The Wars of the Roses
The Battles
The map below shows the key battles of the Wars of the Roses, with the roses indicating either a Yorkist or Lancastrian victory. To find out more about a particular battle, click on the relevant rose which will take you to a brief summary of that battle. The map can be zoomed in and out of by clicking on the + or – boxes provided, or by scrolling in and out using your mouse.
A variety of sources have been used to write the battle summaries but readers should be aware that sources for some of the battles are scant, and in some instances virtually non-existent, so much of what is written about them – both here and in other secondary sources – is conjecture based on what is available. These battles – perhaps more than any other aspect of this period of history – demonstrate the difficulties any historian faces in trying to recapture the past and emphasises the need to read as many contemporary and near contemporary sources as possible, in order to provide a hypothesis of what actually happened.
In the summary list below (presented in chronological order) you will see that each battle has a link, which will take you to a separate and more detailed description of that battle.
Each more detailed battle section has its own further reading list, in addition to the extensive bibliography for the Wars of the Roses. The Society’s Barton Library holds copies of many of the books, papers, and leaflets recommended in the further reading lists, and is thus a unique source for material on this period in history.
‘(ex)’ after a name in the ‘casualties’ means the person in question was ‘captured or arrested and subsequently executed’.
The First Battle of St Albans
Date: 22nd May 1455
Battle Site: fought in the town of St Albans, Hertfordshire.
York
Leaders in Battle: Duke of York, Earl of Warwick.
Lancaster
Leaders in Battle: King Henry VI, Duke of Buckingham, Duke of Somerset, Earl of Northumberland, Lord Clifford.
Casualties: Duke of Somerset, Earl of Northumberland, Lord Clifford.
VICTOR – YORK
For more details on the battle see here
Yorkist victory
The Battle of Blore Heath
Date: 23rd September 1459
Battle Site: Staffordshire, the site crosses the modern A53, Newcastle-under Lyme to Market Drayton Road, about 3 miles east of the latter.
York
Leaders in Battle: Earl of Salisbury.
Two of Salisbury’s sons were captured – Sir Thomas and Sir John Neville.
Lancaster
Leaders in Battle: Lord Audley, Lord Dudley.
Casualties: Lord Audley, Sir William Troutbeck, Sir Hugh Venables, Sir John Donne.
VICTOR – YORK
For more details on the battle see here
Yorkist victory
The Rout of Ludford Bridge
Date: 12th – 13th October 1459
Battle Site: Shropshire, south of Ludlow, on bridge crossing the River Teme.
York
Leaders in Battle: Duke of York, Earl of Salisbury, Earl of Warwick, Earl of March, Earl of Rutland.
Lancaster
Leaders in Battle: King Henry VI, Duke of Buckingham.
VICTOR – LANCASTER
For more details on the battle see here
Lancastrian victory
The Battle of Northampton
Date: 10th July 1460
Battle Site: immediately south-east of Northampton and south of Delapre Abbey.
York
Leaders in Battle: Earl of Warwick, Earl of March.
Lancaster
Leaders in Battle: King Henry VI, Duke of Buckingham, Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord Grey of Ruthyn.
Casualties: Duke of Buckingham, Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord Egremont, Lord Beaumont.
VICTOR – YORK
For more details on the battle see here
Yorkist victory
The Battle of Wakefield
Date: 30th December 1460
Battle Site: Sandal, West Yorkshire, about 1.5 miles south-east of Wakefield.
York
Leaders in Battle: Duke of York, Earl of Salisbury, Earl of Rutland.
Casualties: Duke of York, Earl of Salisbury (ex), Earl of Rutland, Sir Thomas Neville, Sir Thomas Harrington, Sir Thomas Parre, Sir Hugh Mortimer, Sir John Mortimer.
Lancaster
Leaders in Battle: Duke of Somerset, Earl of Northumberland, Earl of Devon, Lord Clifford, Lord Roos.
VICTOR – LANCASTER
For more details on the battle see here
Lancastrian victory
The Battle of Mortimer's Cross
Date: 2nd or 3rd February 1461
Battle Site: Hereford and Worcester, approximately 4.5 miles north-west of Leominster, to the west of the modern A4410.
York
Leaders in Battle: Earl of March, Sir William Hastings, Sir William Herbert, Walter Devereux.
Lancaster
Leaders in Battle: Earl of Pembroke, Earl of Wiltshire, Owen Tudor, Sir John Throckmorton.
Casualties: Owen Tudor (ex), Sir John Throckmorton (ex).
VICTOR – YORK
For more details on the battle see here
Yorkist victory
The Second Battle of St Albans
Date: 17th February 1461
Battle Site: the town of St Albans, Hertfordshire, Barnard’s Heath, and Sandridge.
York
Leaders in Battle: Earl of Warwick, Earl of Arundel, Duke of Norfolk, Lord Montagu, Earl of Suffolk.
Casualties: Lord Bonville (ex), Sir Thomas Kyriell (ex).
Lancaster
Leaders in Battle: Duke of Exeter, Duke of Somerset, Earl of Devon, Earl of Oxford, Earl of Shrewsbury, Earl of Northumberland, Earl of Westmorland.
VICTOR – LANCASTER
For more details on the battle see here
Lancastrian victory
The Battles of Ferrybridge and Towton
Date: 28th – 29th March 1461
Battle Site (Towton): between Towton and Saxton, North Yorkshire, between the modern A162 and B1217.
York
Leaders in Battle: King Edward IV, Duke of Norfolk, Earl of Warwick, Lord Fauconberg, Lord Montagu.
Casualties: Lord Fitzwalter.
Lancaster
Leaders in Battle: Duke of Somerset, Earl of Northumberland, Lord Clifford.
Casualties: Earl of Northumberland, Earl of Devon (ex), Earl of Wiltshire (ex), Lord Clifford, Lord Dacre, Sir Andrew Trollope, Lord Richemont-Gray, Lord Welles, Lord John Neville.
VICTOR – YORK
For more details on the battle see here
Yorkist victory
The Battle of Hedgeley Moor
Date: 25th April 1464
Battle Site: approximately 6 miles south-east of Wooler, Northumberland, east of the modern A697.
York
Leaders in Battle: John Neville, Lord Montagu.
Lancaster
Leaders in Battle: Duke of Somerset, Lord Roos, Lord Hungerford, Sir Ralph Percy.
Casualties: Sir Ralph Percy.
VICTOR – YORK
For more details on the battle see here
Yorkist victory
The Battle of Hexham
Date: 15th May 1464
Battle Site: OS site known as Hexham Levels is 2 miles south-east of Hexham, Northumberland. Alternative site is situated about one mile north-east, near Swallowship Hill.
York
Leaders in Battle: John Neville, Lord Montagu.
Lancaster
Leaders in Battle: Duke of Somerset, Lord Roos, Lord Hungerford.
Casualties: Duke of Somerset (ex), Lord Roos (ex), Lord Hungerford (ex), Sir Philip Wentworth, Sir William Tailboys.
VICTOR – YORK
For more details on the battle see here
Yorkist victory
The Battle of Edgcote
Date: 24th July 1469
Battle Site: site known as Danes Moor south-east of Edgcote, which is 5.5 miles north-east of Banbury, Oxfordshire.
York
Leaders in Battle: Earl of Pembroke, Earl of Devon, Sir Richard Herbert.
Casualties: Sir Thomas Vaughan, Earl of Pembroke (ex), Earl of Devon (ex), Sir Richard Herbert (ex).
Lancaster
Leaders in Battle: ‘Robin of Redesdale’, Sir Henry Neville, Sir Geoffrey Gates, Sir William Parr
Casualties: Sir Henry Neville.
VICTOR – LANCASTER
For more details on the battle see here
Lancastrian victory
The Battle of Empingham
Also known as The Battle of Losecote Field.
Date: 12th March 1470
Battle Site: Rutland, 2.5 miles north-east of Empingham, and just east of the Great North Road (the modern A1).
York
Leaders in Battle: King Edward IV.
Lancaster
Leaders in Battle: Sir Robert Welles, Sir Thomas de la Launde, Richard Wauren.
Casualties: Sir Robert Welles (ex), Sir Thomas de Launde (ex), Richard Wauren (ex).
VICTOR – YORK
For more details on the battle see here
Yorkist victory
The Battle of Barnet
Date: 14th April 1471
Battle Site: close to Hadley Wood, about 1 mile north-east of Barnet, Middlesex.
York
Leaders in Battle: King Edward IV, Duke of Gloucester, Duke of Clarence, William, Lord Hastings, Lord Cromwell, Sir Humphrey Bourchier.
Casualties: Lord Say and Sele.
Lancaster
Leaders in Battle: Earl of Warwick, Earl of Oxford, Marquess of Montagu.
Casualties: Earl of Warwick, Lord Montagu.
VICTOR – YORK
For more details on the battle see here
Yorkist victory
The Battle of Tewkesbury
Date: 4th May 1471
Battle Site: about 0.5 miles south of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.
York
Leaders in Battle: King Edward IV, Duke of Gloucester, Duke of Clarence, William, Lord Hastings.
Lancaster
Leaders in Battle: Edward Prince of Wales, Duke of Somerset.
Casualties: Edward Prince of Wales, Duke of Somerset (ex), Earl of Devon, Lord Wenlock, John Beaufort, Sir John Delves, Sir Robert Whittingham.
VICTOR – YORK
For more details of the battle see here
Yorkist victory
The Battle of Bosworth
Date: 22nd August 1485
Battle Site: Fenn Lane, 1 mile north west of Stoke Golding, Leicestershire.
York
Leaders in Battle: King Richard III, Duke of Norfolk, Earl of Northumberland.
Casualties: King Richard III, Duke of Norfolk, William Catesby (ex), Sir Richard Radcliffe, Sir Robert Brackenbury, Sir Robert Percy.
Lancaster
Leaders in Battle: Henry Tudor Earl of Richmond, Earl of Oxford, Jasper Tudor, Lord Stanley, Sir William Stanley, Philibert de Chandee.
Casualties: William Brandon.
VICTOR – LANCASTER
For more details of the battle see here
Lancastrian victory
The Battle of Stoke Field
Date: 16th June 1487
Battle Site: East Stoke, 5 miles south-west of Newark, Nottinghamshire.
York
Leaders in Battle: Earl of Lincoln, Martin Schwartz, Thomas FitzGerald.
Casualties: Earl of Lincoln, Martin Schwartz, Thomas FitzGerald.
Tudor
Leaders in Battle: King Henry VII, Earl of Oxford, Lord Strange.
VICTOR – Tudor/Lancastrian
For more details of the battle see here
Tudor/Lancastrian victory