great enemy France, where the defeated were ransomed for oodles of cash which then went to build majestic stately piles like Starborough Castle.

During this period there were six changes of king, invasions, rebellions, counter invasions, treason and treachery, and the nobility even found time to sort out its own feuds between battles.  The Lisle and Berkeley dispute which ended at Nibley Green, the Grey Vs Vernon dispute which never really went away, and Sir Thomas Burgh’s own dispute with Lord Welles which ended with the battle of Losecote Field and Welles head being removed…………..

The Wars of The Roses campaigns and battles ranged from the far north, even into Scotland, to prolonged sieges in the Northern Marches and to Wales, to amazing forced marches from London to Tewkesbury near Gloucester – in some way or another ALL of England was involved, every one had an opinion, many were physically involved as suppliers or as combatants, from the tiny villages of highest Derbyshire to the great towns and cities, the struggle for the throne was news to everyone, villain or noble alike, Lancastrian OR Yorkist – caution was the watchword of the day!

Men like Sir Thomas Burgh and Sir Thomas Montgomery were career government servants, men who cared for their country more than the King.  As long as the King did what was right for England, then he had their total support – to the death if need be.  In Edward IV these ‘new’ men found the very King their kind needed to serve.

During the later part of King Henry VI’s reign there was a near breakdown in law and order, the nobility squabbled and engaged in lawlessness, a fine example being Lincolnshire’s own Sir William Tailboys of Kyme, who, with a younger son of the earl of Northumberland, Lord Egremont, imposed a reign of terror on the county and the city of Lincoln, only ended (for a while at least) by the efforts of Lords Cromwell and Willoughby.  The Kings immediate family and his most trusted officers were hated and mistrusted, the Dukes of Suffolk and Somerset being the target of public and other, jealous, nobles hatred till the day they died.  When Henry was deposed by the first Yorkist King, it seemed to be the beginning of a bright new era for an England blighted by miss-government and utter defeat in France, and the new men in the Government worked hard to make it a reality.

In the end, the Wars saw the virtual extinction of the Yorkists and their enemies the Lancastrians, leaving the way clear for the bastard branch, the Tudors, to take the throne. Henry VII worked hard to disable the nobility and to stamp his governments authority on every aspect of life. He did this so well that when his son Henry VIII, faced with his succession crisis, needed the compliance of the Dukes, earls and lords, he found it all the easier as they lacked the backbone and courage of their recent ancestors, men who would have done all to stop it, even if it meant treason

For a less tainted look at the wars you should try J.R.Lander The Wars of The Roses

C.R.Ross  The Wars of The Roses      - “ -      Edward IV

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