June 16 - The Battle of Stoke Field

This Day in History: 16 June 2020

 

16 June 1487

 

533 years ago, today, the Battle of Stoke Field took place between the army of King Henry VII and a Yorkist army under the pretender Lambert Simnel. This battle is considered to be the final battle of the Wars of the Roses. Henry had begun to move north east the previous day, after receiving the news that the Earl of Lincoln had crossed the River Trent. When the battle did begin, Henry left the direction of the fighting to the Earl of Oxford. After three hours, the broken Yorkists fled towards the Trent down a ravine, in which many were cornered and killed. Most of the Yorkist commanders, being Lincoln, Sir Thomas Fitzgerald, and Martin Schwarz, died in battle. Simnel was captured, but was pardoned by Henry, as he realised Simnel was simply a puppet for the leading Yorkists.

 

Although Henry was crowned and married Elizabeth of York, rival claims still remained a large threat to the security of the newly established Tudor dynasty. Some Yorkist supporters of the previous king Richard III still held hopes of placing their own candidates upon the throne. Lambert Simnel had been one imposter who claimed to be Edward Plantagenet, one of the Princes in the Tower, but their actual fates were unknown. The Earl of Lincoln presented Simnel as Edward and was taken to Dublin to be with exiled Yorkist loyalists. He was shortly proclaimed as king and crowned, with Lincoln intending this to act as a beacon for Yorkist disaffections.

 

Want to find out more about the Battle of Stoke Field? Click here for more information, or here for a video that explains the event and its background.