March 21st 1471: Safely to Sandal Castle

The ruins of Sandal Castle

Home of the Dukes of York since 1347; Site of the Battle of Wakefield in 1460

Edward’s ‘fellowship’ arrived safely at Wakefield and passed through the city to his castle at Sandal. Ten years earlier this had been the scene of a massacre of the Yorkist leadership by Lancastrian forces. His father and, ironically, Warwick’s father had both died there. His younger brother Edmund was killed whilst fleeing, allegedly by John Clifford in one of those family feuds which characterised the period.

Their safe, unchallenged, arrival was unexpected. Edward would have been well informed of the movements of Warwick’s messengers and the presence of armed groups around all the towns in the area, especially the Marquis of Montagu in Pontefract. The author of the Arrivall tried to explain it:

And other right great cause why the Marquis made not a fellowship against him for to have troubled him [was] , for though all the Kings [fellowship] at that season were not many in number, yet they were so habiled, and so well piked men, and, in their work they had on hand, so willed, that it had bene right hard to right-a-great fellowship, much greater than they, or greater than that the Marquis, or his friends, at that time, cowthe have made, or assembled, to have put the King and his said fellowship to any distress. And other cause [was,] where as he came through the country there, the people took an opinion, that if the people of the countries wherethrough he had passed aforne, had owed him any manner of malice, or evil will, they would some what have shewed it when he was amongst them, but, inasmuch as no man had so done aforne, it was a declaration and evidence to all those by whom he passed after, that in all the other countries were none but his good lovers; and great folly it had bene to the latter countries to have attempted that the former countries would not, thinking verilie that, in such case, they, as his lovers, would rather have aided him than he should have bene distressed; wherefore he passed with much better will.

Edward’s little force, then, was big enough and intimidating enough to deter an attacker, but was not growing in the way that Edward had hoped, and needed, for the showdown which was to come. He was disappointed at Wakefield. Some came to him, but not as many as he supposed would have come. Nevertheless, his force was increasing.