22 May 1455

After the Yorkists’ dismissal from power in early 1455, they travelled north to gather their private armies and wait. In May York received summons to attend the king’s council, but expecting a trap, he instead marched south with an army of several thousand men. The king, determined to intercept York before he reached the city, set out with a slightly smaller army on 21^st of May. Alarmed by York’s sudden proximity, Henry occupied the fortified town of St Albans at 9 o’clock in the morning the next day. At the same time the Yorkists arrived and formed up opposite the town to the East.

Negotiations began and lasted for three hours while York tried to persuade Henry of his good intentions. Then suddenly and with very little warning the Yorkists simultaneously charged the gates at Sopwell and Shropshire Lane. These frontal assaults made little or no headway, and the Yorkists suffered many casualties in the narrow streets.

The Earl of Warwick who was commanding a reserve force, took his troops through an unguarded part of the town’s defenses by following a path through the back lanes and gardens. Suddenly the Earl appeared in the Market Square where the main body of Henry troops was sitting around talking and resting. There is evidence they were not yet expecting to be involved in the fighting, as many were not even wearing their helmets. Warwick charged instantly with his small force of reserves and smashed the Lancastrian line in two, making military history.

The Earl then ordered his archers to fire at the men around the King, killing some and injuring many nobles including the King and his commander the Duke of Buckingham. Warwick killed one of his own enemies, the Duke of Somerset outside the Castle Inn.

The men manning the barricades realizing the enemy was in the main square and fearing an attack from behind abandoned them to the Yorkists who soon climbed over and joined the rout.

In military terms St. Albans was trivial, with perhaps 300 dead, but in political terms the battle was a complete victory; York captured the King, returning himself to complete power; his rival Somerset was dead and the Neville's arch enemies the Earl of Northumberland and Lord Clifford both fell during the rout.