The Battle of Blore Heath

23rd September 1459

Result of Battle – Yorkist victory

Following the first battle of St Albans there were four years of peace but the political scene had now changed. Following the death of Somerset, the earls of Shrewsbury and Wiltshire and Viscount Beaumont became the dominant lords about the king. Henry VI’s queen, Margaret, also seems to have emerged as a power to be reckoned with. Despite attempts at reconciliation in 1458, political tensions ran high and the Yorkist lords felt sidelined. The Earl of Warwick’s policies as Captain of Calais were undermining royal policy and there may have been an attempt to assassinate him. One Yorkist source later reported that in 1459 York, Salisbury and Warwick were indicted at a Great Council at Coventry. If true, this would explain the descent into military conflict once more. The Yorkists were geographically dispersed, with the York at Ludlow, Salisbury in Middleham and Warwick in Calais. The armies of the king moved from Nottingham westwards but a force commanded by Lord Audley (recruited within the earldom of Chester, which was part of the Prince of Wales’s estates) was in a position to intercept Salisbury who was moving south towards Ludlow.

The resultant encounter took place at Blore Heath on open ground chosen by Audley to give him full advantage of his superior numbers and cavalry. When Salisbury saw the size of the opposing army, about 9 – 10,000 men, and double the size of his own, he decided to take up a defensive position. He occupied a strong position with a stream in front of him, his left flank was protected by woods and his right by a laager of wagons (a wagon-fort). Even so, Audley ordered his cavalry to attack, perhaps because he thought the Yorkists were about to retreat. As the Lancastrian cavalry charged, the Yorkist archers shot at the horses and followed with an infantry charge to finish off the cavalry. Audley responded with a second charge which was dealt with in the same way by the Yorkists. Finally Audley threw in his own infantry, supported by his remaining cavalry, and a fierce mêlée took place during which Audley was killed. Demoralised by their cavalry loses and their lack of progress against the Yorkists, the leaderless Lancastrians broke their line and fled. Salisbury gave pursuit and cut down many of the fleeing Lancastrians before continuing to Ludlow and the rendezvous with his brother-in-law, York and son, Warwick.

Further Reading

• ‘Cheshiremen at Blore Heath: A Swan Dive’ by James L. Gillespie in People Politics and Community in the Later Middle Ages edited by J. Rosenthal and Colin Richmond, Sutton, 1987.
• The Battle of Blore Heath 1459, P. Griffith (ed), Paddy Griffiths Associates, 1995.
• ‘The Wars of the Roses Part One: The Battle of Blore Heath’ by Brian Jewell in Detector User, April 1984.
• The Battle of Blore Heath by F.R. Twemlow, 1912.

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