The Duke of Buckingham was of royal lineage, [48d] being the son and heir of Edmund Stafford, fifth Earl of Stafford, by Anne Plantagenet, daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, youngest son of King Edward III. A strange and mournful fatality attended the principal members of the great and powerful family of the Duke of Buckingham, during five generations. The father, son, grandson, great-grandson, and great-great-grandson, all died violent deaths. Edmund Stafford, fifth Earl of Stafford, was slain fighting on the part of Henry IV., at the battle of Shrewsbury, in 1403; his son, Humphrey Stafford, first Duke of Buckingham, was slain at the battle of Northampton, fighting for the Lancastrian party, in 1460; his son, Humphrey, Earl of Stafford, was slain at the first battle of St. Alban’s, also fighting for that party, in 1455; his son, Henry Stafford, second Duke of Buckingham, was beheaded in the first year of Richard III., in 1483; [49] and his son, Edward Stafford, the third and last Duke of Buckingham of that family, was beheaded in the thirteenth year of Henry VIII., in 1521.
I carefully searched for, but could not discover, any remains of intrenchments, and, although I made inquiries, I was unable to learn that any traces of them could be recollected by persons on the spot; but there is sufficiently clear information, given by the old historical writers, to enable a person fond of such investigations, to identify the place where the battle took place; and their accounts show that it was fought close to Northampton, [50a] in the meadows on the southward side of the town, [a/][50a] and of the river Nen or Nene, and adjoining Delapré Abbey, [a/][50a] in the parish of Hardingstone, and near Queen Eleanor’s Cross. [a/][50a] The field of battle is now occupied by beautiful plantations, pleasure-grounds, and a portion of the park of Edward Bouverie, Esq., [50b] formerly part of the meadows before mentioned; and the railway from Northampton to Peterborough, passes over one side of them.
The mansion of Delapré Abbey stands upon the site of the old abbey of that name, and some portions of the walls, and two or three small arches or doorways, of the old abbey, are yet to be seen, in the interior of the present mansion.
As the meadows are skirted by the river Nen, which flows on the south side of Northampton, and separates the town from them, it follows, that when the Lancastrians marched out of the town, and took up a position in the meadows, and had the town and river close to them in their rear, they faced to the southward.
As the Yorkists marched from London, and proceeded to a place between Towcester and Northampton, it appears pretty certain that they advanced by Blisworth, and by the present turnpike road, and passed close to the beautiful and interesting monument of antiquity, Queen Eleanor’s Cross, which stands not much more than a mile from Northampton. The land is rather elevated in the vicinity of the cross, and slopes down to the mansion of Delapré Abbey, and to the park and pleasure-grounds belonging to it; and the Yorkists would naturally face to the northward, when attacking the Lancastrians. I was unable to learn, upon inquiry, that any relics of the battle had been dug up upon the field; and, as it is now part of the park and pleasure-grounds, the probability of the discovery of them by any excavations, ploughing, or digging, is consequently much diminished.
The victory was productive of most important advantages to the Yorkists. The Lancastrians were dismayed by the loss of the battle, the captivity of King Henry, and the deaths of so many of their leaders; and the defenders of the Tower of London, straitened by the want of provisions, surrendered immediately. The Duke of York, [51] who was in Ireland when the battle was fought, hearing of its successful result, returned to London; and although he did not succeed in getting himself recognised as King of England, he was declared by Parliament to be Henry’s successor; besides which, without waiting for Henry’s death, he was at once intrusted with the power, though not the title, of King; for he was appointed Protector and Regent of the whole realm.
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 on the 2nd of December, 1460, with a small army, and proceeded into Yorkshire, whilst his eldest son, Edward Earl of March, afterwards King Edward IV., went into Herefordshire, and to the borders of Wales, to levy a large body of forces, in order to assist his father, [53d] and intended to follow him with an army, to his castle of Sandal, near Wakefield.
On Christmas Eve, the Duke of York took up his position, at Sandal; and his friends, retainers, and tenants, speedily began to assemble around him. Margaret marched with diligence from York, [54a] with the Duke of Exeter, [54b] the Duke of Somerset, [54c] the Earl of Devonshire, [55] the Earl of Wiltshire, [56a] Lord Clifford, [56b] Lord Roos, [56c] the Earl of Northumberland, [57] and many of the knights and gentry of the northern parts, at the head of about 18,000 men, and advanced before Sandal, with the object of attacking him before his forces were fully mustered. It is certain that the Duke of York’s army was much inferior in numbers, and some accounts state, that he was only at the head of 5000 men. It is said that he was advised by his officers, in a council of war, not to risk an engagement, until his son Edward could arrive with the Welsh march-men. Several reasons have been conjectured, why the Duke of York came to the fatal conclusion, to hazard the chances of a battle; but it is very probable, that the true reason may be found, in the impossibility of provisioning a considerable body of troops, in the depth of winter, at Sandal, when no previous preparation had been made for them; or that he was ignorant of the great disproportion in numbers, between the two armies. Some of the historical accounts state, that he imagined that the main body of the Lancastrians who presented themselves and offered battle under the command of the Duke of Somerset, constituted all the army with which he had to fight, and that he was not aware of the fact, that there were other bodies of troops on each of its flanks, but at some distance, and concealed from his observation, one commanded by the Earl of Wiltshire, and the other by Lord Clifford. It is not, however, very easy to understand, how it could be possible, with the advantage of overlooking the flat country occupied by the Lancastrians, that two considerable bodies of them could be so placed, as to be near enough to assist the main body, without being observed by him.