The Battle of Worksop was a skirmish during the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

, near the town of

Worksop Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located east-south-east of Sheffield, close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, on the River Ryton and not far from th ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

on 16 December 1460, part of the campaign which led to the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December. There is very scant evidence of what happened during this event and the only contemporary account comes from

William of Worcester William Worcester, also called William of Worcester, William Worcestre or William Botoner (1415) was an English topographer, antiquary and chronicler. Life He was a son of another William of Worcester, a Bristol whittawer (worker in white lea ...

in his book ''Annales rerum Anglicarum'', in which he stated ''(Translation from Latin)'':

In December Parliament adjourned. And the Duke of York, with the Earl of Salisbury and many thousand armed men, were going from London to York, in December 1460, when a portion of his men, the van, as is supposed, or perhaps the scouts… were cut off by the people of the Duke of Somerset at Worsop" orksop

Somerset had marched from

Corfe Castle Corfe Castle is a fortification standing above the village of the same name on the Isle of Purbeck peninsula in the English county of Dorset. Built by William the Conqueror, the castle dates to the 11th century and commands a gap in the P ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

and was heading north towards the rest of the Lancastrian army which had been based in Hull before moving onto

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...

. It is not known how many men Beaufort had at Worksop as he had split up his cavalry and footmen at Exeter move more quickly to the north. It is supposed that York's men had diverted off the Great North Road to get to

Sandal Castle Sandal Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Sandal Magna, a suburb of the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, overlooking the River Calder. It was the site of royal intrigue and the setting for a scene in one of William Shakespeare ...

, though it is not clear why they went via Worksop. The area was under Lancastrian control, with the closest area securely held by the Yorkists being at

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

There was widespread flooding at the time which would have made travelling difficult and food hard to find. A market was held in Worksop every Thursday and scouting parties may have been sent there to look for supplies. The most plausible reason however would have been to check on the Lancastrian forces situated around the town or for retribution towards

Worksop Manor Worksop Manor is a Grade I listed 18th-century country house in Bassetlaw, Nottinghamshire. It stands in one of the four contiguous estates in the Dukeries area of Nottinghamshire. Traditionally, the Lord of the Manor of Worksop may assist a ...

, where the

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

and his younger brother Christopher Talbot had been killed at the Battle of Northampton on 10 July that year. (Christopher Talbot was murdered in 1443 at

Caus Castle Caus Castle is a ruin of a hill fort and medieval castle in the civil parish of Westbury in the English county of Shropshire. It is situated up on the eastern foothills of the Long Mountain guarding the route from Shrewsbury, Shropshire to Mo ...

) Revenge was certainly in order as the Earl of Shrewsbury had been given Richard of York's land in Wakefield in 1459. uminarium.org/encyclopedia/johntalbot2.htm/ref> Also Richard of York had a personal vendetta against the Beauforts, ever since the 2nd Duke of Somerset's disastrous handling of the final campaigns of the Hundred Years' War. There is no physical evidence of the battle except perhaps a section of skull in

Worksop Priory Worksop Priory (formally the Priory Church of Our Lady and Saint Cuthbert, Worksop) is a Church of England parish church and former priory in the town of Worksop, Nottinghamshire, part of the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham and under the ...

with a bodkin arrowhead lodged firmly in it. This is visible to members of the public and located in the north aisle of the church towards the west end.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Worksop, Battle of Military history of Nottinghamshire Conflicts in 1460 Battles of the Wars of the Roses 1460 in England