Map of the Second Battle of St Albans. James Henry Ramsay (1859–1925) [Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]
Most histories of the War of the Roses concentrate on the first battle, fought in the centre of St Albans in 1455. However, in 1461 a second battle was fought, involving many more troops and covering a much larger area. This second battle is today mostly forgotten.
This article, on the Second Battle of St Albans, first appeared in the winter 2021 issue of Battlefield, the magazine of The Battlefields Trust, the registered charity dedicated to the protection, promotion and interpretation of Britain’s battlefields.
In 2007 three members of the Battlefields Trust: Michael Elliott, Harvey Watson and our own Vice President Peter Burley produced their acclaimed book The Battles of St Albans (published by Pen & Sword), which gave equal prominence to the second battle.
We are very grateful to the editors of Battlefield for allowing us to publish Harvey and Peter’s updates on this fascinating battle.
More information on the work of The Battlefields Trust and battlefields throughout the UK can be found on their website at www.battlefieldstrust.com.
John Morewood
