Monument record 5020/1 - Battle of Northampton (Wars of The Roses, 1460)

The site of the Battle of Northampton is located to the south of Northampton, Northamptonshire. The battle was fought on 10th July 1460 and was conducted by the King Henry III gathering forces in the Midlands in anticipation of an Irish invasion led by the Duke of York. In his absence London capitulated to York's son, Edward, Earl of March, who had advanced through Kent supported by the Neville family (the Earls of Warwick and Salisbury and Lord Fauconberg). Realising that it was essential to bring the King to battle before his army had time to reach full strength, the Yorkists decided not to wait for the Duke, but to press on towards the Midlands. As they approached Northampton they found the King's forces waiting for them, under the command of the Duke of Buckingham. With the River Nene at his back and his front and flanks protected by ditch, ramparts and cannon, his field fortification was a formidable prospect. The defenders were, however, outnumbered by the Yorkists, who divided their army into three 'battles' under March, Warwick and Fauconberg. The 'three' battles launched a simultaneous assault on 10 July 1460, while pouring rain prevented the Lancastrians from discharging their guns. The sodden ground and slippery entrenchments hampered Yorkist progress until the troops of Lord Grey, whose command of the Lancastrian vanguard had not prevented him from coming to an arrangement with Warwick, helped the attackers to gain entry. Within thirty minutes the royal army had collapsed, Buckingham, Egremont, Beaumont and Shrewsbury had been killed, and the King was once more a prisoner. Northampton was the only battle of the Wars of the Roses where a fortified camp was successfully attacked. Richard, Duke of York, returned home from Ireland after the battle to press his claim for the throne, after which the Wars of the Roses only intensified. The battle was preceded by the successful raid on Sandwich by Warwick in January 1460 (1572808). Registered Battlefield.

{1} The Battle of Northampton 10th July 1460. Fought between Yorkshire and Lancashire forces in the meadows between the River Nene and Delapre Priory. The Yorkists were victorious. The slain were buried in the Abbey Church or its churchyard to the east.

{2} The Battle of Northampton , July 1460, was fought between Yorkists, under the Earl of Warwick, and Lancastrians, under the Duke of Buckingham. Buckingham built an entrenched camp in the meadows south of the River Nene with flanks covered by the river and lines drawn water to water. Delapre Priory stood on the slopes above. The camp was attacked by Warwick's force assisted by the treachery of the Lancastrian Lord Grey de Ruthyn. The camp was quickly captured and less than 300 men were killed, and Henry VI was taken prisoner. No trace of the earthworks connected with the battle were visible in 1855. Contemporary accounts.

{3} The OS states that the article includes extracts from an anonymous contemporary account.

{4}Quoted by OS as stating that no trace was left of the earthworks connected with The Battle of Northampton by 1855.

{5} (SP 7559 7659) The Battle of Northampton (10 July 1460) fought between the rival factions of York and Lancaster is sited in the meadows between the river Nene and Delapre' Priory. The Yorkists were successful and many of the slain were buried in the Abbey church or in the church-yard to the east.

{15} The site of the Battle of Northampton is located in Northampton, Northamptonshire. The battle was fought on 10th July 1460 and was conducted by the King Henry III gathering forces in the Midlands in anticipation of an Irish invasion led by the Duke of York. In his absence London capitulated to York's son, Edward, Earl of March, who had advanced through Kent supported by the Neville family (the Earls of Warwick and Salisbury and Lord Fauconberg). Realising that it was essential to bring the King to battle before his army had time to reach full strength, the Yorkists decided not to wait for the Duke, but to press on towards the Midlands. As they approached Northampton they found the King's forces waiting for them, under the command of the Duke of Buckingham. With the River Nene at his back and his front and flanks protected by ditch, ramparts and cannon, his field fortification was a formidable prospect.
The defenders were, however, outnumbered by the Yorkists, who divided their army into three 'battles' under March, Warwick and Fauconberg. The 'three' battles launched a simultaneous assault on 10 July 1460, while pouring rain prevented the Lancastrians from discharging their guns. The sodden ground and slippery entrenchments hampered Yorkist progress until the troops of Lord Grey, whose command of the Lancastrian vanguard had not prevented him from coming to an arrangement with Warwick, helped the attackers to gain entry. Within thirty minutes the royal army had collapsed, Buckingham, Egremont, Beaumont and Shrewsbury had been killed, and the King was once more a prisoner. Northampton was the only battle of the Wars of the Roses where a fortified camp was successfully attacked. Richard, Duke of York, returned home from Ireland after the battle to press his claim for the throne, after which the Wars of the Roses only intensified. Little can be seen of the battlefield today; the river site can be seen from Nunn Mills Road but is mainly occupied by the Avon Cosmetics factory.

{16} The Battle of Northampton 10th July 1460, was fought in meadows by the river and in Hardingstone Field. Henry VI was made prisoner and the Duke of Buckingham and many other nobles were killed.

{17} The Battle of Northampton, 10th July 1460, Yorkists and Lancastrians. Henry VI was captured. Sir James Ramsey adopts the view that the battlefield was about half-way between the River Nene and Delapre Abbey. The Lancastrians erected a fortified camp to secure their position. Map showing the site of the battle. Noble blood was spilt upon Northampton Meadow; many of slain were buried in the Abbey Church or churchyard to the east.

{18} The Battle of Northampton 1460 10th July, the site between the River Nene and Delapre Abbey, Yorkists and Lancastrians. Henry entrenched himself in the meadows beside the nunnery and having the river to his back. He was taken prisoner in the nunnery. The slain numbered about 300 and were buried in the Abbey Church or churchyard to the east of it.

{19} The Battle of Northampton 10th July 1460. Yorkists versus Lancastrians. Details of the background history to the battle given. Henry VI had moved base from Coventry to Northampton to be closer to London. The Yorkist army under the Earl of Warwick approached the defensive encampment of the King's army on the southern side of Northampton. Accounts of contemporary chroniclers on location at the battlefield, which was within meadowland south of the River Nene and east of Delapre Abbey. The attack may not have succeeded but for the treachery of Lord Grey. Henry VI was captured and a number of leading Lancastrian noblemen killed. Many soldiers drowned in the rain-swollen Nene. This was the only battle of The Wars of The Roses where a fortified camp was successfully attacked. A full description of the battle from an English Chronicle is included along with interpretation. Much of the north part of the battlefield has been destroyed by river canalisation and railway sidings but the southern part is still open parkland and appreciable.

{20} A contemporary chronicler of The Battle of Northampton. The king was in the meadows beside the Nunnery of Delapre Abbey and having the river to his back.

{21} The Battle of Northampton, provides a location for the battlefield soon after 1471. It lies between Hardingstone and Sandyford, which lies about one mile from Delapre Abbey.

{22} Many who fell in battle were buried at Delapre Abbey.

{28} In July 1460, during the Wars of The Roses, the Yorkists attacked the forces of the Lancastrian King Henry VI which were dug in around Delapre Abbey just outside Northampton. The king was captured and many Lancastrian nobles killed. The battlefield is used as a golf course, has recently had large soil bunds dumped around its edge to prevent stolen cars being driven on to the course, and adjoins a large area of brownfield redevelopment land.

{31} The English Heritage Battlefield Report states with reference to the 1740 terrier: “A potentially decisive piece of evidence is also depicted on the map and its terrier — the existence at that time of a boundary labelled Battle Dyke running east-west between Hardingstone and Delapre. The explanation of this feature as a remnant of the King’s defences seems attractive”. English Heritage centres the battle at SP 763589 and on plans shows Battle Dyke at between SP 76005875 and SP 76365875.
However Battle Dyke is evidenced in Hall’s Hardingstone Parish Survey, located 300m south of the location attributed by English Heritage. The north-east corner of “shooting to battle dyke” is at SP 76005849.
Previous authorities have placed the Lancastrian defences north of Delapre Abbey, eg Jack (1960), who provides a map showing Henry VI forces facing west on a font line north to south between the Nene and Delapre Abbey. Most previous authorities had the Yorkists assembling on the high ground west of Eleanor Cross, and the Yorkist attack approaching the Lancastrian trenches from the south-west.

{37} Unauthorised groundworks at Delapre Golf Course were assessed by MOLA Northampton between April and June 2015. All of the features identified through the assessment were of modern date and related to the use of the site as a golf course. This includes the metalled surface, tee-off area, service pipe trenches, manhole, and the bank construction. No other archaeological features were identified. There is no evidence that finds or features relating to the Battle of Northampton were disturbed by the unauthorised groundworks.

{38} Test pitting, metal detector survey and a watching brief at the site did not encounter any archaeology.

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP75NE30 (checked) (Index). SNN443.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP76SE40 (checked) (Index). SNN443.

<3> SERJEANTSON R.M., 1907, The Battlefield of Northampton, p.1-6 (unchecked) (Article). SNN427.

<4> BROOKE R., 1857, Field of Battle, p.50 (unchecked) (Book). SNN493.

<5> OMAN C., 1906, A Political History of England, p.392-3 (unchecked) (Book). SNN57602.

<6> Guest K.; Guest D., 1996, British Battles, The Front Lines of History in Colour Photographs, p.54-57 (checked) (Notes). SNN56089.

<7> FLENLEY R., 1911, Sic Town Chronicles of England, p.150-1 (unchecked) (Uncertain). SNN56691.

<8> GAIRDNER J., 1876, The Historical Collections of a Citizen of London in The Fifteenth Century, p.207 (unchecked) (Document). SNN54585.

<9> WILLIAM OF WORCESTER, Annales: Letters and Papers Illustrative of The Wars of The English in France, p.773 (unchecked) (Series). SNN56690.

<10> WHETHAMSTEDE J., 1872, Registra Quorundam Abbatum Monasterii S Albani, p.372-4 (unchecked) (Document). SNN56689.

<11> Salzman L.F.(ed), 1937, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.252-54 (unchecked) (Series). SNN100371.

<12> Page W. (ed), 1930, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.19-23+29-30 (unchecked) (Series). SNN100370.

<13> SEARLE W.G., 1902, The Chronicle of John Stone, p.80 (unchecked) (Article). SNN56719.

<14> HARRISS G.L.; HARRISS M.A., 1972, Benet's Chronicle: John Benet's Chronicle for The Years 1400 to 1462, p.226 (unchecked) (Document). SNN56687.

<15> KINROSS J., 1979, The Battlefields of Britain, p.32-3 (checked) (Discussion). SNN494.

<16> Whellan, 1874, History, Topography & Directory of Northamptonshire, p.116+265; Copy in NDC SMR File M42; (part checked) (Book). SNN1002.

<17> Jack R.I., 1960, A Quincentenary: The Battle of Northampton, 1460, p.21-25+Map of field (checked) (Article). SNN1848.

<18> Wake J.; Pantin W.A., 1958, Delapre Abbey, Its History and Architecture, p.228 (unchecked) (Article). SNN597.

<19> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 1995, The Battlefields Register, Northampton 1460, FILE N167/1/4 (checked) (Catalogue). SNN748.

<20> DAVIES J.S. ED., 1856, An English Chronicle of The Reigns of Richard II, p.96-7 (unchecked) (Document). SNN749.

<21> GAIRDNER J., 1880, Three Fifteenth Century Chronicles, p.74 (unchecked) (Uncertain). SNN750.

<22> Leland J., 1543, Itinerary, p.19-20 (unchecked) (Series). SNN13988.

<23> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP76SE59 (checked) (Index). SNN443.

<24> WAURIN J.DE, Recuiel des Croniques et Anchiennes Istories de La Grant Bretagne: Present Nomme Engleterr, p.299-300+323 (unchecked) (Document). SNN56685.

<25> RAMSAY J., 1892, Lancaster and York, p.227 (unchecked) (Series). SNN56686.

<26> Beamish H., 2003, Nunn Mills Site, Delapre, Northampton: Desktop Assessment, (unchecked) (Report). SNN103890.

<27> Thorne A., 2005, Archaeological Test Pits At Barnes Meadow, Northampton, (unchecked) (Full Report). SNN105144.

<28> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 2008, Heritage at Risk Register, 2008, p.43 (checked) (Catalogue). SNN106096.

<29> Ingram, M., 2010, The Battle of Northampton 1460: A Re-appraisal, (unchecked) (Report). SNN107008.

<31> Welsh, T., 2009, Battle of Northampton: 1460, (checked) (Note). SNN107342.

<32> Hall, D., 1980, Hardingstone Parish Survey, 1972, (unchecked) (Article). SNN743.

<33> 1740, Land Terrier, (unchecked) (Document). SNN107343.

<34> Pryce, J., 2004, Chronicle Memories: The River Ran Red, (checked) (Newspaper cuttings). SNN107482.

<35> Pott-Negrine, R., 2010, The Battle That Changed History, (checked) (Newspaper cuttings). SNN107624.

<36> Walker, C., 2008, An archaeological desk-based assessment of land at Pavilion Drive, Northampton October 2008, (unchecked) (Report). SNN107996.

<37> Finn, C., 2015, A Programme of Archaeological Assessment of the Unauthorised Groundworks at Delapre Golf Course Northampton April 2015 (Report). SNN110515.

<38> Leigh D., 2004, A Programme of Archaeological Works at Barnes Meadow, Northampton (Report). SNN104786.

<39> SMURTHWAITE D., 1989, The Complete Guide to the Battlefields of Britain with Ordnance Survey maps, p. 103-4 (Extract). SNN62523.

<40> Battlefields Trust, Battle of Northampton, Accessed 27/07/2022 (Website). SNN113795.

<41> Cotswold Archaeology, 2023, Images and GIS Data from a Metal Detecting Survey and Field Observation at Northampton Bike Park, Houghton Hill, Northampton 2022, https://doi.org/10.5284/1116394 (Digital archive). SNN116205.

Record last edited

Feb 10 2025 7:06PM