The siege of the Tower of London was an episode of the Wars of the Roses, in which adherents of the rival Plantagenet houses of Lancaster and York were pitted against each other. In June 1460, several Yorkist nobles, who had unsuccessfully rebelled against King Henry VI the year before and had fled to Calais, invaded the south east of England at Sandwich. They enjoyed widespread support through popular discontent with the ruling court among the populace of Kent and the merchants of London, and were greeted by enthusiastic crowds when they entered London on 2 July.
The Lancastrian garrison of the Tower of London, commanded by Lord Scales, opened fire indiscriminately into the surrounding streets with cannon and wildfire, causing many deaths and injuries. While most of the Yorkist army marched north into the Midlands to engage the King's Lancastrian army, 2000 men were left under the Earl of Salisbury to besiege the Tower. They were aided by many of the city's aldermen and armed militia, who used bombards secured from a royal depot to demolish part of the Tower's curtain wall, and blockaded the Tower to prevent supplies reaching the garrison.
On 10 July, the Yorkists won the Battle of Northampton and captured King Henry, who they treated respectfully for the time being. On 19 July, the garrison of the Tower were starved into surrender. Scales attempted to escape in disguise by boat, but was recognised and butchered by a mob.
Background King Henry VI of England, of the House of Lancaster, was a weak monarch, unable to control the squabbling nobles who made up his Council, and also prone to periods of insanity. In the late 1440s, there was a quarrel between two of the most powerful and influential nobles, Richard, Duke of York and Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. Both had claims to the throne should Henry die without a direct heir. York maintained that Somerset had mismanaged the Hundred Years War against France through treachery or self-interest, and that he himself was unfairly excluded from the King's council. He also supported those who complained against the lawlessness resulting from weak royal control and abuse of authority by the King's closest advisors. The King lapsed into madness in 1453 with the final loss of the English lands in France. York governed the country as Protector for about a year, but relinquished the office when Henry recovered and restored Somerset to royal favour.
In 1455 York and his chief supporters, the Nevilles (York's brother in law, the Earl of Salisbury and Salisbury's son, the Earl of Warwick, later known as the "Kingmaker"), rebelled. Somerset and several other supporters of the King were killed at the First Battle of St Albans. After the battle, York reaffirmed his loyalty to the King and was reappointed Protector. However, he had earned the implacable hostility of Henry's Queen, Margaret of Anjou, who suspected York of wishing to supplant Henry's new born son, Edward of Westminster, as heir to the throne. The successors of the nobles killed at Saint Albans remained at deadly feud with York and the Nevilles, who also provoked resistance from many who resented their wealth and presumption to offices of state.
In 1459, open warfare broke out again. York and the Nevilles concentrated their armies at Ludlow in the Welsh Marches, but were heavily outnumbered by a Lancastrian army nominally commanded by King Henry himself. At the Battle of Ludford Bridge, some of the demoralised Yorkist army defected. York, his two eldest sons and the Nevilles immediately deserted their forces and fled. The next day, the leaderless Yorkist army surrendered to the King. The Lancastrian army proceeded to plunder Ludlow, which was "robbed to the bare walls". Drunken Lancastrian troops also committed outrages against women and other citizens.Clark (2016), p.180
In November, a "Parliament of Devils" was summoned at Coventry in the Midlands. All those who attended (including about half the peerage) were required to take a special oath to the King, Queen and Edward of Westminster.Clark (2016), p.192 The Parliament proceeded to enact severe penalties against York and his supporters, all of whom were attainted. The savage propaganda which accompanied these Acts caused widespread alarm among some of the nobles, and cities and towns which had previously been uncommitted and now feared Lancastrian retribution.
York and his second son Edmund of Rutland had meanwhile sailed to Ireland. The Nevilles and York's eldest son Edward of March originally intended to make their way there separately, but were forced by a contrary winds to Devonshire. A supporter, Sir John Dynham, informed them that the 2nd Duke of Somerset, who the King had appointed to take over the Pale of Calais from Warwick, had not yet set sail. He procured a ship which allowed the Nevilles and March to forestall Somerset by only a few hours.Clark (2016), p.203 Somerset later landed near Calais and captured a castle at Guisnes nearby but was unable to capture Calais itself.Weir, p.233 Lancastrian efforts to reimpose their authority over Ireland were ineffectual.
Warwick's moves With difficulty, the Lancastrians were assembling an army and a fleet at Sandwich, under Earl Rivers, to reinforce Somerset. On 15 January 1460, Dynham and Sir John Wenlock surprised them and captured Rivers, his wife and son, 300 of his soldiers and several ships.Weir, p.234 The captives and prizes were carried back to Calais.
In March, Warwick sailed to Ireland to concert plans with the Duke of York. The Lancastrians had raised another fleet at Sandwich, this time under the Duke of Exeter, initially to reinforce Somerset or to rescue him from Calais. Exeter tried to intercept Warwick off Cornwall on his return voyage, but his crews were badly paid and victualled, and refused to engage Warwick's ships.Weir, p.236
The Yorkists prepared to invade Kent. They preceded their invasion with a propaganda offensive, protesting against lawlessness, misuse of authority by some of the Lancastrian officers, and the injustice of the attainders of the previous year. As they had done for years, the Yorkists maintained that they were loyal to the King and were seeking to free him from his "evil counsellors". However, they also alleged that Edward of Westminster was a changeling or bastard.Weir, pp.236-237 They inspired widespread support in Kent, where there had been previous popular uprisings (Jack Cade's Rebellion), and London, where the merchants were angry over the loss of trade. Exports of wool and broadcloth and imports of wine were a third of their value before 1459,Seward, p.77 partly as a result of royal attempts to prevent the Yorkists in Calais receiving support and revenue.
Early in June 1460, Yorkists from Calais led by Lord Fauconberg, Salisbury's younger brother, seized Sandwich again. This time they established a permanent foothold. On 26 June, Warwick, Salisbury and March landed at Sandwich and marched into Canterbury. There was no opposition. The Lancastrian fleet had mutinied again and, faced with the possibility of invasion from both Calais and Ireland, the King and his army remained in the Midlands, in a central position around Coventry. Even the Duke of Buckingham, who held the posts of Warden of the Cinque Ports (which included Sandwich), and Constable of Dover Castle, was absent from the area.Weir, p.239 (As the King's chief military advisor, he too was with the royal army near Coventry.)
Yorkists occupy London The Yorkists advanced via Dartford and Rochester towards London, continually gathering fresh recruits.Seward, p.77 They were accompanied from Canterbury by the Archbishop of Canterbury and by Francesco Coppini, a Papal Legate who took the Yorkist side and gave added weight to their popular appeals.Weir, p.240 They also gained support from some nobles whose lands were nearby, including Viscount Bourchier (another of the Duke of York's brothers in law) and the Duke of Norfolk.Seward, p.79 The aldermen and Common Council of the city initially refused them permission to enter the city, but were persuaded to reverse their decision by the merchants, many of whom were firm supporters of Warwick. (As Captain of Calais from 1455 to 1459, Warwick had led his ships in piratical attacks on Spanish and Hanseatic League ships, partly to gain plunder to pay his ill-paid garrison, but delighting the merchants by removing their rivals for trade.)Rowse, p.139
As the Yorkists approached London, the Lancastrian nobles in the city (who included Lords Hungerford, Lovell and de Vestri and the Earl of Kendal) and their families and the Duke of Exeter's wife all took refuge in the Tower of London. The Duke of Exeter was Constable of the Tower, but he held several other offices and was absent, and the Tower was actually held by Lord Scales. On 2 July, after the Yorkist lords had given assurances of their troops' behaviour, the city gates were thrown open to them. As they proceeded across London Bridge, crowds rushed forward and two men were trampled to death. The Yorkist soldiers were temporarily billeted in Smithfield.
Siege of the Tower
Lord Scales was a committed supporter of the House of Lancaster, and also a veteran commander of the Hundred Years' War, used to ruthless methods. As the Yorkists occupied London, Scales opened fire from the Tower indiscriminately into the surrounding streets. A contemporary chronicle related that "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".Seward, p.80 Meanwhile, the day after they entered London, the Yorkist nobles addressed the Convocation of Canterbury at Saint Paul's Cathedral, promising once more to respect the King's person and estate.Weir, p.241 Two days later, Fauconberg set out for the Midlands with a contingent of 10,000 men of the army, followed soon afterwards by Warwick and Edward of March.
Salisbury, Lord Cobham and Wenlock were left with 2,000 men to besiege the Tower. They also had support from the militia raised from the infuriated citizens. Every reasonably affluent male person within the city owned at least a "jack" (a padded leather jerkin) and a sallet, while many possessed full "harness" (plate armour), and were armed with swords and daggers, and weapons such as bills and longbows.Seward, pp. 78-79 They were led by prominent citizens appointed as Sheriffs. (Two years previously, in 1458, no less than 7,000 militia had patrolled the city to prevent violence between nobles' retinues when they were gathered for a Grand Council.)Seward, p.62
The city's Common Council acquired several bombards from a royal depot, and mounted them on the south bank of the River Thames opposite the Tower. Their fire brought down part of the Tower's curtain walls and terrified some of the noble families who had taken refuge inside. Lord Cobham, with some armed citizens blockaded the Tower from the City, while Sir John Wenlock with more militia under prominent mercer John Harowe invested the Tower from St Katherine's to the east. There were continuous clashes between the garrison and the besiegers.Seward, p.80 At one stage, Scales and the Lancastrian nobles in the Tower sent a letter to the city's council, demanding to know why the council was making war on them. The council replied that Scales had begun making war on the city, killing and maiming men, women and children by gunfire.