Now as then, the site is a remarkable one. Two valleys cut through the limestone escarpment, which rises gently from the north Herefordshire plain, and meet there at right angles. The River Lugg flows through the valley a mile to the north at Aymestry. It then runs east of and parallel to the old Roman road (today the A4110), which at Mortimer’s Cross intersects the newer road from Ludlow to Presteigne (the B4362).

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Behind the Yorkist positions, Wigmore Castle offered a secure refuge should the battle go badly. The Lugg, swollen with winter rains, protected Edward’s left flank. Beyond, Croft Castle held supplies and men in reserve. On the right, steep slopes, heavily wooded in those days, offered perfect concealment for archers waiting to deliver a storm of arrows against the left flank of an enemy force advancing from the south.

No less than Edward, Jasper Tudor was a brave, tenacious, and resourceful man. His force had to march more than 100 miles through unfamiliar country, and in an equally obscure cause. Superstitious witnesses believed that even God opposed them in this moment in history. The authoritative Davie’s Chronicle records that:

the Monday before the day of battle, . . . about 10 at clock before noon, were seen 3 suns in the firmament shining full clear, where of the people had great marvel, and thereof were aghast. The noble Earl Edward them comforted and said, ‘be of good comfort and dread not; this is a good sign, for these three suns betoken the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and therefore let us have good heart, and in the name of Almighty God go we against our enemies.’

Each commander split his army into three elements or ‘battles’: the vanguard, the centre, and rear. As was customary at that time, each battle engaged in turn. Jasper personally led the Lancastrian vanguard against the weaker right wing of Edward’s army, but he failed to observe the lethal Yorkist archers on the surrounding slopes, and paid a heavy toll. A rout ensued, taking the battle northwards along the old Roman road to Aymestey.

Both centre battles were then engaged. Edward led as he always did, on foot and in the midst of the worst fighting. With fire in his throat and revenge in his heart, his must have been a frightening figure to observe. The battle established his fame as a warrior as well as a skilful commander. Butler led the Lancastrian charge, but fled the heat of battle. A tough and unyielding struggle ensued with neither side giving ground. The Marcher billmen hacked away at the leaderless French and Irish.

Edward’s rearguard flanked the banks of the River Lugg. Owen Tudor, leading the Welsh rearguard, advanced slowly, hoping to engage the Yorkists’ left by an outflanking manoeuvre.

The battle lasted all morning and into the afternoon. A Lancastrian flanking ploy failed and the troops retreated south toward Kingsland. Others drowned trying to cross the freezing waters of the Lugg, or were ruthlessly cut down by Edward’s reserves lying in wait on the opposite bank. Jasper Tudor faced a hopeless cause. He mounted a horse and fled the field to seek refuge in his native Wales. Victory was Edward’s. As was to be his custom in future battles, he urged his men to capture the leaders and spare the regular soldiers of the defeated Lancastrian army. Only four months later, the brave young Earl was crowned King Edward IV.

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