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Battle of Stoke Field

1487 in EnglandBattles of the Wars of the RosesConflicts in 1487Henry VII of EnglandMilitary history of Nottinghamshire
Registered historic battlefields in England
Lancaster victory over York
Lancaster victory over York

The Battle of Stoke Field on 16 June 1487 may be considered the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, since it was the last major engagement between contenders for the throne whose claims derived from descent from the houses of Lancaster and York respectively. The Battle of Bosworth Field, two years previously, had established King Henry VII on the throne, ending the last period of Yorkist rule and initiating that of the Tudors. The Battle of Stoke Field was the decisive engagement in an attempt by leading Yorkists to unseat him in favour of the pretender Lambert Simnel. Though it is often portrayed as almost a footnote to the major battles between York and Lancaster, it may have been slightly larger than Bosworth, with much heavier casualties, possibly because of the terrain which forced the two sides into close, attritional combat. In the end, though, Henry's victory was crushing. Almost all the leading Yorkists were killed in the battle.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Battle of Stoke Field (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Battle of Stoke Field
Humber Lane, Newark and Sherwood

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Wikipedia: Battle of Stoke FieldContinue reading on Wikipedia

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Latitude Longitude
N 53.035 ° E -0.888 °
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Battle of Stoke Field 1487

Humber Lane
NG23 5QG Newark and Sherwood
England, United Kingdom
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Lancaster victory over York
Lancaster victory over York
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East Stoke, Nottinghamshire
East Stoke, Nottinghamshire

East Stoke is a small village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire situated about half a mile to the east of the River Trent and lying about six miles southwest of Newark-upon-Trent. The population of the civil parish (including Thorpe as taken in the 2011 Census was 152. The A46 Fosse Way ran through East Stoke for many years: cutting the village in two with constant traffic: but since 2012 has been replaced by a new multi-lane A46 which now runs half a mile to the east. East Stoke is thought to have been the site of the Roman settlement of Ad Pontem; the "place of the bridge" – though this is disputed. In 1487 East Stoke was the scene of one of the bloodiest battle in British history: the Battle of Stoke Field between Yorkist rebels (supported by largely Irish and Swiss mercenaries) facing the army of Henry VII. The Yorkists were arrayed on the brow of a hill to the south east of the village, with their right flank anchored on a high spot known as Burham Furlong. The Yorkists were routed by Henry VII's army and fled towards the Trent; many were killed in the retreat. A popular tale is that the Yorkists were slaughtered in a ravine known as the Bloody Gutter. However, any local will be happy to inform you that the damp cutting you can still view on the site today was known as the Red Gutter. This was because it was the local source of red clay. The burial pits on the battlefield all lie off to the west along Church Lane. To signify his victory Henry raised his standard on Burham Furlong. The spot is marked by a stone memorial with the legend "Here stood the Burrand Bush planted on the spot where Henry VII placed his standard after the Battle of Stoke 16 June 1487" It is thought that several thousand combatants lost their lives in less than three hours.