April 25th 1471: Coventry supports York
Glastonbury Tor: An unmissable Landmark
The Coventry Leet Book has an entry for April 25th:
Item; received a letter from Edward the son of Harry the VI the XXV day of April that was written at Chard the XViij day of April; the which was sent to King Edward and the messenger per-with to Abingdon.
The Lancastrians were on their journey from Cerne Abbey to Exeter on 18th April, and Prince Edward must have been writing letters at each stop along the way. He could not have known about the problems, and costs, which Coventry had been put to because of the Earl of Warwick’s long presence in the city. Coventry was no longer disposed towards helping Lancastrians. They had just paid the bill for the soldiers they’d sent to Barnet with Warwick, which had turned out to be a very poor investment. The mayor decided to back the other side and sent Prince Edward’s letter on to King Edward, to curry a little favour. The Leet Book doesn’t reveal the contents, unfortunately but it doubtless contained information which helped Edward and put them into his favour.
Meanwhile, the armies were slowly moving through the English countryside. Edward was in the Thames Valley; Margaret was crossing the Somerset levels, with the prominent landmark of Glastonbury Tor to guide her.