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The siege of London was an episode of the
Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...
between 12 and 15 May 1471, in which adherents of the
House of Lancaster The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in ...
commanded by Thomas Neville unsuccessfully attempted to storm the city and free
King Henry VI Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne ...
, who had been imprisoned in the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
by his rival Edward IV of the
House of York The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York ...
. This confrontation, which was an epilogue to the recent battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury, completed the final restoration of Edward IV and ensured the Yorkist hold on the throne.


Background

On 14 March 1471, King Edward IV, of the
House of York The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York ...
, who had been in exile in
Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former Regions of France, administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Duke of Burgundy, Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11 ...
since the defection the previous year of his former comrade-in-arms
Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...
, to the
House of Lancaster The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in ...
, disembarked at
Ravenspurn Ravenspurn was a town in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, which was lost due to coastal erosion, one of more than 30 along the Holderness Coast which have been lost to the North Sea since the 19th century. The town was located close to the ...
, Yorkshire in order to retake the throne from his rival Henry VI. Successfully bypassing the army of Warwick's brother
John Neville, Marquess of Montagu John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu (c. 1431 – 14 April 1471) was a major magnate of fifteenth-century England. He was a younger son of Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, and the younger brother of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick ...
, Edward continued on to the town of Warwick, where he proclaimed himself king again, and then to
Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed ...
, where he tried to engage the Earl of Warwick in battle before reinforcements arrived. Edward IV then headed for London, where he was welcomed with joy on 11 April by the population, which was generally in his favor. He hastened to secure the person of Henry VI, who was locked up in the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
, before reuniting with his wife
Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth Woodville (also spelt Wydville, Wydeville, or Widvile;Although spelling of the family name is usually modernised to "Woodville", it was spelt "Wydeville" in contemporary publications by Caxton, but her tomb at St. George's Chapel, Wind ...
and his children, who had taken refuge in the sanctuary of Westminster Abbey since October. Pursued by Warwick's army, Edward faced his opponent at the
Battle of Barnet The Battle of Barnet was a decisive engagement in the Wars of the Roses, a dynastic conflict of 15th-century England. The military action, along with the subsequent Battle of Tewkesbury, secured the throne for Edward IV. On Sunday 14 April 1 ...
on 14 April. The fighting took place in thick fog, inadvertently causing the Lancastrian troops to attack each other and triggering a rout in which Warwick and Montagu were killed. Back in London, Edward IV hardly had time to savor his success since he was informed on 16 April of the landing at Weymouth, Dorset of Henry VI's wife, Queen
Margaret of Anjou Margaret of Anjou (french: link=no, Marguerite; 23 March 1430 – 25 August 1482) was Queen of England and nominally Queen of France by marriage to King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471. Born in the Duchy of Lorrai ...
, and their son Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, who had been delayed in France by a storm and had not been able to bring reinforcements to Warwick in time: in fact they had landed on the very day of the battle of Barnet. Guessing that Margaret intended to rally reinforcements in Wales, Edward quickly assembled his army and left the command of London to his brother-in-law Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers. Delayed at Gloucester by the governor of the city who refused to let her in, Margaret of Anjou was forced to continue her journey northwards in order to cross the River Severn. The Lancastrian army was finally overtaken by the Yorkist army near Tewkesbury and forced to fight there on 4 May. The
Battle of Tewkesbury The Battle of Tewkesbury, which took place on 4 May 1471, was one of the decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses in England. King Edward IV and his forces loyal to the House of York completely defeated those of the rival House of Lancaster. ...
was quickly sealed after the Lancastrians abandoned a strategic height, precipitating a rout in which Prince Edward was killed. On 11 May, Edward IV returned to Coventry where Margaret was brought to him as a captive. Despite Edward IV's triumph in eliminating or neutralizing the Lancastrian commanders at Barnet and Tewkesbury, many of Henry VI's supporters continued to resist. For example, Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, still had sufficient support in Wales, and Yorkshire rose against Edward IV after he left to confront Warwick at Coventry. However, the most dangerous Lancastrian forces were in Kent, where Thomas Neville, a cousin of Warwick, had been tasked since January with patrolling the English Channel to intercept Edward IV's fleet. Before Barnet, Richard Neville had sent his cousin several messages asking him to go to Kent to raise reinforcements on behalf of the House of Lancaster. Unaware of the Lancastrian defeat at Barnet, Thomas Neville landed at Sandwich before 3 May, by which time Edward IV had already been informed. He then had 300 men under his command that Geoffrey Gate had sent him from Calais and was joined by Nicholas Faunt, the Lord mayor of
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of the ...
, who raised 200 men on his behalf, and others, so that his army quickly grew to nearly 3,000 men. The army recruited by Thomas Neville in Kent was mainly motivated by loyalty to Warwick or Henry VI, but many of the men in it probably joined in the hope of looting the capital.


Siege of London

On 8 May, Thomas Neville was at
Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea sepa ...
, from where he sent a letter to the London authorities asking them to let him enter the capital before he went to confront Edward IV. During the Wars of the Roses, London had let most armies pass through its walls, the only exception being in 1461 when the Lancastrian army led by Margaret of Anjou was denied access after its victory at the Second Battle of St Albans. However, the circumstances were different ten years later, since Thomas Neville's letter arrived in London on 9 May, a few hours after a letter from Edward IV announcing his triumph at Tewkesbury was communicated to the city council. The authorities immediately informed Thomas Neville of their refusal to let him enter the capital, especially as they were mindful of the looting committed by soldiers from Kent during the restoration of the House of Lancaster the previous year, and began to prepare to resist a siege: the banks of the River Thames around the capital were equipped with cannons, while the citizens of the city received weapons. Edward IV was also informed of Neville's uprising and quickly ordered an army to be summoned to defend the capital, so that a week later he found himself with a force of 30,000 men under his command, according to
Warkworth's Chronicle The Warkworth's Chronicle, now stylized "Warkworths" ''Chronicle'', is an English chronicle formerly ascribed to John Warkworth, a Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge. Known from only two manuscripts, it covers the years 1461–1474 and provides inf ...
. Despite the council's response, Neville continued on to London. The reason he persisted in a siege was probably the presence of Henry VI in the Tower of London: despite the death of his only son, his release would revive the cause of the House of Lancaster. Arriving at the head of his fleet near the Tower of London on 12 May, Neville organized an attack on London Bridge and ordered his army to attack
Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
. However, this first attack was hardly conclusive and only resulted in the destruction of a bridge in Southwark and the damage of some shops in the St Katherines Precinct, to the east of the Tower of London. On 13 May, Neville changed tactics and moved further west, from where he intended to attack Kingston Bridge in order to take Westminster. Nevertheless, Earl Rivers had anticipated this maneuver and had his troops patrol the Thames to protect the bridge. Informed of Edward IV's arrival in Coventry, Neville withdrew to Southwark to avoid being caught in a pincer movement and lined up his cannons with the aim of bombarding the Tower of London, where not only Elizabeth Woodville and her children were present, but also Henry VI. In response, Rivers ordered the intensive bombardment of Neville's positions. The most serious assault occurred on 14 May. On that day, Neville ordered a force of 3,000 men to advance through the densely populated St Katherines Precinct; the force advanced rapidly through the streets, looting shops and setting fire to
Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bisho ...
. However, reinforcements led by Henry Bourchier, Earl of Essex, came to support the London militia; estimated at 4,500 men, they inflicted many losses on Neville's insurgents and pushed them back from the banks of the Thames, without however preventing them from taking 50 of Gould's butcher's oxen destined for the Tower garrison on their ships. Other insurgents succeeded in seizing the rampart that the defenders had just built to protect
Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate. The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...
; it was only recaptured by the London militia after a pincer assault. Some of the insurgents were trapped behind the portcullis and immediately massacred by the populace, while the others rushed back to their ships. Meanwhile, Neville removed his cannons from his ships and lined them up on the right bank of the Thames to cover some of his men, who again attacked London Bridge and set fire to the small buildings there, in order to clear a point of entry into the city without having to pass through a gate. Their attack continued as far as the tower guarding the drawbridge but was stopped by the garrison's artillery.


Lancastrian retreat and surrender

On 15 May, Neville returned to Southwark, while some of his troops, pursued by Ralph Josselyn's militia, retreated to Mile End or Stratford, from where they boarded their ships to return to Kent. Other contingents, mainly those involved in the London Bridge attack, regrouped at Blackheath, awaiting instructions from their commander. It is possible that Neville was informed of the imminent arrival of Edward IV's vanguard, who had been warned on 13 May by Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, of the collapse of the Yorkshire uprising after the announcement of his victory at Tewkesbury and had dispatched on 14 May 1,500 men from Coventry to support Rivers. On 18 May, Neville took the direction of Sandwich with 600 men, in order to join his fleet, and ordered the garrison that Calais had sent him to cross the Channel again. The next day, the troops stationed at Blackheath also made their retreat. Having perhaps already begun negotiations with Edward IV, Neville withdrew to Southampton and used his fleet as a bargaining chip. He finally surrendered on 27 May to Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who had been asked to receive his surrender.


Aftermath

On 21 May 1471, Edward IV returned to London with his victorious army and his captive Margaret of Anjou. That same night, Henry VI died suddenly in the Tower, most likely assassinated at the instigation of Edward in order to eliminate any threat from the House of Lancaster, Neville's uprising having no doubt underlined the danger of leaving the deposed king alive. After knighting the London citizens (including William Hampton, Lord Mayor of London the following year) who had distinguished themselves during the resistance to the siege, Edward did not stay long in London and led an expedition to Kent to pursue the rebels involved in the siege of London. The king's severity was excessive on this occasion: the Lord mayor of Canterbury Nicholas Faunt was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered on 29 May, and many executions or fines were carried out. However, it seems that the Earl of Essex himself was even more severe in
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Gr ...
. As for Thomas Neville, he accompanied Richard, Duke of Gloucester, to
Middleham Castle Middleham Castle is a ruined castle in Middleham in Wensleydale, in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It was built by Robert Fitzrandolph, 3rd Lord of Middleham and Spennithorne, commencing in 1190. The castle was the childhood home of Kin ...
in Yorkshire to serve at his side. However, his loyalty to the House of York was quickly called into question and he was beheaded under obscure conditions on 22 September 1471, perhaps after an escape attempt. His head was then displayed next to that of Nicholas Faunt on London Bridge, both looking towards Kent.Santiuste


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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:London, Siege of 1471 in England Battles of the Wars of the Roses Conflicts in 1471