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VISITS TO FIELDS OF BATTLE, IN ENGLAND, OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY;
VISITS TO FIELDS OF BATTLE, IN ENGLAND, OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY;
TO WHICH ARE ADDED, SOME MISCELLANEOUS TRACTS AND PAPERS UPON ARCHÆOLOGICAL SUBJECTS. BY RICHARD BROOKE, ESQ., F.S.A. LONDON: JOHN RUSSELL SMITH, 36, SOHO SQUARE. LIVERPOOL: J. MAWDSLEY AND SON, CASTLE STREET. M DCCC LVII. London ; F. Pickton , Printer, Perry’s Place, 29, Oxford Street...
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PREFACE.
PREFACE.
In the course of the fifteenth century, England experienced, in a lamentable degree, the sad effects of internal discord, and the miseries caused by the conflicts of adverse factions. It is scarcely possible, for historians to point out, in the annals of any country in Europe, in the feudal ages, deeds of violence and bloodshed, of a more appalling nature, than those which the chroniclers have recorded, as having occurred in England, during the period which intervened between the years 1400 and
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CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER I.
THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF SHREWSBURY. [1a] “After him came spurring hard A gentleman almost forspent with speed, That stopp’d by me to breathe his bloodied horse: He ask’d the way to Chester; and of him I did demand, what news from Shrewsbury. He told me, that rebellion had ill luck, And that you Harry Percy’s spur was cold.” Shakespeare’s Henry IV. part ii. act 1, scene 1. Twice in the year 1851, and once in each of the five succeeding years, [1b] I visited the field of the celebrated
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CHAPTER II. THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF BLORE HEATH. [21]
CHAPTER II. THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF BLORE HEATH. [21]
“There Dutton Dutton kills, a Done doth kill a Done, A Booth a Booth, and Leigh by Leigh is overthrown, A Venables against a Venables doth stand, A Troutbeck fighteth with a Troutbeck hand to hand, There Molineux doth make a Molineux to die, And Egerton the strength of Egerton doth try. O! Cheshire wer’t thou mad, of thine own native gore So much until this day thou never shed’st before! Above two thousand men upon the earth were thrown, Of which the greatest part were naturally thine own. The
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CHAPTER III. THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF NORTHAMPTON. [39a]
CHAPTER III. THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF NORTHAMPTON. [39a]
“The King from out the town who drew his foot and horse, As willing to give full field-room to his force, Doth pass the river Nen, near where it down doth run, From his first fountain’s head, is near to Harsington, Advised of a place, by nature strongly wrought, Doth there encamp his power: the Earl of March, who sought To prove by dint of sword, who should obtain the day, From Towcester trained on his powers in good array. The vaward Warwick led (whom no attempt could fear); The middle March hi
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CHAPTER IV. THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF WAKEFIELD. [53a]
CHAPTER IV. THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF WAKEFIELD. [53a]
Duke of York .—“But stay; What news? Why com’st thou in such post?” Messenger .—“The Queen, with all the northern Earls and Lords, Intend here to besiege you in your castle: She is hard by with twenty thousand men; And therefore fortify your hold, my Lord.” Shakespeare’s Henry VI. part iii. act 1, scene 2. ( Sandal Castle , near Wakefield .) Richard Duke of York, [53b] desirous to disperse a considerable body of troops, which Queen Margaret [53c] was assembling in the North, marched from London
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CHAPTER V. THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF MORTIMER’S CROSS. [67a]
CHAPTER V. THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF MORTIMER’S CROSS. [67a]
Edward .—“Dazzle mine eyes, or do I see three suns?” * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * “’Tis wondrous strange, the like yet never heard of. I think it cites us, brother, to the field, That we, the sons of brave Plantagenet, Each one already blazing by our meeds, Should notwithstanding join our lights together, And overshine the earth, as this the world. Whate’er it bodes, henceforward will I bear Upon my target, three fair shining suns.” Shakespeare’s Henry VI. part iii. act 2, scene 1. (
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CHAPTER VI. THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF TOWTON. [81a]
CHAPTER VI. 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 Yor
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CHAPTER VII. THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF TEWKESBURY. [131a]
CHAPTER VII. THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF TEWKESBURY. [131a]
“Then came wandering by A shadow like an angel, with bright hair Dabbled in blood; and he shriek’d out aloud, ‘Clarence is come; false fleeting perjured Clarence, That stabb’d me in the field by Tewkesbury.’” Shakespeare’s King Richard III. act i. scene 4. Of the numerous battles which have been fought in England in the middle ages, few have been more decisive, or have excited more interest, than that of Tewkesbury. [131b] In order that the positions of the hostile armies, and the rea
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CHAPTER VIII. THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF BOSWORTH. [157a]
CHAPTER VIII. THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF BOSWORTH. [157a]
King Richard .— “Caparison my horse: Call up Lord Stanley, bid him bring his power: I will lead forth my soldiers to the plain, And thus my battle shall be ordered. My foreward shall be drawn out all in length, Consisting equally of horse and foot; Our archers shall be placed in the midst: John Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Earl of Surrey, Shall have the leading of this foot and horse. They thus directed, we will follow In the main battle; whose puissance on either sid
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CHAPTER IX. THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF STOKE. [177a]
CHAPTER IX. THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF STOKE. [177a]
“Have we so soon forgot those days of ruin, When York and Lancaster drew forth the battles, When, like a matron butchered by her sons, And cast beside some common way, a spectacle Of horror and affright to passers by, Our groaning country bled at ev’ry vein?” Rowe’s Jane Shore , act iii. Before commencing a description of the Field of the Battle of Stoke (in Nottinghamshire), it may be advisable to mention concisely the nature of a very formidable insurrection, which was suppressed by that battl
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THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF EVESHAM.
THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF EVESHAM.
As the battle of Evesham was not fought in the fifteenth century and had no relation to the wars of York and Lancaster, it would not have been noticed here, if it had not been for the circumstance of my having visited the field of battle a few months before this work was sent to the press. Very little information, however, respecting that sanguinary conflict, can be obtained by inquiry upon the spot. On the 28th and 29th of May, 1856, I visited the field of battle, which was fought on the 4th o
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THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF BARNET.
THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF BARNET.
Warwick (wounded).—“Ah, who is nigh? come to me, friend, or foe, And tell me, who is victor, York or Warwick? Why ask I that? My mangled body shows, My blood, my want of strength, my sick heart shows, That I must yield my body to the earth, And by my fall, the conquest to my foe.” Shakespeare’s Henry VI. part 3, act v. scene 2. ( A Field of Battle , near Barnet .) The Battle of Barnet was fought on the 14th of April, 1471, at a place formerly called Gladmore Heath, but which is now completely e
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CHRONOLOGICAL REFERENCES. 1400 TO 1500.
CHRONOLOGICAL REFERENCES. 1400 TO 1500.
1403, 8th September.—Warrant of the 4th Henry IV. relative to the safe custody of the castle of Laghadyn, in Wales, “Utpote, in personis Defensalibus, victualibus, armaturis, artillariis, et omnibus aliis rebus, pro hujusmodi munitione garnisturâ et custodiâ ejusdem Castri, necessariis et opportunis.”—8 Rymer’s Fædera , fo. 328; folio edition. 1404, 29th August.—Warrant of the 5th Henry IV. respecting the giving up of the castle or fortalice of Fascastle, in Scotland, to the Warden of the East M
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CHAPTER XI. THE ANCIENT FAMILY OF WYCHE, OR DE LA WYCHE, OF ALDERLEY, CHESHIRE. [245a]
CHAPTER XI. THE ANCIENT FAMILY OF WYCHE, OR DE LA WYCHE, OF ALDERLEY, CHESHIRE. [245a]
The ancient family of Wyche, or De la Wyche, was located at a very early period at Davenham, and afterwards removed to Nether Alderley, in Cheshire, where the members of it possessed an estate, and a mansion called Soss Moss Hall, [245b] which, after being for several generations in the family, were purchased by Sir Edward Stanley, Bart., in 1753, from William Wyche, Esq.; [245c] and are now the property of Sir Edward’s descendant, Lord Stanley of Alderley. The family appears to have been of gre
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CHAPTER XII. WILMSLOW CHURCH, CHESHIRE. [253a]
CHAPTER XII. WILMSLOW CHURCH, CHESHIRE. [253a]
The village of Wilmslow is in the hundred of Macclesfield, in Cheshire, and before the introduction of railways, the mail-coach road from Manchester to Birmingham passed through it. It has not the advantage of having a market, but has some little trade, and possesses the convenience of being one of the stations of the London and North-Western (formerly the Manchester and Birmingham) Railway, which passes close to it; and it is pleasantly situate on the south bank of the river Bollin, which ther
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CHAPTER XIII. HANDFORD HALL AND CHEADLE CHURCH, CHESHIRE. [267a]
CHAPTER XIII. HANDFORD HALL AND CHEADLE CHURCH, CHESHIRE. [267a]
Handford is a township of the parish of Cheadle, in Cheshire, in the hundred of Macclesfield, intersected by the London and North Western (formerly the Manchester and Birmingham) Railway, and situated eleven miles from Manchester, and five miles south-west-by-south from Stockport. The village of Handford is agreeably situated in a pleasant part of Cheshire, upon the turnpike-road leading from Manchester to Wilmslow and Congleton. On entering the village from the northward, a neat but small coun
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PART I. THE OFFICE OF KEEPER OF THE ROYAL MENAGERIE, IN THE REIGN OF EDWARD IV. [283a]
PART I. THE OFFICE OF KEEPER OF THE ROYAL MENAGERIE, IN THE REIGN OF EDWARD IV. [283a]
Letter from Richard Brooke, Esq., F.S.A., to Sir Henry Ellis, K.H., F.R.S., Secretary to the Society of Antiquaries of London, upon the office of Keeper of the Royal Menagerie in the Tower of London, in the reign of Edward IV. “ Liverpool , 17 th November , 1849. “Dear Sir,—I have been recently much interested, in reading Mr. Collier’s Annals of the Stage . My curiosity was excited, by the passage in vol. i. pp. 35 and 36, in which he gives in a note, a copy from the Harl. MSS. , No. 433, of a
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PART II. ON THE PROBABLE PERIOD OF THE EXTINCTION OF WOLVES IN ENGLAND. [287a]
PART II. ON THE PROBABLE PERIOD OF THE EXTINCTION OF WOLVES IN ENGLAND. [287a]
“Cruel as death, and hungry as the grave! Burning for blood! bony and gaunt, and grim! Assembling wolves in raging troops descend; And pouring o’er the country, bear along, Keen as the north wind sweeps the glossy snow. All is their prize. They fasten on the steed, Press him to earth, and pierce his mighty heart, Nor can the bull his awful front defend, Or shake the murd’ring savages away.” Thomson’s Winter . Several descriptions of wild animals were, at one period, inhabitants of Great Britain
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No. I.
No. I.
Extract from the Act of Attainder of the 1st Edward IV., passed against the Lancastrians who had taken part in the second Battle of St. Alban’s, the Battle of Wakefield, and the Battle of Towton.— Rot. Parl. 1 Edward IV. ( A.D. 1461), vol. v. p. 476, 477, and 478. “ For asmoche as Henry, late Kyng Henry the sixt, ayenst the honoure and trouth that owe to be stablisshed in every Christien Prynce, dissimilyng with the right noble and famous Prynce Richard Duc of York, to whome it lyked at the gret
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No. II.
No. II.
Extract from the Act of Attainder of 14th Edward IV. passed against some of the Lancastrians who had taken part in the Battles of Barnet, Tewkesbury, &c.— Rot. Parl. 14th Edward IV. ( A.D. 1475), vol. vi. fos. 144, 145, 146. “ And also where John Veer late Erl of Oxford, late of Wyvenho in the counte of Essex Knyght, George Veer, late of the same toune Knyght, Thomas Veer late of the same toune Knyght, Robert Harlyston, late of Shymplyng in the counte of Suffolk Squyer, William Godmansto
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No. III.
No. III.
Extract from the Act of Attainder of 1st Henry VII., passed against the Yorkists who had taken part in the Battle of Bosworth.— Rot. Parl. 1st Henry VII. ( A.D. 1485), vol. vi. fos. 275 and 276. “ Forasmoche as every king, prince, and liege lord, the more hie that he be in estate and prehemenence, the more singularly he is bound to the advancement and preferring of that indefferent vertue justice; and promoteinge and rewardinge vertue, and bi oppressinge and punishinge vice: Wherefore oure sover
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No. IV.
No. IV.
Proclamation by Henry VII., for enforcing order and discipline in his Army; and Extract from a Journal of the March and Proceedings of Henry VII. previously to the Battle of Stoke; from a manuscript in the Cottonian Library.—Lelandi Collectanea , vol. iv. p. 210. “ The King our souveraigne lorde straytly charge and comaunde, that no maner of man, of whatsoever state, degre, or condition he bee, robe ne spoyle any chyrche, ne take oute of the same any ornament theron belonging, nor touche ne sett
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No. V.
No. V.
Extract from the Act of Attainder against John, Earl of Lincoln, and his Adherents.— Rotul. Parl. 3rd Henry VII. ( A.D. 1487), vol. vi. fo. 397. “ Forasmoch as the XIX th day of the moneth of Marche last past John, late Erle of Lincolne, nothyng consideryng the greate and sovereygn kyndnes that oure sovereygne leige lorde that nowe ys, at dyvers sundry tymes contynuelly shewed to the said late erle, but the contrarye to kynd and naturall remembraunce his faith trouth and allegeaunce conspired an
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No. VI.
No. VI.
Extract from the Act of Attainder of 11th Henry VII., against Francis Lovel, late Lord Lovel.— Rot. Parl. 11th Henry VII. ( A.D. 1495), vol. vi. fo. 502. “ Forasmoch as John, late Erle of Lincoln, Fraunces Lovell, late Lord Lovell, and divers other with theym, trayterously ymagynyng and compassyng the deth and destruccion of our sovereign lord the king, assembled themself with other evil disposed peopull, to the nombre of VM p̃sones, at Stoke, in the countie of Notyngham, the XX th day of June,
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No. VII.
No. VII.
Copy of a Letter given in Banks’s Dormant and Extinct Baronage , vol. ii. p. 321, from William Cowper, Esq., Clerk of the Parliament. “ Hertingfordbury Park , 9 th August , 1737. “Sir,—I met to’ther day with a memorandum I had made some years ago, perhaps not unworthy your notice. You may remember that Lord Bacon, in his History of Henry VII. , giving an account of the battle of Stoke, sais of the Lord Lovel, who was among the rebels, that he fled, and swame over the Trent on horseback, but cou
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ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. [321]
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. [321]
Page 1, note 2, After the words, “and May, 1856,” add “and also in September, 1856, which was after part of this work had been sent to the press.” „ 2. In the last line of note *, after the words, “according to,” insert the name, “Fabyan.” „ 3. Before “Market Drayton,” insert “Hodnet, and.” „ 5. After the words, “offered battle to his enemies,” add “2,” and at the foot of the page, insert as note “2”: “A portion of the suburbs of Shrewsbury was intentionally burnt; that measure being consider
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