For instance, Sir Thomas Burgh, lord of the manor of Gainsborough, and Sir Richard Hastings of Wi0lloughby, were allies of York (who himself held the town of Grantham). Though the actual fighting took place elsewhere, Lincolnshire was drawn into the royal feud’s wide network of allegiance, with local gentry and noblemen forced to choose sides.

The resulting campaign in winter 1460 – 61 would change the course of history. She was determined to regain control of her hapless husband and restore Prince Edward’s inheritance – ideally by destroying the House of York in battle.

But this so-called ‘Act of Accord’ prompted an immediate rebellion by Lancastrian loyalists, spearheaded by Henry’s redoubtable Queen, Margaret of Anjou. His allies defeated royal forces at Northampton, took King Henry into ‘protective custody’ – and persuaded him to bypass his son Edward, Prince of Wales, and name York as his successor. The Duke of York was a prince with an equally strong claim to the throne and in 1460, frustrated by the decades of misrule, he decided to press it.

Henry’s inadequate rule had left England bankrupt and lawless, and put him at odds with his powerful cousin, Richard of York. The Houses of Lancaster and York, two branches of the same royal family, were fighting for the crown – or to control the man wearing it, Henry VI.

Five hundred and fifty years ago, Lincolnshire received a call to arms: the Wars of the Roses had flared up again, and all counties were being dragged into the quarrel. Helen Cox explains how Lincolnshire was drawn into this royal feud.

War of the roses battle download