2 – 19 July 1460 Siege of the Tower of London
On 2 July 1460, the Lords of Calais began their blockade of the Tower of London. Having crossed London bridge the day before the Yorkist leaders had quickly secured many sites within the city. As the Yorkist force had drawn closer to the city the Lancastrian garrison of the Tower of London had prepared itself. Important non-combatant Lancastrians, including many Ladies, had sought refuge in the Tower, under the watchful eye of its commander, Lord Scales. Other notable Lancastrians who sought refuge in the Tower were Lords Lovell and Hungerford.
Related: The Wars of the Roses – Battles in the Wars of the Roses – Rout at Ludford – Battle of Northampton
Context:
In 1459 the Yorkist Lords had fled into exile. The Duke of York, to Ireland, the Earls of Warwick, Salisbury and March to Calais. This followed a period of increasing tension which had culminated in the rout at Ludford and the ominous calling, by Margaret of Anjou, of Parliament to be held in Coventry. Aware of the likely attainder against them they had gone into a temporary exile from where they could plan and regroup. In January of 1460, a raid was carried out on the port of Sandwich. The Calais Fleet then dominated the English Channel, enabling Yorkist propaganda to be distributed in the south and for the Earl of Warwick to sail to Ireland to plan with Richard, 3rd Duke of York. In late June of 1460, the Calais contingent landed at Sandwich and headed to London with a growing army.
Yorkist objectives
Having entered London on 1 July the Yorkist Lords, the Earls of Warwick, Salisbury, and March had already billeted men at Smithfield. The citizens of London had welcomed them and joined them in giving thanks for their arrival at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Now the Yorkists had two objectives: first, the Tower of London and second, defeating the army of Queen Margaret.
Separating their force, the Earls of Warwick and March began to head north, where they would soon meet with and defeat a Lancastrian force at Northampton. The Earl of Salisbury remained in London and began a blockade of the Tower.
Blockading the Tower and the Lancastrian use of Wildfire
The defenders of the Tower were initially quite arrogant in their approach to the surrounding Yorkist force. Assuming that the Lancastrian army would crush the rebels on the field of battle, Lord Scales took the unprecedented approach of firing into London from the Tower:
“They that were within the Tower cast wildfire into the City, and shot in small guns, and burned and hurt men and women and children in the streets”
This attitude towards the Yorkists only served to increase the level of support that Salisbury got from the citizens of London. The city had already loaned the Lords of Calais £1000 to help to pay for the cost of the campaign. Now they deployed an armed militia in support of them.
“And then they skirmished together, and much harm was done daily”
Bombards from the Royal Arsenal were taken by the citizens of London and used to fire upon the Tower’s defences from the South Bank. This resulted in sections of the curtain wall being destroyed. The primary aim of the citizens of London, led by the aldermen and mercers, was to ensure that provisions did not enter the Tower:
“And the Tower was besieged by land and by water, that no victual might come to them that were within.”
The Tower surrenders and Lord Scales is killed by Londoners
The plan worked. On 19 July, aware that the Queen’s army was defeated and now without food, the Tower surrendered. Lord Scales attempted to escape by boat but was seen, identified, and stabbed to death. His body was unceremoniously thrown into the Thames.
Why had the citizens of London welcomed the Yorkists?
Many merchants in the City of London were reliant upon International Trade, particularly of wool. This trade with the continent was primarily through Calais and ports in Burgundy. The political turmoil of 1459 and 1460 saw the trade drop to roughly one-third of its earlier amount. This had a large economic impact upon London and the people lay the blame for the situation on the Lancastrian administration.
What is wildfire?
The Wildfire that was fired into the city of London by Lord Scales is thought to be similar to Greek Fire. Such use of thermal weapons was commonplace in medieval (and ancient) siege warfare. Combustible materials that were ‘sticky’ could be set alight and fired upon a target. This spread fire relatively quickly and was harder to put out than a standard fire: though not impossible to put out, common defences against wildfire included attempting to douse flames with milk, sand, earth, vinegar and urine (this method is recorded for a later siege in England).
Sources for the Siege of London:
Three Fifteenth Century Chronicles, ed J Gairdner (Camden Society, 1880).
A Short English Chronicle
