On this day in 1485 – Battle of Bosworth

Henry Tudor had spent most of his life living in exile in France with his uncle, Jasper. Henry became a figurehead for the Lancastrians cause in the Wars of the Roses. Henry and Jasper set sail from Harfleur on 1^st August 1485 and landed on at Mill Bay, Dale in Wales on 7^th August 1485.

Henry and his army set up camp at the newly captured Dale Castle upon their landing few Welsh joined Tudor’s army as it set off on its march inland. The army set off towards Haverfordwest and Pembrokeshire. As the army moved King Richard III lieutenant in South Wales, Sir Walter Herbert failed to move the King’s army against Henry and eventually two of Herbert’s men, Richard Griffith and Evan Morgan defected to Henry’s army. As the army progressed another Welsh figure, Rhys Fawr ap Maredudd also joined Henry.

Henry began his march towards Aberystwyth but before he did he was able to persuade Rhys ap Thomas, King Richard’s Lieutenant in West Wales to join his side and set him on a southerly route to gather more Welshmen to the army. They would later reunite at Welshpool. By the 16^th August Henry’s army crossed into England at Shrewsbury.

News of Henry’s arrival on Welsh soil reached King Richard on 11^th August but there was a delay in messengers notifying of the King’s plans but finally on 16^th August the Yorkist army began to gather with armies setting off for a meeting point at Leicester.

Henry’s route from Dale to Bosworth

With Henry Tudor taking the town of Shrewsbury and the army rested they set out once again eastwards picking up more and more followers and deserters from Richard’s army. Henry’s army slowly moved towards Staffordshire, Henry was delaying the inevitable meeting with Richard and his army. Henry’s decision to slow his army down was a tactical one as he wanted to gain more supporters; in particularly he was hoping to recruit his step father Lord Stanley to his cause.

Henry had two secret meetings with Stanley as he continued marching his army towards London. The second of these meetings was at Atherstone, Warwickshire. The Stanley’s would not commit either way as was typical of the Stanley family, they always assured that they had a member of the family on the winning side.

On 20^th August Richard arrived in Leicester and was informed that Henry and his army were nearby. Richard instructed his army to march west and to cut the Tudor army off before they reached London. Richard’s army moved past Sutton Cheney towards Ambion Hill where they camped for the night. Meanwhile the following night Lord Stanley’s army camped on a hill nearby north of Dadlington and Henry and his army camped at White Moors.

On the morning of 22^nd August Richard’s Yorkist army, which stood at approximately 10,000 men, left Ambion Hill. The army were separated into three clear groups; Norfolk led the first to the right protecting the 1,200 archers and cannons, Richard was in the middle that comprised of 3,000 infantry and finally on the left was Northumberland with 4,000 men. From Ambion Hill Richard could see the Stanleys and their army of 6,000 men, a concern for Richard as no one knew who Stanley or his brother would fight for.

Meanwhile, at White Moors Henry was readying his army. The Tudor army consisted of approximately 5,000 men Henry’s army consisted of less than 1,000 Englishmen and many of those had deserted Richard’s army. The rest of the army consisted of approximately 1,800 Frenchmen and some Scottish; the remainder were recruits that were picked up along their route in Wales include a vast amount of troops courtesy of Rhys ap Thomas.

As Henry’s troops began their march towards Ambion Hill it is believed that they passed a marsh at the southwestern part of the hill, meanwhile Richard sent a messenger to Lord Stanley ordering him to send his army to attack Henry and if he did not Richard would have Stanley’son, Lord Strange, executed. Stanley simply replied that he had more sons and with that Richard ordered the execution but the officers delayed. At the same time Stanley was being asked to declare for Henry but still Stanley delayed.

Henry handed control of the army over to the Earl of Oxford and retired with his body guards to the rear of the army, Henry had little military action and so relied on someone who was experienced in battle. Oxford decided to keep the army together instead of following Richard’s example of splitting the army into three. Oxford ordered the troops to go no further than 10 feet from the banners. The large army was flanked by horsemen on either side of the line.

Henry’s army were fired at by Richard’s cannons as they made their way around the marsh once they were clear Norfolk and the right flank began to advance and began firing arrows at the advancing Tudor army. Norfolk was at a disadvantage so Richard ordered Northumberland to send his troops in to assist but Northumberland failed to move.

With Henry’s army having the advantage Henry rode to muster Stanley into battle, Richard seeing this led a charge into Henry’s group where Richard killed Henry’s standard bearer, Sir William Brandon and even unhorsed John Cheyne, the former standard bearer of King Edward IV. The remainder of Henry’s bodyguards surrounded Henry and kept him out of the way of Richard’s group. Seeing Henry and his men engaged in battle with Richard caused Stanley to lead his men into battle to support Henry. The new development meant that Richard’s army was now outnumbered and slowly began being pushed back towards the marsh, during this Richard’s standard bearer Sir Percival Thirwell was cut down but kept holding the Yorkist banner until he was killed.

The Battle of Bosworth recreation

It was reported by Polydore Vergil, who was the official historian of Henry VII, wrote;

“Richard had come within a sword’s length of Henry Tudor before being surrounded by Sir William Stanley’s men and killed. The Burgundian chronicler Jean Molinet says that a Welshman struck the deathm blow with a halberd while Richard’s horse was stuck in the marshy ground. It was said that the blows were so violent that the King’s helmet was driven into his skull. The contemporary Welsh poet Guto’r Glyn implies the leading Welsh Lancastrian Rhys ap Thomas, or one of his men, killed the king, writing that he ‘killed the boar, shaved his head.”

With the news of Richard’s death spreading around the battle the Yorkist army fled with Northumberland escaping the battle alive but Norfolk was captured and killed.

The site of the Battle of Bosworth

With Henry Tudor victorious and the battle over it is believed that Lord Stanley found Richard’s circlet in a hawthorn bush (this has never been proven nor disproven) and crowned Henry on Crown Hill near Stoke Golding. Around 100 of Henry’s men lost their lives compared to 1,000 of Richard’s men, the dead were taken to St James Church in Dadlington for burial, whilst Richard was stripped naked and thrown over the back of a horse and carried towards Leicester where he was put on display for the public to see that the old King was dead. Richard was then taken to the church of the Greyfriars where he was buried in an unmarked small grave where he would lie until he was discovered in 2012 and reinterred at Leicester Cathedral in 2015.

King Richard’s grave

Back in 1485 Henry was proclaimed King Henry VII and dismissed his army only retaining a small group that he called the ‘Yeomen of his Garde’. He instantly called on Parliament to reverse the attainder that had been passed in his name and had the reign of Richard declared as illegal, this decision also reversed Richard’s decision to declare the children of King Edward IV as illegitimate therefore restoring Elizabeth to the title of Princess and making their forthcoming marriage easier. Henry also dated his reign from the day before the battle making anybody that fought for Richard traitors.

With the death of Richard saw the end of the Plantagenet dynasty and the beginning of the Tudors.

The standards of Richard and Henry at the Bosworth visitor centre

On this day in 1443 – Margaret Beaufort was born

Margaret Beaufort is considered the matriarch of the Tudor dynasty who worked tirelessly to put her son, Henry, on the throne but her life was not always that easy. She was born on 31^st May 1443 at Bletsoe Castle, Bedfordshire to Margaret Beauchamp and John Beaufort. Margaret’s father was the great grandson of King Edward III through his third son, John of Gaunt and his mistress (and later wife) Katherine Swynford.

Upon Margaret’s first birthday, with her father dead and Margaret now a wealthy heiress, her wardship was given to William de la Pole, 1^st Duke of Suffolk. It was here that her first marriage was arranged to William’s son John de la Pole, it is unsure whether this was a marriage or just a betrothal between the two young children. It is believed that the betrothal/wedding took place in 1444 but just three years later King Henry VI dissolved the union and Margaret’s wardship passed to Jasper and Edmund Tudor.

Henry VI arranged for Margaret to be married to his half brother, Edmund Tudor and on 1^st November 1455 at the age of 12 she married the 24 year old Edmund. After less than a year of being married Edmund was taken prisoner by Yorkist troops and was imprisoned at Carmarthen Castle dying from the plague months later. He left Margaret a widow at the age of 13 and seven months pregnant.

On 28^th January 1457 at Pembroke Castle Margaret gave birth to her son, Henry Tudor, in a labour that jeopardised the life of both mother and child. It is believed that she was too young and too slim to withhold the traumas of labour and it is likely this damaged her ability to have further children. Margaret and her new son remained in Pembroke until the castle was given to Lord Herbert of Raglan, a Yorkist. Margaret was son separated from her son who remained in Wales and eventually exiled to France for many years until he returned to win the throne at the Battle of Bosworth.

Margaret, now 14, was married to Sir Henry Stafford on 3^rd January 1458 due to the couple being second cousins a Papal dispensation was required before they could marry which was granted on 6^th April 1457. In 1471 Stafford was fatally wounded at the Battle of Barnet and although he returned to his home he died, leaving Margaret a widow again at the age of 28.

A year later in 1472, Margaret married Thomas Stanley in a marriage of convenience. The marriage allowed Margaret to return to the York court of Edward IV and later Richard III. She served both Elizabeth Woodville and Anne Neville in their roles as Queen. Despite the close position to Queen Anne, Margaret was under constant suspicion regarding her son who was considered the Lancastrian heir to the throne. As such King Richard III stripped Margaret of all titles and estates and placed her into the custody of her husband.

During her time under house arrest Margaret was in contact with the Dowager Queen allegedly plotting the downfall of King Richard III. Following the death of the Princes in the Tower the two women agreed that Henry would marry Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of King Edward IV.

Henry Tudor landed in Dale, Wales in 1485 and marched towards King Richard III and the Battle of Bosworth where Henry was victorious. Margaret was now the mother to the King of England, a position she had fought for since Henry was a child.

In 1499, with the permission of Stanley, Margaret took a vow of chastity in the presence of the Bishop of London. Margaret moved away from her husband and lived at Collyweston although her husband visited her she renewed her vows in 1504.

Margaret helped establish many new schools including in 1502 the Lady Margaret’s Professorship of Divinity at Cambridge University. In 1505 Margaret enlarged and renamed God’s Church, Cambridge as Christ’s College, Cambridge, here a copy of her signature can still be found carved into one of the buildings.

With Henry now on the throne Margaret was referred to as ‘My Lady the King’s Mother’ and during Henry’s first parliament he passed an act that would allow her to hold property independently from her husband. Despite Henry’s marriage to Elizabeth of York, Margaret styled herself as Queen Consort and spent many hours with Henry ruling the country. She also began signing her name Margaret R in order to show her royal significance.

When Henry VII died on 21^st April 1509 he made his mother chief executor of his will and she not only arranged her son’s funeral but also her grandson’s coronation. However, just months later on 29^th June 1509 Margaret herself died in the Deanery of Westminster Abbey. She is buried in the Henry VII Lady Chapel of the Abbey despite her will requesting for her to be buried with her son’s father, Edmund Tudor.

Margaret Beaufort’s influence can still be seen in modern Britain her heraldic badge can be seen across Westminster and Parliament.

On this day in 1497 – Catherine Woodville died

Catherine Woodville was born in 1458 to Richard Woodville, 1^st Earl Rivers and Jacquetta of Luxembourg. Making Catherine the sister to Elizabeth Woodville and sister-in-law to King Edward IV. Many of Elizabeth’s family were elevated into high ranks and Catherine was no different she was married to Henry Stafford, 2^nd Duke of Buckingham.

The Duke of Buckingham resented his marriage to Catherine and considered her to be of inferior birth; however, this did not stop the couple having four children together.

In 1469 with King Edward VI captured by the Earl of Warwick and imprisoned at Warwick Castle the Woodville family were targeted and Catherine along with her mother, Jacquetta and her sister were accused of using sorcery. Catherine denied all charges and was acquitted early in 1470 by a committee.

After the death of Edward VI, Buckingham aligned himself with Richard, Duke of Gloucester and helped him gain the throne to become King Richard III. Buckingham though was unhappy with Richard’s reign and he became turncoat to help Henry Tudor’s cause. Buckingham led an unsuccessful rebellion in 1483 and was executed as a traitor, leaving Catherine to raise four children with little money due to Buckingham being subject to attainder.

With Buckingham’s death, Catherine was left a widow and after the victory of Henry Tudor at Bosworth in 1485 she was married to the new King’s uncle, Jasper Tudor on 7^th November 1485. With her marriage to Jasper Tudor, Catherine’s life turned around, her wealth and lands restored to her with Buckingham’s attainder reversed. The newlyweds began the Duke and Duchess of Bedford.

Catherine began helping with preparations for her niece’s coronation and the morning after the coronation Catherine was sat to the left of the Queen, with Margaret Beaufort on the right. This showed just how highly regarded Catherine was in the new royal court.

Jasper Tudor died in 1495, after ten years of marriage and Catherine was then married to Richard Wingfield. The marriage was in secret and without the King’s permission. King Henry VII fined the couple £2,000 which would have been paid by Catherine’s son, Edward, the new Duke of Buckingham.

Catherine died on 18^th May 1497 and it is unknown where she was buried.

                               Catherine Woodville and Jasper Tudor stain glass window at Cardiff Castle

The origins of the Tudor dynasty.

The Tudor’s are one of history’s most famous families and their association with Wales stems back to their origins all the way to Henry Tudor landing in Dale to begin his march towards Bosworth and the crown.

The earliest Tudors date back to 1240 where they were landowners in Four Cantrels (later Denbigh) and later served Llywelyn ab lorwerth. Ednyfed Fychan, steward to the Prince, married a daughter of Lord Rhys and his sons also followed into representing the Prince of Gwynedd. One of these sons was Tudur ap Ednyfed (Tudur son of Ednyfed) whose service was rewarded with land in North Wales, where the Tudor dynasties origins begin.

When Edward I successes the English throne in 1272 he set his sights on conquering Wales and the descendants of Ednyfed saw that it would be more beneficial for them to support the new King. Their decision to switch sides paid off when Edward I took control of the country. However, not everyone in the family was happy with the new King and they joined a failed rebellion against the monarch. One of these rebels was Tudur Hen, Lord of Penmyndd, who quickly swore his allegiance to Edward of Caernarfon and when he died his land passed to his son Goronwy ap Tudur (Goronwy son of Tudur).

Tudur Hen had five sons, they all held positions of importance in North Wales. They were all loyal to the current King, Richard II and two of the brothers Rhys and Gwilym served the King in Ireland whilst on campaign. Richard II was deposed in 1399 by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, Henry IV. Unhappy with Richard II being usurped the Tudur’s cousin Owain Glyndwr initiated a Welsh uprising against the new King. At first the rebellion was a success with many Welsh lands gained, however in 1401 Henry Percy issued an amnesty to all Welsh rebels except Owain Glyndwr, Rhys ap Tudur and Gwilym ap Tudur. The Tudur brothers were later pardoned after they were captured at Conwy castle. The third Tudur brother Maredydd had his land confiscated and was removed from his positions.

Maredydd ap Tudur married Margaret ferch Thomas and they had a son named Owen ap Tudur ap Maredydd. In an attempt to turn the Tudur families fortunes around they moved to London and Owen, aged seven, was sent to the English court of Henry IV acting as a page. Owen now also went by the name Owen Tudor to make his sound more anglicised by having a surname. Owen also went on the serve Henry V and fought at Agincourt in 1415.

After the death of Henry V in 1422 Owen was appointed the keeper of the wardrobe to the Dowager Queen, Catherine of Valois. The story goes that they met and fell in love when he tripped over and fell into her lap, although this is unproven. The soon married, however it broke a law that stated that the King’s permission was required. Owen and Catherine had two sons, Edmund and Jasper who grew up in the court of their half brother Henry VI. They were granted the Earldoms of Richmond and Pembroke respectively and in return they remained loyal to the King and the House of Lancaster. Owen Tudor went on to lead Lancastrian armies during the Wars of the Roses and was ultimately captured during the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross by Edward, Earl of March (later Edward IV).

His sons Edmund and Jasper continued to fight for Henry VI. In 1455 Edmund was married to Lady Margaret Beaufort, descendant of John of Gaunt through his illegitimate children. Edmund Tudor died from the plague two months before his son was born. This child would grow up to become King Henry VII.

         Henry Tudor as King Henry VII and his mother Margaret Beaufort

During Henry VI’s reign, Jasper was charged with maintaining Lancastrian ties in Wales and also looked after his widowed sister in law and her infant, Henry. Upon Edward IV’s ascension and the rise of the House of York, Jasper remained loyal to Henry VI and his Queen Margaret of Anjou. Once Henry VI was captured and murdered and the Lancastrian cause temporarily lost. Jasper fled from Tenby, Wales with the young Henry and they fled to Brittany in order to keep Henry safe. Jasper taught and trained Henry. Jasper was always gaining support for the Lancastrian claim to the throne whilst Henry’s mother was promoting her son as the heir to the Lancastrian throne.

Jasper, Henry and 2000 men set sail from Harfleur, France on 1^st August 1485 and landed in Dale on the west coast of Wales. They marched towards Richard III’s army capturing town and gaining more and more supporters as they went finally meeting on Bosworth battlefield on the 22^nd August. Where Richard III was killed in battle and it saw the end of the Plantagenet rule and the rise of the Tudors to the throne.

           The winning Lancastrian army kneel down to their new King.