(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.