Commemorating Bosworth: Bosworth Field - The Battle

There are few battles as significant as the Battle of Bosworth, which took place on August 22^nd in 1485. It is viewed as ending the long running Wars of the Roses between the Lancastrian (Red) and Yorkist (White) houses; finishing the Plantagenet dynasty under Richard III, while installing a new branch of Lancastrians under Henry Tudor, the Earl of Richmond.

By the C15^th  perhaps due to the ongoing dynastic strife, the age-old feudal system had been corrupted. Loyalty to the king was no longer a given; instead nobles mustered able bodied men to their own militias, under their own command. Actual personal relationships between King and lord probably held more sway than any perceived sense of loyalty to the estate of the crown. The more powerful a lord, the greater the incentive the crown would have to yield to win over a house’s support. When all else failed, of course, there was always the practice of holding hostages as insurance. 

Due to resentment over the manner that Richard had seized the throne and the disappearance of the princes in the tower; Henry Tudor, an exiled Lancastrian, left Brittany and landed in South Wales with a force of some 2000 French mercenaries.

Henry took his time travelling through Wales and the Marches gathering support. In all he called to his banners around 2000 Welsh recruits and around 1000 Englishmen. Accompanying his venture were many Lancastrian exiles, including the experienced John de Vere, Earl of Oxford; whose strategic nous would prove invaluable to the inexperienced Henry. 

Meanwhile Richard, with 3000 men, moved to intercept Henry demanding his lords to join him; his most loyal supporter was John Howard, the Duke of Norfolk, commanding around 3000 men at arms. Also answering his summons was the Duke of Northumberland with 4000 and, dragging their feet,were the Stanleys from Cheshire with 6000. During the Wars of the Roses the Stanleys had a reputation of hanging back from many of the bloodbaths until a critical point. To make matters worse relations between Richard and the Stanleys were not the best, so to ensure his reluctant allies' support Richard held Lord Stanley’s son as a hostage. Henry himself had made overtures to the Stanleys but true to form they had held back from openly declaring their allegiance to either claimant. In theory then Richard had three times as many troops as Henry.

In the C15th battlefield tactics had seen a reemergence of heavy infantry. The Longbow, Pike and Billhook - and to some extent cannon - had robbed cavalry of their battlefield supremacy. Cavalry were now mainly used to chase down a retreating enemy and ensure a rout and also to swing around the flanks and prevent the foe escaping.

Nobles and professional men-at–arms would be encased in steel plate, wielding sword and mace, while levies would have quilted armour, if fortunate a helm, and would be armed with poleaxe weapons.

Heading west, Richard’s forces moved through Sutton Cheney in Leicestershire and took position on Ambion Hill with Norfolk. Ambion Hill overlooked a plain with an area of marsh on his left flank. Behind this marshy area Northumberland’s forces formed his rear-guard.

To the west at White Moors were Henry’s forces, while south of the marsh, visible from Richard's position, the Stanleys and their 6000 men camped at Dadlington. The Stanleys had, in effect, acted as a screen to Henry’s forces, while Richard’s army assembled.

Forced to attack Henry’s army swung east, and then north, to be able to cross the river that drained into the marsh. While advancing Richard’s cannon harassed them. Although becoming more common, cannon were notorious at this time; they were inaccurate and easily overheated, with the unfortunate tendency of sometimes exploding and killing their crews. If the Stanleys had attacked at this juncture the battle would have been over. Indeed Richard demanded that they take action, threatening the death of his hostage; but Lord Stanley would not move coldly replying that he had other sons.

Staying at the rear with his guard, Henry gave command of his army to Oxford. Oxford ordered that his men stay in a single formation and formed a wedge and advanced with his cavalry guarding the flanks. After the usual exchange of arrows Richard ordered Norfolk to attack.

In the desperate hand to hand melee Oxford’s wedge formation began to gain the upperhand. Richard’s superior numbers were negated as they couldn’t break the formation and destroy them piecemeal. Oxford had ordered that his men shouldn’t stray more than ten feet from their banners.  Richard ordered Northumberland to attack but this force didn’t move. Whether he was mirroring the Stanleys or disloyal to Richard is unknown. If he had advanced he would either had to swing east in a wide flanking move to avoid the marsh or would have had to advance through Richard’s forces currently engaged with the enemy. To add to Richard’s woes Norfolk was struck in the face with an arrow and killed. The battles' outcome was on a knife edge and both commanders knew that the Stanleys could sway the result either way.

King Richard may have been lacking luck at Bosworth but he certainly wasn’t lacking courage. He saw that Henry had moved with his bodyguard to negotiate with the Stanleys. In a desperate bid to land a decisive blow, Richard, with a small mounted force, swung around the melee to attack Henry’s force. Richard himself felled Henry’s standard bearer and came very close to Henry himself. Henry’s bodyguard were sorely pressed to defend their lord from the battle crazed Yorkist king. It was at this point the Stanleys made their move, seeing Richard isolated they fell upon him, forcing his small force into the marsh. With his horse stuck in the boggy ground or killed beneath him as in the Shakespearian verse, and after coming within a sword length of Henry himself, Richard found himself surrounded.

Men with halberds fell upon him, striking him so fiercely that he lost his helmet with its golden circlet. It was said that it was a Welshman, Rhys ap Thomas who delivered the death blow.

With Norfolk and the king dead all hope was lost for the Yorkist cause. Northumberland and his forces fled north. The circlet was retrieved and Henry was crowned king on a hill at nearby Stoke Golding.

In 2013 the positive identification of King Richard’s remains in a car park in Leicester revealed a skeleton with ten wounds, eight of them to the head.  So died Richard III. An usurper? Maybe. A child killer? Perhaps. A brave warrior? Absolutely.

Rob Bayliss is a reviewer at The Review and is currently writing his own fantasy series.     Information on his writing projects can be found at Flint & Steel, Fire & Shadow.

Commemorating Bosworth: What Manner of King was Henry VII? by Louise Rule

The Coat of Arms for Henry VII

Whether you stand on the side of Richard III or Henry VII, The Battle of Bosworth Field, on Saturday 22nd August, 1485, was the culmination of The Wars of the Roses, and brought an end to the bloody civil war between The Houses of York, and Lancaster. 

Elizabeth of York

Henry VII

Henry VII was the last king to win his crown on the battlefield, a crown that was worn by Richard III. That same crown was placed on the head of Henry VII, on Bosworth's battlefield. Although we know that Henry VII founded the Tudor dynasty, and reigned for almost twenty-four years, what manner of king was he?

As with all monarchs before him, who had been schooled in the art of being a king, he, in contrast, had not been trained in either the arts of statesmanship, diplomacy or warfare, but came to the throne new to the prospect of ruling a country. This then, by the evidence of history, makes his achievements all the more remarkable.

The pennant of Henry VII

Henry had declared himself king By Right of Conquest, retrospectively, from 21st August, 1485, this would mean that anyone fighting for Richard III, would be committing treason. This would also mean that Henry could confiscate the lands and all the property of Richard.

While he was still in Leicester, Henry VII was already taking precautions to prevent a rebellion against his reign. He sent Robert Willoughby to Sheriff Hutton, which is about 10 miles north of York, to have Edward, Earl of Warwick, a ten-year-old boy, arrested and taken to the Tower of London. The ten-year-old represented a threat as a potential rival to the new king, as he was the son of George, Duke of Clarence. In 1486, Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, the daughter of Edward IV, and niece to Richard III, thus strengthening his right to the throne.

This stained glass window is in
St. James Church, Sutton Cheney
It commemorates the Battle of Bosworth
Richard III on the left
Henry VII on the right

Henry was very astute; he secured his crown by dividing and undermining the power that the nobility enjoyed, by the enterprising use of bonds and recognisances. It is known, that although he came to the throne with little or no fiscal experience, he did, overtime, however, restore the fortunes of an almost bankrupt exchequer. He also introduced stability in his financial administration, by keeping the same financial advisers throughout his reign; they being, Lord Dynham, and Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey. They were the only two official holders of the position of Lord High Treasurer of England, throughout Henry VII's reign.

The red rose of The House of Lancaster, and the white rose of The House of York

Henry VII was threatened by several active rebellions over the next coming years.

1486:

Rebellion of the Stafford brothers and Viscount Lovall. This was the first uprising against

Henry VII.

1487:

Yorkists led by Lincoln, rebelled in support of Lambert Simnel, a boy who claimed to be the Earl of Warwick, son of Edward IV's brother, Clarence, (who had last been seen as a prisoner in The Tower).

1490:

Perkin Warbeck, from Tournaisis (now Belgium), claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, and gained support outside England.

1499:

Henry had the Earl of Warwick executed, but spared Warwick's elder sister, Margaret, however, Margaret, was executed by Henry VIII, in 1541.

1502:

The first son and heir-apparent, Arthur, Prince of Wales, died unexpectedly. He was staying at Ludlow Castle at the time, and although the cause is not certain, it is believed to have been what         was known at the time as, English sweating sickness. Henry, Duke of York, later to be Henry             VIII, became the new heir-apparent to the throne.

On 21st April, 1509, Henry VII died at Richmond Palace, it is said, from tuberculosis. He was buried at Westminster Abbey, next to his beloved wife, Elizabeth, in the chapel which he had commissioned. On 29th June, 1509, just two short months later, his mother, Margaret Beaufort, died. Henry VII was succeeded by his second son, Henry VIII, a king who will live in infamy, because of The Reformation, and, of course, because of his eight wives.

There is much written about both Richard III, and Henry VII, and no matter whether it is fact, exaggeration, or mere myth, history has demonstrated that Henry VII made many good changes for England.

Richard III captured the nations interest more recently, when his remains were found in the car park in Leicester. A remarkable event that was, too. I do think, however, that because of the worldwide publicity, Richard III achieved a resurgence of interest. Henry VII, on the other hand, was not a charismatic king, but his reforms are well documented. Henry VII unfortunately fades into the background, as he was overshadowed by both Richard III, and his son, Henry VIII.

The memorial plaque for Richard III

Was Henry VII a better king than Richard III? It really does depend on where your loyalties lie, for, even after the intervening 530 years, there is still a rich debate about who was indeed the better king.

For me, I would have to say that Henry VII was, because of the overall benefits that he brought to England throughout is reign, although there will never be a definitive answer to that, of course. 

St. James the Greater, Dadlington.
The dead of The Battle of Bosworth
were buried here

Sharon Bennett Connolly Reflects on Visiting Bosworth Battlefield Today

Visiting Bosworth Battlefield Today

“Two Kings – One Battle”

The standards of Richard III and Henry VII

Last year I took my 9-year-old son and 40-something husband to visit their first battlefield. We were holidaying in Derbyshire and decided to drive down to Leicestershire and visit Bosworth. With all the hype around the discovery and re-burial of Richard III, it seemed a great way to show a 9-year-old the story of a battle.

He, of course, knows a little of the Richard III story. He can identify the king’s portrait and knows he was involved in the Wars of the Roses, but we don’t linger on the Princes in the Tower too much. I don’t think he is as familiar with Henry VII, but he can tell you all of Henry VIII’s queens, in order, and tell you their fate. So taking my son to the battlefield was a way of giving him a place and time where he could visualise the events and the people.

It worked.

However, what I found surprising was the effect it had on my husband. Hubby is a bit of a computer geek and into all the mod cons. He never had an interest in history before he met me, and even now I can see his eyes glossing over if I talk too much about the past – 15 minutes a day is usually all he can take!

The Sundial on Ambion Hill

I have visited battlefields before; Waterloo, Stamford Bridge, Hastings and a few others. The calm serenity always amazes me. I expect to hear the echoes of battle, the cries of the wounded, clashes of arms and the shouted orders of the battle’s commanders – and the thunder of the horses hooves during the cavalry charge. At Bosworth, if you close your eyes tight, and listen intently, you can almost hear it…..

The Battle of Bosworth Trail

The Battlefield trail is a wonderful leisurely walk. It’s not the actual battlefield; they found that a short distance away a few years ago, but it is Ambion Hill. And standing at the memorial you have a panoramic view of the area; you can  imagine the 2 sides facing each other, troops in the thick of it and those waiting to engage. My son listened in awe as I described the death of Norfolk and the final, desperate charge of Richard III; and Percy’s men standing, watching and waiting – possibly very close to where we were stood at that moment.

View from Ambion Hill

As you walk round the hill and through the woods, there are markers, pointing the way; and viewpoints and information posts telling the story of the battle and explaining the technology and tactics used. One marker explains the use of the longbow, how it dealt death from afar. The marker explained where the archers were positioned during the fighting; you almost expected to look to your right and see them raising their bows to the air. 

My son was fascinated by the idea that children as young as he was had already started their knightly training, that there were only about 1,000 knights in the whole of England. And I was amazed to discover that many who could be knights chose not to, in order to avoid the duty and responsibility that came with knighthood; these men were simply called esquires or gentlemen.

Information post explaining the use of cannons in the battle

It amazed my husband to discover that cannon and handguns were in use in the battle. 1485 seems to be too long ago for men to have used gunpowder. The handguns were large and cumbersome weapons, too large for one hand to use; guns were still very much in their infancy. However, it was a scattering of cannon balls and other small metal objects (such heraldic badges, spur rowels and coins), found by metal detectors, which finally meant the location of the battlefield could be confidently identified.

Battle standards in Ambion Wood

Although the general battlefield has now been identified, we still don’t know where individual parts of the action took place. We can’t say for certain where the action between Norfolk and Oxford took place, nor where Norfolk fell. We can’t tell where Stanley and his men were standing, watching for that turn in the battle that made him decide to join Henry Tudor’s forces. 

But the specifics don’t matter as much as I expected they would. The battlefield provides its own story. And the fact you can’t say exactly where each part of the action happened serves to highlight the confusion of a battle. When you’re on the ground, in the thick of it, fighting for your life and your king, you wouldn’t be looking round to see where on the field you were. You would be looking to your own survival, fighting the man in front of you while watching your back. 

King Richard’s Well, cairn built close to where it is thought the king fell

So the locations of events are vague, but that they are remembered and commemorated is what matters. Whether the marker is where Richard fell matters less than that there is a marker to the fallen king.

Henry VII

And once you have walked the Battlefield Trail, there is the Heritage Centre to visit. The Centre offers wonderful background to the battle, told through the voices of those involved: a serving girl at a local inn, a mercenary’s wife, an archer. The 2 armoured kings stand watch over you as you view artefacts found on the field of battle and study maps and videos explaining the battle and the troop movements. The Heritage Centre is very hands-on; children can try on the armour and test out the helmets. You can test your ability to draw a longbow; it’s not as easy as you think. By far the most dramatic display is the little corner dedicated to the Barber-Surgeons. The tools of his trade are displayed and a skeleton depicting the wounds of one soldier from the battlefield. Given the recent discovery of Richard III, and the detailed descriptions of his wounds, this seemed a particularly poignant display.

Richard III

Walking the battlefield is a humbling experience. So little is known about the men who fought and died in these fields on 22nd August 1485. And, yet, the date marks so much change in English history: the end of one the Plantagenet dynasty and the start of Tudor rule; the end of the Middle Ages and the beginnings of the Renaissance. Just around the corner were the marital problems of Henry VIII and the English Reformation and the subsequent, glorious reign of Elizabeth I. But the men who fought that day would know nothing of the significance of the battle beyond that moment.





 Sharon Bennett Connolly has a lifelong fascination with history, and has recently discovered a love of writing. She has combined these two in her blog, History…the interesting bits!

Lisl's Bits and Bobs: Modern Day Trials of the Last Plantagenet King

Lisl reviews Loyalty Binds Me by Joan Szechtman

***See below for giveaway details!!***

Loyalty Binds Me, second in a projected trilogy concerning Richard III, the medieval monarch of the slanderous “Princes in the Tower” tradition, takes on a huge task. Many readers will be familiar with the last Plantagenet king’s travel to present-day in the first installment, This Time, and speculative fiction fans (and others) will revel in such a journey. However, when Richard finds himself now under arrest for the murders of his nephews–which, mind you, happened some 500 years ago, and there exist contradictions to this charge–he experiences firsthand effects of the success the Tudors, Shakespeare and others have had in blackening his reputation. But how, readers may ask, does the author manage to overcome the label of absurdity; will enough modern lawmen actually believe this is Richard III come to this era, and are willing to risk their careers on such a prosecution? How can this be portrayed?

Worry not, readers, for Joan Szechtman not only manages all this heavy lifting, but also does it with the mark of a brilliant writer: by making it look easy. The flow of the book is so smooth, that when I read certain parts I actually gasped at the ups and downs Szechtman took me through with Richard. So thrilling are those danger moments, I found myself mentally shaking my fist at the need to sleep; I simply had to keep reading and find out what happens next.

One of the ways the author achieves this is via her understanding of today’s society. Unlike most people in Richard’s time, our society has been through so much with technology that even those who scoff at the idea of time travel still often contemplate it with a fair degree of seriousness. Coupled with the viable descriptions and scientific explanations through the book, many doubters will do a double take at the possibilities. Then there’s the government. Oh yes, they want a piece of the pie, and that, paired with the widespread belief that governments already know more than they are telling, clicks it all into place.

Szechtman also brings to bear the unfortunate understanding we all have of post-9/11 policing. When Richard’s tormentors are unable to move in the direction they wish, they play the terrorism card, using that to threaten him with indefinite detention. If that doesn’t strike fear into the hearts of readers today, it at least erases the sometimes smug sureness that we have progressed as much as we think, in terms of governance and liberty, from the days when Richard sought to bestow greater rights on those accused of crimes. It is sadly ironic that this king now falls victim to abuse of power that can cause someone simply to disappear. What grows from this is that where once there was care for a character, now there also is great concern for the peril he is in.

Through all of this, the author allows us to peek into the lives of Richard’s modern-day family: his new wife and the two daughters he has adopted, as well as his beloved son Edward, whose resilience for the new world he is in is fairly strong–witness his grasp of technology, for example. But Edward, who woke from death to find his mother taken from him, speaks to us of how childhood, despite how overhauls, trends and social structures have changed it over the centuries, remains the same. Children are strong but vulnerable, astoundingly bright though need help navigating through even some of the briefest of situations and, perhaps most heartbreaking, love so strongly and want to please, yet withhold as a form of protection. They show us that we adults are given responsibility that is almost frightening in its ability to impact. Yet with brilliant economy Szechtman portrays all this in those peeks we are allowed, and we witness a family coming to terms with the usual trials all families must go through, as well as those of a father who has been arrested, and the merging of medieval and modern times–a blended family like no other.

This is by no means an exhaustive review of everything wonderful in Joan Szechtman’s latest book, but it does point the way to the other two, one as yet unpublished, for this book is not easily put down and forgotten. For those who already care about Richard, it will be a reader’s delight. Others who are new to the king, or willing to re-consider what exactly constitutes “common knowledge,” will find a wealth of historically accurate information as well as recognizable background details in order to do. Moreover, because the second book is written to be enjoyed independently, reading it first will not involve any guessing at the start. Nevertheless, Joan Szechtman’s Loyalty Binds Me will make you want to go back for more.

The author is graciously offering a free e-copy of Loyalty Binds Me for one lucky winner. Simply comment on the blog to get your name in the hat! Facebook users may also comment here. 

Joan Szechtman is also the author of This Time, book one in her Richard III series. Her web page can be viewed here and readers may find This Time and Loyalty Binds Me at Amazon on Kindle and in paperback.

Lisl can also be found at before the second sleep. If you would like Lisl to review your book or conduct an interview, please see our submissions tab.