The Battle of Tewkesbury, 4 May 1471: ‘A Right Evil Place'

The great Medieval battle at Tewkesbury, occurring on Saturday, 4 May 1471, saw the House of Lancaster finally defeated in the series of bloody conflicts known today as the Wars of the Roses. After the Lancastrians were defeated at the Battle of Towton in 1461, King Henry VI was imprisoned.His Queen, Margaret of Anjou, and son, Edward of Westminster, fled to France and exile.Temporarily, the Yorkist King Edward IV’s throne was secure.The King’s cousin, however, was the powerful Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick; the pair became estranged when Edward secretly married Elizabeth Woodville, widow of a mere country knight, dashing Warwick’s efforts to secure a diplomatic match with France. Accused of treason, Warwick and Edward’s brother, George, Duke of Clarence, escaped to France.Warwick’s only hope was to restore Henry VI, and he entered into an unholy alliance with his former sworn enemy, Margaret.Warwick returned to England, raised an army, forcing Edward into exile in Flanders, and res