Lincolnshire Radical History

Lincolnshire Rebellion

The Lincolnshire Rebellion of 1470 was a brief uprising of local people against King Edward IV.

Lasting little more than a week, the rebellion was the result of a power-grab between the king and the earl of Warwick, known to history as “ The Kingmaker ”

Seeking to have the king replaced by the king's brother the duke of Clarence, Warwick sought to gain control of the English throne by proxy.

Warwick, whom had once been a staunch supporter of the king, had grown to resent Edward's rule of the realm.

Recognising a similar dissatification with the king in Lincolnshire, Warwick chose the county as the ideal location to fan the flames of rebellion.

A local feud had recently taken place between Sir Thomas Burgh of Gainsborough and Lord Richard Welles.

The King had sided with Sir Thomas Burgh and actually ended up executing Lord Richard Welles on 3 March 1470.

In retalliation, Robert Welles, the son of Lord Richard Welles formed a group of rebels, possibly gathering in Louth

A potential aim of the rebels was to kill the king as travelled from London to Lincolnshire, to both meet Sir Thomas Burgh and supress any unrest in the county.

As the king marched north and the rebels martched south, the two opposing forces clashed at near Empingham, Rutland on 12th March.

Unfortunately for the rebels they were heavily outnumbered by both men and firepower.

What was supposed to be a battle to overthrow the king, in reality more likely became an instant rout where the rebels fled for their lives.

The rout was so absolute that the incident became known as the “Battle of Lose Cote Field” because the soldiers threw away their coats as they fled.

Aftermath

After their easy-earned victory, on 14th March, King Edward and his army marched to Grantham in a possible effort to capture Warwick and Clarence .

However, the two rebels managed to escape Lincolnshire and they fled to France.

Albeit brief, the Lincolnshire Rebellion would pave the way for not only the subsequent Lincolnshire Rising of 1536, but also argubly an historic identity of Lincolnshire being England's greatest rebellious county.


Images from uncredited source

About Me

Image

Some text about me in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim..

Popular Post

Image

Image

Image

Follow Me

Some text..