There has not been discovered, within the memory of man, any large trench or pit near Sandal Church, where it might reasonably be supposed that some of the slain would be interred, such as has been discovered at Battlefield Church, in consequence of the battle of Shrewsbury, and at Saxton Church, in consequence of the battle of Towton. [63]
Sandal Castle has not been an extensive one; and, except that its position was on an eminence, it was devoid of the natural advantages which many castles possess, such as being built on the margin of rivers, or the edges of steep precipices. All that now exists of it, consists of rather large mounds, on which the outworks and walls have stood; two shattered and not large fragments of the latter remain, but so imperfect, that it is not possible to ascertain of what part of the castle they originally formed a portion. The moat is tolerably perfect; indeed in one place, it contained water when I visited it, although the season was hot and dry. There is also a very large and high mount, in a considerable degree artificial, on which the keep has stood, almost encompassed by an inner moat, which is of considerable depth.
In the additions to Camden’s Britannia, it is stated, with reference to the death of the Duke of York, that the spot where he fell was enclosed with a triangular wall, including about a rood or ten feet, now converted into a garden, the owners being obliged to keep it hedged in; that a large stone cross raised on it, was demolished in the civil war; that here was found a large gold ring, supposed to have belonged to the duke, and given to Mr. Thoresby; on the sale of whose museum, Mr. Bartlet, who remembered the finding of it, bought it for two guineas; that within is engraved, “Pour bon amour,” and on the broad outside are “three saints.” [64a]
On the right side of the old road leading from Wakefield to Barnsley, which passes the castle, and is called Sandal Castle Lane, [64b] is a small field or close, of rather a triangular form, which is said to be the spot where the Duke of York fell. [64c] It will scarcely admit of any doubt, that this is the identical place which is mentioned in the addition to Camden’s Britannia, although there is not a vestige of the cross now left. As the place is rather nearer to the castle than to the field of battle, it is not unreasonable to infer that the Duke of York may have been mortally wounded, and have been removed to a little distance in the rear (the spot in question would be in the rear of the Yorkists’ army), or he may have endeavoured to escape, on finding that the day was against him, and may have been slain there in his flight. The strong probability is, that it is the place where he fell. The small field or close may easily be distinguished: it lies about a mile from Wakefield Bridge; and at a very trifling distance beyond the toll-bar, a little well will be remarked, in the hedge, on the right side of the old road to Barnsley; and about midway between the toll-bar and the well, the small field or close presents itself to view. It is remarkable for having two very old willows growing in the hedge adjoining the road; and more of them were not very long ago growing there. A small compartment of the field was, within the recollection of the recent vicar of Sandal, fenced off from the remainder of it, and planted with red and white roses, which must naturally be supposed to have been done to commemorate the battle, or the death of the Duke of York. [65a]
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.
(Near Mortimer’s Cross.)
The victory gained by the Lancastrians, at the battle of Wakefield, seemed at the first view, to decide the fate of the adverse party. Richard Duke of York, the claimant to the throne, and the leader of the Yorkists, was slain; Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, was wounded, taken prisoner, and afterwards beheaded at Pontefract; and the army of which they were commanders, was completely destroyed. A most formidable enemy, however, soon presented himself to notice. Edward Earl of March, [67b] the eldest son of the Duke of York, was considered by great numbers of persons, as the rightful heir to the throne of England; he was descended from the Mortimers, Earls of March, and had claims to the crown, from his descent through his mother’s side, from Lionel Duke of Clarence, third son of Edward III., through Philippa (the only daughter and heiress of the Duke of Clarence), who married Roger Mortimer, third Earl of March and Lord of Wigmore; besides which, he was also descended from Edward III. in another manner, because his great-grandfather, Edmund of Langley, was the fifth son of Edward III. He was a young man whose personal appearance and manners were very prepossessing; he gained the hearts of men in a warlike age, by his courage and excellence in martial exercises; and his noble and powerful alliances, combined with his lineal descent from the great families of Plantagenet and Mortimer, had a potent influence in his favour, with vast numbers of all ranks; besides which, he was young, talented, and daring, and was well qualified under those circumstances to fight his way to a throne.
At the time when his father perished at Wakefield, Edward was occupied, by the direction of the former, in raising forces in the marches and the borders of Wales: a district where he had immense patrimonial possessions, and where the circumstance of his being of the lineage of the Mortimers, gave him great sway and influence. He was at Gloucester when he received the account of his father’s death. After having raised a large army, which some writers have stated to have amounted to as many as 23,000 men, he prepared to march against Queen Margaret, and avenge the death of his father.
Edward had, according to the accounts given by several of the old historians, proceeded as far as Shrewsbury, when he received tidings, that James Butler, Earl of Wiltshire, [69a] and Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, [69b] half brother to King Henry the Sixth, had assembled a large army of Welsh and Irish, in order to attack him; and Edward, in consequence of that intelligence, [72a] was induced to return promptly in order to encounter them.
The two hostile armies met and fought, on Candlemas Day, the 2nd of February, 1461, [72b] in the parish of Kingsland, in Herefordshire, between Leominster and Wigmore, not far from East Hereford, and very near Mortimer’s Cross; [72c] from which place the battle acquired its name.