26th September 1469
On 21st August 1469 the Duke of Norfolk moved on Caister Castle. Well documented through the Paston Letters, this was a local dispute that escalted under the auspices of the wider conflict.
The Paston Letters suggest a force of 3000 was brought to bear upon the castle, historians believe a more realistic figure to be a tenth of that number. The Duke did bring with him artillery and is known to have requested more to be brought from Lynn. Inside the castle, the defenders too had use of firearms. Documents show a number of the besieging force were killed by gunshot and an earlier castle inventory refers to hand cannons. The defenders numbered around 30. They were a mixture of men with fighting experience and locals who were levied into service. (1)
We know that attempts were made to bolster the physical defence of the castle: Margaret Paston writing to one son imploring him to go to the aid of the other son. We also know that legal efforts were made to halt the Duke’s assault. The continued siege wore the defenders down. Food was in short supply. Some of the defenders had been killed. Gunpowder was running low. An exchange of letters from Paston family members who were not inside the castle illustrates the gravity of the situation. (2)
And so they petitioned George, Duke of Clarence. Clarence appears to have played a significant role in bringing the siege to an end. Terms were agreed that enabled John Paston III and the surviving defenders to leave the castle unmolested. The Duke of Norfolk would then take possession of the castle.
According to historian John Ashdown Hill (3), the defenders left on 26th September 1469 with the Duke of Norfolk making it clear that they had the Duke of Clarence to thank for the peaceful outcome. The legal wrangling over this private feud was to drag on well into the 1470s.
(1) One of the texts I read on this says that each side had two soldiers. Presumably the Duke of Norfolk and John Paston III are two of those, having served together in France. By inference the remaining attackers would be levied men and the defenders people from the castles household and locals brought in to aid in the defence.
Edit: Tim Upton has kindly given me the names of 4 soldiers in the pay of the Paston family who defended Caister. Following paragraph is from Tim.
The Paston’s garrison included four professionals recruited by John Paston II eight months earlier: Peryn Sale, John Chapman, Robert Jackson & William Penny. The last was bald and inclined to be “a little cupshotten”, that is, fond of alcohol. Another defender was Thomas Stumps who apparently had no hands but could still shoot a crossbow. The garrison had 20 handguns and some steel crossbows.
(2) See letter written by Margaret Paston on 12th September 1469 (p136 of Barber edition of letters).
(3) Chapter 7 of Ashdown-Hill’s book looks at Private Wars, Caister is on the second page of the chapter. (No page numberings on my copy).
Sources:
The Paston Letters, various online
The Wars of the Roses, John Ashdown-Hill
The Chronicles of the White Rose of York: A series of Historical Fragments
The Wars of the Roses, Michael Hicks
The Pastons. The letters of a family in the Wars of the Roses. Edited by Richard Barber
Image source and licence details here.
