⚔ Battlefields of the World

First Battle of St Albans 1455

First Battle of St Albans: Map for First Battle of St Alban's by Ramsay
Image: James Henry Ramsay (1859–1925)[1], Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.

Key facts

Year1455Wikidata P585 (point in time)
EraMedieval (500–1499)derived from year
LocationEnglandNatural Earth (modern borders)
ContinentEuropeNatural Earth
War / conflictWars of the RosesWikidata P361
Coordinates51.7487, 0.3390Wikidata P625

About the battle

The First Battle of St Albans took place on 22 May 1455, at St Albans, 22 miles (35 km) north of London, and traditionally marks the beginning of the Wars of the Roses in England. Richard, Duke of York, and his allies, the Neville Earls of Salisbury and Warwick, defeated a royal army commanded by Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. Unusually, the battle was contested in the town of St Albans itself, with the bulk of the fighting taking place in

the streets. Somerset was killed in the battle, and King Henry VI captured, clearing the way for a subsequent parliament to appoint Richard of York Lord Protector.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article First Battle of St Albans (revision 1372030876), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.

Location

51.7487, 0.3390 · England

Google Maps OpenStreetMap

Nearby battles

Other battles of the Wars of the Roses

All 20 battles of the Wars of the Roses →

Browse more: battles in England · Europe · Medieval battles

Further reading