‘By God’s blood, thy father slew mine, and so I will do thee and all thy kin.’
The chilling words of John Lord Clifford before he killed the Earl of Rutland at the battle of Wakefield in 1460, from Edward Hall’s Chronicle (1548).
On 30 December 1460, Richard Duke of York and his Yorkist army were ambushed by a vastly superior force of Lancastrians below Sandal Castle near Wakefield in West Yorkshire, UK.
Some contemporary chroniclers thought York was tricked into leaving the relative safety of his castle; others say he and his followers rashly charged out of Sandal to rescue a band of foragers returning from Wakefield. However, the most outstanding historical fact is that York (then Henry VI’s heir) was decisively beaten on his home turf, and he was slain in battle.
York’s son, Edmund Earl of Rutland, was also killed by Lord Clifford fleeing towards Wakefield according to contemporaries. And in the aftermath, prominent Yorkists were executed at Pontefract Castle, including Richard Earl of Salisbury, the head of the Neville family.
The battle was a total disaster for the Yorkist cause and a valuable military history lesson never to underestimate or trust the enemy. Chronicles recorded Yorkist casualties were high and that some were buried in mass graves on the field, although only one (yet unproven site) has been found to date.
Relics of the battle have often been unearthed in the fields below Sandal Castle, including a gold ring near where the Duke of York fell and others (of more doubtful authenticity) in ‘Pugneys’ and ‘Fall Ings’. In 1825, according to W. Walker (a local historian), human bones, spurs, and armour fragments were found close to the now-demolished Portobello House on the banks of the River Calder. But the Wakefield ‘hanger’ or falchion sword is by far the most famous survival of the battle.
In 1913, H. C. Haldane (the then owner of the sword) said workers were constructing a dyke or drain near the site of the battle, and below is what he, and the King’s Armourer G.F. Lakin, had to say about the sword that had somehow come into Haldane’s possession:
Unfortunately, the Yorkshire Archaeological Journal printed a couple of glaring errors in the names and titles of York and Rutland. However, the author's (and G.F. Lakin’s) description of the weapon are pretty accurate, according to Christie’s 1966 catalogue entry below, although the heraldry of the sword maker is slightly suspect:
A VERY RARE ENGLISH BOWMAN'S SWORD C. 1450
With single-edged blade double-edged towards the point, cut with a single short fuller and struck with a maker's mark, a star and three pellets within a shield-shaped punch, on each face, iron guard comprising rear quillon of chamfered square section with flattened finial, rounded block incised with a pair of shallow lines on each side and extending to the knuckle-guard of flattened rectangular section with rounded pierced finial, tapering tang of flattened rectangular section retaining slight traces of the original grip, and plan flattened cap pommel with a pierced rounded extension similar to the knuckle-guard, the piercings almost certainly for a leather lanyard, the whole blued and in finely preserved condition with a 28in. (71cm.) blade.
The 1966 catalogue entry notes ‘The Wakefield sword was acquired by the present owner shortly after its excavation during the course of the digging of a ditch at the site of the Battle of Wakefield (1460)’ A similar sword is held in the collection of the Royal Armouries (No. IX.144). See C. Blair, European and American Arms, No. 61.
Provenance: H.C. Haldane Esq, Clarke Hall, Wakefield, Christie's, King Street, 14 April 1966, Lot 176 (purchased by the vendor's late husband).
Literature: Leslie Southwick, The Price Guide to Antique Edged Weapons, Antique Collectors Club, 1982, No. 39, p. 27.
Exhibited: Wakefield in the Middle Ages, The Elizabethan Gallery, Wakefield Museum, 1990-1991.
Relics found on battlefields do tend to pinpoint the general area where the fighting took place, and the sword (along with other finds) suggests the battle in 1460 was fought where the present housing estate is today. However, based on the medieval road layout, the available evidence and the Lancastrian army’s march from Pontefract in the east, my theory is that the battle was fought in what was once Castle Field between the river and the A61. The rout from the battlefield was probably pushed in the direction of Wakefield along the banks of the River Calder, where some of the artefacts, including the sword, were later found.
Today the remains of Sandal Castle and its visitor centre are open to the public, and Chantry Bridge is a remarkable survival of the medieval period. Tradition says the Earl of Rutland was killed on the bridge, and the memorial commemorating where the Duke of York died can be seen on Manygates Lane, although it is unknown exactly where York was slain.
This post is the first part of a series where I explore some of the more interesting objects associated with the Wars of the Roses. Why don’t you subscribe FREE to History Mondays to get my newsletter sent directly to your mailbox?