Rout of Ludford Bridge

Rout of Ludford Bridge
	Part of theWars of the Roses
Date	12 October 1459
Location	ByLudfordBridge, south ofLudlow,inShropshire,England52°21′49.5″N2°43′8″W/ 52.363750°N 2.71889°W
Result	Lancastrian victory
Belligerents
House of Lancaster	House of York
Commanders and leaders
Henry VI; Duke of Buckingham	Duke of York; Earl of Salisbury; Earl of Warwick
Strength
Perhaps 12,000–15,000	Perhaps 6,000–8,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown
	class=notpageimage\|Location within Shropshire

TheRout of Ludford Bridgewas a largely bloodless confrontation fought in the early years of theWars of the Roses.It took place on 12 October 1459, and resulted in a setback for theYorkists.Although this seemed to be a triumph for the rivalLancastriansat the time, they had thrown away their advantage within six months.

Background

In the first pitched battle of the wars, theFirst Battle of St Albansin 1455, Richard of York, backed by his brother in law theEarl of Salisburyand Salisbury's son theEarl of Warwick,had eliminated most of his rivals at court. He reaffirmed his allegiance to the (Lancastrian) King,Henry VIand was reappointedLord Protector,until February 1456. However, Henry's Queen,Margaret of Anjou,suspected that Richard ultimately intended to supplant her infant sonEdward of Westminster, Prince of Walesand become King himself. She continually plotted and agitated against Richard and the Nevilles (the Earls of Salisbury and Warwick).^[3]She was supported by several nobles, many of them the sons of York's opponents who had died at St. Albans.

The renewed outbreak of open warfare was precipitated by some high-handed actions by Warwick, who held the post ofCaptain of Calais.Late in 1458, he had led ships from Calais in attacks on merchant ships fromLübeckandSpain,on obscure grounds of acknowledgement of English sovereignty in the Channel, to secure plunder to pay his garrison. Though these actions infuriated the royal court, they were popular among the merchants, particularly inLondonandKent,as they removed competitors for English trade withFlanders.When Warwick was summoned to London to explain his actions before the King's council, there was violence between Warwick's retinue and the royal household. Warwick claimed that his life had been threatened and he returned to Calais with any charges unanswered.^[4]^[5]

Margaret took this to be open defiance of Henry's authority. She had long before persuaded Henry to move the court from London to theMidlands,where her supporters had the most influence. They began mustering their forces, and summoned a council to be held inCoventryon 24 June 1459. York, Salisbury and Warwick himself feared that they would be arrested for treason if they went to their opponents' heartland, and refused to attend. They were quickly indicted for rebellion.^[6]

The Yorkist forces began the campaign dispersed over the country. York himself was atLudlowin theWelsh Marches,Salisbury was atMiddleham CastleinNorth Yorkshireand Warwick was at Calais. As Salisbury and Warwick marched to join the Duke of York, Margaret ordered a force under theDuke of Somersetto intercept Warwick and another underJames Tuchet, 5th Baron Audleyto intercept Salisbury. Warwick successfully evaded Somerset, while Audley's forces were routed at the bloodyBattle of Blore Heath.

Battle

Ludford Bridge with Lower Broad Street leading to Ludlow's Broad Gate.

Even after this defeat, the forces available to Henry and Margaret outnumbered the Yorkist combined armies by two to one. The Yorkist army tried to move towards London, but found their path blocked by the Lancastrian army with King Henry himself nominally at its head, and fell back toWorcester.Here, the Duke of York attendedmassin the cathedral before sending written protestations of his loyalty to Henry. These were ignored.^[7]

The Yorkists retreated towards Ludlow, before making a stand at a fortified position nearLudford, Shropshireon 12 October. Their troops excavated a defensive ditch in a field on the opposite side of theRiver Temefrom Ludlow, near the bridge which gave the battle its name. They also constructed barricades of carts in which cannon were emplaced. However, morale was low, not least because the royal standard could be seen flying in the Lancastrian army, and it was known that King Henry himself was present, in full armour. For much of his reign, Henry had been regarded as an ineffectual ruler, and he had even lapsed into madness for periods of several months at a time. Richard of York and his supporters had maintained that they were opposed only to Henry's "evil counsellors". Now they realised that their army would probably refuse to fight against an army which included Henry himself.^[8]Henry and theDuke of Buckingham,in command of the royal army, proclaimed the offer of a pardon to any who would change sides.^[9]

Among the troops brought by Warwick from Calais were 600 men led byAndrew Trollope,an experienced soldier. During the night, Trollope and his men and others from the Yorkist forces defected to the Lancastrians.^[10]Faced with certain defeat, York, Salisbury, and Warwick announced that they were returning to Ludlow for the night. They then abandoned their armies and fled intoWales.^[11]

At dawn on 13 October, the leaderless Yorkist troops knelt in submission before Henry, and were pardoned. York had abandoned not only his troops but also his wifeCecily Neville, Duchess of York,his two younger sonsGeorgeandRichardand his youngest daughterMargaret.By popular account, they were found standing at the Ludlow Market Cross when the Lancastrians arrived. They were placed in the care of the Duchess's sisterAnne,wife of the Duke of Buckingham. The Lancastrian troops proceeded to plunder Ludlow, becoming drunk on looted wine and committing many outrages.^[8]

Aftermath

Richard, Duke of York, portrayed in a stained glass window atSt Laurence's Church, Ludlow.The town still bears the House of York's roses in its crest.

York, with his second sonEdmund, Earl of Rutland,made his way toIrelandwhere he had previously been Lieutenant of Ireland, and still had support from the Irish parliament. Salisbury, Warwick, and York's eldest sonEdward, Earl of Marchwent to South Wales, where Warwick had estates and supporters. There they took a ship, also intending to reach Ireland, but were blown across theBristol Channelto theWest Countrywhere a supporter, SirJohn Dynham,loaned them a boat which took them to Calais.^[12]On 9 October, King Henry had appointed the Duke of Somerset to replace Warwick as Captain of Calais. However, Warwick was able to forestall him, possibly only by hours. Under Warwick's uncle,Lord Fauconberg,the garrison and city still supported Warwick.^[13]

King Henry and his army meanwhile returned to Coventry, where a Parliament packed with Queen Margaret's supportersattaintedYork, Salisbury and Warwick and their remaining supporters. However, it proved impossible for theEarl of Wiltshire,who was appointed Lieutenant of Ireland in Richard of York's place, to raise troops to oust York from Ireland. Somerset was able to land near Calais and captured the nearby castle ofGuînesbut was twice repulsed when he tried to capture Calais from Warwick.^[14]Warwick was able to sail to Ireland, evading the royal ships commanded by theDuke of Exeter,to concert plans with the Duke of York.

Although it had appeared that the country had been united behind King Henry at the time of the Rout of Ludford Bridge, within a short time the behaviour of Henry's court had prompted many complaints that Lancastrian favourites were enriching themselves at the expense of the King and populace, and were failing to prevent the spread of lawlessness. It was these grievances which Richard of York had first used as pretext to take arms against Henry's court in the early 1450s. Within six months of the confrontation, Warwick was able to land atSandwichin Kent, with popular support from London and the south east of England. He then marched into the Midlands and, aided by treachery in the Lancastrian army, he captured King Henry at theBattle of Northampton.

Notes

^The village of Ludford was inHerefordshirein 1459; the bridge crossed the county boundary.

Footnotes

^Hodges 1984,p. 293.
^Hodges 1984,pp. 289, 293.
^Rowse, pp.136-137.
^Rowse, p.139
^Trevor Royle,The Road to Bosworth Field,(Little, Brown, 2009), 239-240.
^Royle, p.240
^Royle, p.242
^^a ^bRoyle, p.244
^Weir, p.229
^Carpenter, Christine (1997).The Wars of the Roses: Politics and the Constitution in England, C.1437-1509.Cambridge University Press. p. 146.ISBN 9780521318747.
^John Gillingham,The Wars of the Roses,(Louisiana State University Press, 1981), 105.
^Clark, K.L. (2016).The Nevills of Middleham: England's most powerful family in the Wars of the Roses.Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. p. 202.ISBN 978-0-7509-6365-7.
^Rowse, p.140
^Royle, p.247

References

Hodges, Geoffrey (1984)."The Civil War of 1459 to 1461 in the Welsh Marches part 1: The Rout of Ludford Bridge, 12–13 October 1459"(PDF).The Ricardian.6(84):286–293.ISSN 0048-8267.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 16 June 2021.Retrieved9 November2019.
Rowse, A.L.(1966).Bosworth Field & the Wars of the Roses.Wordsworth Military Library.ISBN 1-85326-691-4.
Royle, Trevor (2009).The Road to Bosworth Field.London: Little, Brown.ISBN 978-0-316-72767-9.
Weir, Alison (1998).Lancaster and York: the Wars of the Roses.Pimlico.ISBN 0-7126-6674-5.

[1] The village of Ludford was inHerefordshirein 1459; the bridge crossed the county boundary.

[FOOTNOTEHodges1984293-2] Hodges 1984,p. 293.

[FOOTNOTEHodges1984289,_293-3] Hodges 1984,pp. 289, 293.

[4] Rowse, pp.136-137.

[5] Rowse, p.139

[6] Trevor Royle,The Road to Bosworth Field,(Little, Brown, 2009), 239-240.

[7] Royle, p.240

[8] Royle, p.242

[Royle244-9] Royle, p.244

[10] Weir, p.229

[11] Carpenter, Christine (1997).The Wars of the Roses: Politics and the Constitution in England, C.1437-1509.Cambridge University Press. p. 146.ISBN 9780521318747.

[12] John Gillingham,The Wars of the Roses,(Louisiana State University Press, 1981), 105.

[13] Clark, K.L. (2016).The Nevills of Middleham: England's most powerful family in the Wars of the Roses.Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. p. 202.ISBN 978-0-7509-6365-7.

[14] Rowse, p.140

[15] Royle, p.247

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