Prelude to the Battle of Towton ...Ferrybridge
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
- Prelude to the Battle of Towton - Ferrybridge
This is a short film that I have produced about an important engagement that took place within the boundaries of the Wakefield District during the Wars of the Roses. Following the defeat and death of Richard Duke of York at Sandal Castle in December 1460 Yorkist forces regrouped under his son Edward who proclaimed himself King Edward IV 4 March 1461.
Following this proclamation Edward marched north towards the Lancastrian stronghold, ironically, around the city of York. The Lancastrian army was concentrated near the village of Towton in North Yorkshire. To engage that army Edward had to seize the strategically important crossing point of the River Aire at Ferrybridge, near Wakefield. This film tells a bit of the story of its capture and crossing.
Transcript:
This is the Old Bridge at Ferrybridge. The bridge was designed by York based architect John Carr in 1797 and construction was completed in 1808 by surveyor Bernard Hartley. It is located where the old Great North Road crosses the River Aire.
This film is about a previous bridge at this crossing point of the River Aire, a bridge that played a pivotal role in English history during the Wars of the Roses in 1461. The Old Bridge is used as the backdrop for this story.
Students of history will be aware that the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil took place north of the bridge between the villages of Saxton and Towton. What history remembers as the Battle of Towton took place in a blizzard on Palm Sunday, 29th March 1461. It ended with the decisive victory of the Yorkist forces and the consolidation Edward IV’s grip on the English throne over his rival Lancastrian rival, Henry VI. Around 28,000 men died in the battle itself, with more falling in its aftermath.
However, before the Battle of Towton could ever be fought, the strategic crossing point where the Great North Road went over the River Aire had to be secured by the Yorkist forces. Initially the bridge was controlled by Lancastrian forces under the command of Lord Clifford. Edward IV [UPDATE: I ERRONEOUSLY REFERRED TO HIM AS EDWARD VI IN THE FILM AT THIS POINT] sent John Radcliffe, Lord FitzWalter to seize control of this strategically critical bridge. Lord Clifford provided a resilient defence of the bridge and the Yorkists were made to suffer a terrible number of casualties. He bought time for the main Lancastrian army at Towton to ‘dig in’ and consolidate their position.
Before the Yorkist forces captured the bridge, Clifford inflicted significant damage on the bridge itself, enough damage to mean that Yorkist forces had to carry out significant repairs before they could cross. While repairs were being made, Lancastrian archers could inflict much damage on Yorkist forces. In the end there were around 3000 casualties at the Battle of Ferrybridge, which was a significant number in the context of battles at the time.
Looking back on that bitterly cold day in 1461, a year when spring came late, it is hard to believe exactly what the scene was like. You can try to put yourself in the position of a Lancastrian archer on this side of the river and imagine the Yorkist army over there on the south bank, near the place where Ferrybridge power station stands today. You can imagine yourself taking pot shorts at men on the bridge desperately trying to repair it so that the rest of the army can cross.
On the south bank you can put yourself in a Yorkist’s shoes as they look out across the cold river wondering whether they would survive the effort to get to the other side. If you made it across, you would then be wondering what awaited you out there, hidden from view, and whether your luck would continue to hold for another day.
Today, the south bank, the site of much Yorkist suffering, is quite serene and there is even a picnic area in a place where men perhaps once fought and died.
Never knew that. I will think of that day every time I pass Ferrybridge power station when going along the M62.
Very interesting indeed Chris. Thanks for posting it.
Fascinating thank you. Beautiful now, but still the baleful horrors of Towton are palpable.
3000 casualties just at the battle of Ferrybridge that's amazing. It was also said Edward IV personally led the attack to come to the aid of the initial Yorkists being ambushed on the bridge
Ferry Bridge was very famous for its power station . I member at school as a young man in Aberford being educated about the wars of the Roses.
thank yew.
Thanks
Hi Chris. Very interesting. Thank you. Thinking about the building of the later bridge I wonder if it is built directly on top of the earlier bridge? Generally one would expect a replacement to be built alongside rather than in exactly the same position. Did you notice if the line of the old road deviates just before the river?
Does anyone know where Lord Fitzwalter was buried? My granddad found, metal detecting, a decorative Fitzwalter shield in a Welton, Lincs playing field in the 1980s that historians at the time considered may have come from a casket or chest.
Being shot at with war bows while doing bridge repair. Not good at all.