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The Battle of Losecoat Field (also known as the Battle of Empingham) was fought on 12 March 1470, 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 throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...
. Spellings of "Losecoat" vary, with "Losecote" and "Loose-coat" also seen. The battle secured the defeat of the poorly organised Welles Uprising against King Edward IV, but ultimately led to the defection of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and the king's brother
George, Duke of Clarence George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (21 October 144918 February 1478), was the 6th son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the brother of English kings Edward IV and Richard III. He played an important role in the ...
to the Lancastrian cause after they were forced to flee the country having been implicated in the rebellion.


Background

Almost a year earlier, in July 1469, an army loyal to the Yorkist king, King Edward IV was defeated at the
Battle of Edgcote The Battle of Edgcote (also known as the Battle of Banbury or the Battle of Danes Moor) took place on 24 July 1469, during the Wars of the Roses. It was fought between a Royal army, commanded by the earls of Pembroke and Devon, and a rebel forc ...
by Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, his disaffected former supporter; Edward himself was subsequently captured in
Olney, Buckinghamshire Olney (, rarely ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 6,477 people. It lies on the River Great Ouse and is the n ...
. However, with the help and support of his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, he had by now regained power. Despite the nominal reconciliation of Warwick and the king, by March 1470 Warwick found himself in a similar position to that which he had been in before the battle of Edgcote. He was unable to exercise any control over, or influence, Edward's policies. Warwick wanted to place another of the king's brothers,
George, Duke of Clarence George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (21 October 144918 February 1478), was the 6th son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the brother of English kings Edward IV and Richard III. He played an important role in the ...
, on the throne so that he could regain his influence. To do so, he called on former supporters of the defeated
House of Lancaster The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in ...
. The rebellion was initiated in 1470 by
Sir Robert Welles Robert Welles, 8th Baron Willoughby de Eresby and 8th Baron Welles (died 19 March 1470), was the son of Richard Welles, 7th Baron Welles, and Joan Willoughby, 7th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby. He was the prime mover in an uprising against Edward ...
, son of
Richard Welles, 7th Baron Welles Richard Welles, 7th Baron Welles (c.1428–1470), was an English nobleman and soldier. From a Lancastrian family, he came to be on good terms with the Yorkist King Edward IV, but was later executed after being associated with a plot against Edwar ...
, a former Lancastrian, when his family fell foul of Edward. Sir Robert turned to Warwick for help. Warwick judged the time was ripe for another coup d'état, to kill Edward or remove him from the throne. Welles started gathering troops at his base in Lincolnshire, ready for a show of arms against the king. The unrest in Lincolnshire prompted the king to act, and he started gathering men for his army on 4 March. The news of the king's intention to march to Lincolnshire quickly spread panic among people there. Due to Welles' deliberate misinterpretation, rumours were quickly spread that the king was coming to try the previously pardoned rebels from Edgcote, and that he would "hang and draw a great number" of them. With the encouragement of Warwick and Clarence, Welles set himself up as a "great captain" of the people of Lincolnshire. On 4 March summons were sent to all the surrounding estates requesting every able man to join him in resisting the king. On the 7th the king heard that the rebels were marching towards Stamford with an army of 100,000 men, having recruited many men from nearby counties, especially from Yorkshire. The king later received letters from Clarence and Warwick stating they were marching North with all their men to support the king. The king then unsuspectingly issued commissions of array which included Warwick's name, authorising him to raise his own army of professional soldiers. Edward then received news that the rebels had changed course for Leicester, as had Warwick and Clarence, which revealed their intentions. Welles received a letter from the King telling him to disband his rebel army, or his father Lord Welles (previously taken prisoner by Edward) would be executed. Welles quickly turned back with his army to Stamford. Edward's confidence grew when Welles failed to rendezvous with Warwick and his experienced forces.Ross, C., ''Edward IV'', Trowbridge 1975, p. 141


The battle

Edward's scouts informed him that the rebel army was some from Stamford, arrayed for battle beside the Great North Road to the north of
Tickencote Tickencote is a small village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is noted for St Peter's Church, with its Norman chancel arch. The population at the 2001 census was 67. At the 2011 census the populati ...
Warren near Empingham in Rutland. Edward positioned his men in a battle line to the north of Welles' army, and then, in the space separating the two forces, had Lord Welles executed in sight of both armies. This action set the rebels advancing with cries of ''á Warwick'' and ''á Clarence''. A single barrage of cannonballs was fired and then Edward had his men charge towards the enemy. Before the leaders of this attack could even come to blows with the rebel front line the battle was over. The rebels broke and fled rather than face the king's highly trained men. Both captains, Sir Robert Welles and his commander of foot Richard Warren were captured during the rout and were executed a week later on 19 March. Welles confessed his treason, and named Warwick and Clarence as the "partners and chief provokers" of the rebellion.John A. Wagner, "Welles Uprising (1470)", Encyclopedia of the Wars of the Roses, ABC-CLIO, 2001, p.296. Documents were also found proving the complicity of Warwick and Clarence, who were forced to flee the country.


Name

According to
popular etymology A false etymology (fake etymology, popular etymology, etymythology, pseudo-etymology, or par(a)etymology) is a popular but false belief about the origin or derivation of a specific word. It is sometimes called a folk etymology, but this is also a ...
, the name of the battle is explained in this way; many of Welles' men were wearing jackets displaying Warwick's and Clarence's livery, and when the rout began, not wanting to be caught wearing such identification, many discarded their garments. The battle was thus called "Lose-coat". This story does not appear to have any historical basis, being first recorded in the 19th century.Dunn, Diana, ''War and Society in Medieval and Early Modern Britain'', Liverpool University Press, 2000, p.41. Contemporary accounts refer to the battle site as "Hornfield" (
Horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various a ...
was an adjacent parish), and do not use the name Losecoat or anything comparable. The name is probably derived from an Old English phrase ''hlose-cot'' meaning "pigsty cottage". Forms of Losecote also appear as field names in other parishes in Rutland. A field at the site of the battle seems to have acquired that name, which later generated the imaginary "lose coat" etymology which was linked to the battle. An adjacent woodland is now called Bloody Oaks and
Bloody Oaks Quarry Bloody Oaks Quarry is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Great Casterton in Rutland. It is owned and managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. This site has species-rich grassland on Jurassic limesto ...
is a 1.3-hectare biological
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle o ...
, owned and managed by the
Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust The Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts across the United Kingdom. It manages nature reserves in Leicestershire and Rutland, and was founded in 1956 as the Leicestershire and Rutland Trust for Nature Co ...
.


References

{{Authority control Lose-coat Field 1470 History of Rutland Losecoat Field 1470 in England Losecoat Field