Chapter Two: The North
A map of Medieval England during the Wars of the Roses, highlighting the lands held by the major noble families. Other versions of the map are available that highlight the estates of the House of York, the House of Lancaster, and both the Percy and Neville families. You can find these maps here.
Already, the North of England had proved to be the making point of the Yorkist regime, with the stunning victory at Towton taking place not too far from York. But with the Earl of Northumberland lurking further north in his string of castles along the Scottish border and King Henry VI in Scotland, it was clear that the North could just as easily be the breaking point of the House of York. Securing the North meant that the whole kingdom could be secured. To that end, Edward made his headquarters in Pontefract Castle in order to carry on the war against the Earl of Northumberland and secure his northern borders with the help of the Earl of Warwick. Meanwhile, he sent Edmund and the Duke of Norfolk south to raise more soldiers for the king’s campaigns, trusting the general governance of England to the Duke of Rutland while Edward and Warwick fought on against the Lancastrians.
Richard, Earl of Warwick was a member of the House of Neville, but only a member of the junior branch. A rivalry existed between Warwick’s branch and the senior branch, headed by Ralph, Earl of Westmoreland. This rivalry, called the Neville-Neville feud, originated when Warwick and Westmoreland’s grandfather, the 1st Earl of Westmoreland, had died and left the majority of his inheritance to the children of his second wife Joan Beaufort - these children included Warwick’s father, the late Earl of Salisbury, and Cecily Neville, the mother of King Edward and Edmund, Duke of Rutland. This left the children of the 1st Earl’s first wife Margaret Stafford with much less than they believed was fair. Thus, when the Wars of the Roses began, the senior branch supported the House of Lancaster. Sir Humphrey Neville, nephew of Ralph of Westmoreland, was captured after the Battle of Towton, and Edward planned on negotiating a settlement between the two Neville families. Since Humphrey’s father Thomas and uncle John (Westmoreland’s brothers) had been killed in the battles of the last few years, Humphrey was the senior representative of the mentally ill Westmoreland. With Humphrey Neville in Edward’s custody, Edward made the decision to release Humphrey from his captivity and invite him to negotiations to end the feud. Humphrey initially demanded that Warwick hand over the traditional Neville lands back to the senior branch, but Warwick outright refused to do this. Edward instead decided to promise Humphrey a large portion of Lancastrian estates - mostly drawn from those of the Percy family - in return for his service against the Lancastrians. He also suggested the possibility of a marriage alliance between the two Neville family branches, but this was to remain unspecified for now. Both Humphrey and Warwick found this agreement acceptable, and on 5th April 1461 Humphrey swore to fight for King Edward IV.
Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland was probably the most powerful man in the North of England, in control of an impressive array of border forts along the Scottish border, and a staunch supporter of the Lancastrian cause. It was therefore clear that when Northumberland escaped the bloodshed of Towton with his life and fled to his castle at Alnwick, he was going to pose a serious threat to the new king. Edward captured and released Northumberland's brother, Sir Ralph Percy, in an attempt to reconcile with Northumberland, but Ralph simply fled to Alnwick and joined his brother in plotting against the Yorkists. Their plans boiled over into rebellion on 5th May 1461, when an army of 6,000 gathered at Alnwick and denounced Edward IV as a rebel and a traitor to King Henry VI. They were soon joined by 1,000 Scottish troops led by Margaret of Anjou and Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, while Henry VI and Prince Edward stayed behind with the Lancastrian vanguard.
However, Edward IV was prepared for this first trial. Since Towton he had stayed at Pontefract Castle, gathering an army of about 7,000 men. He promptly marched further north from Pontefract with Warwick at his side to stamp out the Lancastrian invasion. They beat the Lancastrians back at Consett and again at Newbiggin, where they managed to capture Sir Ralph Percy. On 12th July, the two armies were preparing for battle at the town of Newcastle, on the River Tyne, when Edmund, Duke of Rutland arrived with an additional 4,000 soldiers. Interestingly, a handful of these men were placed under the command of one Sir John Grey. The Battle of Newcastle took place the next day, and it was a success for the Yorkists. They defeated the Scottish force led by the Earl of Argyll, who was seriously wounded by one of Warwick’s archers, but just managed to survive. The Scots retreated, and the Lancastrian leadership went with them – including the Earl of Northumberland. At the same time, Edward IV issued another pardon for all rebels who surrendered, which prompted most rebels (many of whom were just peasant conscripts) still alive to go home. In the aftermath of the rebellion, Northumberland was attainted by the November 1461 parliament, and his estates were shared out between Edward IV, Rutland and the senior Nevilles. Content with the end of the Neville-Neville feud, Edward also made Humphrey Neville Baron Egremont.
By 1462, with the North at least temporarily under control, Edward IV began to consider the topic of his foreign policy - in particular the topic of France. Opinion in his court was split between those, like Warwick, who favoured an alliance with France to bring about stability after the Hundred Years’ War, and others who believed that an alliance with France’s enemy, Burgundy, was a better idea due to the trade between England and Burgundy. For now, Edward was willing to listen to both sides of the debate, and sent Warwick to France to meet with King Louis XI to see what sort of alliance the French king would be willing to offer. While doing so was wise diplomatically, it did deprive the North of the Earl of Warwick, whose estates in the North were vast, allowing for yet another invasion from Scotland.
Northumberland again led this invasion, backed with 12,000 soldiers (many of whom were loaned to the Lancastrians by Mary of Guelders, mother and regent of King James III of Scotland) and crossed the border on 29th May 1462. With Warwick away, the Lancastrians expected to make light work of the North, anticipating being as far south as York by mid June. Thanks to Humphrey Neville and the Earl of Westmoreland, they were sorely mistaken. The Lancastrian advance was slowed down to a snail’s pace under constant harrying from Westmoreland’s troops. Edward IV raced north once more with just over 5,000 men, and together, the invasion was halted at the Battle of Stanhope on 26th June 1462. The Yorkist army scored an incredible victory at Stanhope. Over half the Lancastrian army was wiped out and high-value prisoners were taken – including Northumberland (who was executed, and his thirteen-year-old son Henry was arrested and incarcerated in the Tower of London) and the old king Henry VI (who was placed in the Tower of London alongside the young Henry Percy). The remaining Lancastrians (Margaret of Anjou, Edward of Westminster and Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset) then fled to France. As well as scoring another military victory over the Lancastrian forces, the Battle of Stanhope saw the people of the North begin warming to King Edward. By defeating the Scottish marauders in an impressive display of force, the image of Edward IV as the Soldier King of England was born in the North.
