Battle of Northampton 1460
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The Battle of Northampton took place on the 10th of July 1460 between a Yorkist army led by Richard Neville, earl of Warwick, and a Lancastrian army led by Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham.
The Yorkists having been dispersed after losing the Battle of Blore Heath(1459), the earls of Salisbury and Warwick returned to England from Calais in June and wanted to confront King Henry VI before he had gathered all his army.
The armies met at Delapre Abbey near Northampton and the Lancastrians held a strong defensive position, and their right flank was under the command of Lord Grey of Ruthin. When the earl of Warwick attacked Lord Grey commanded his men to lay down their weapons allowing the Yorkist to reach the rear and capture King Henry VI and kill the Duke of Buckingham and a number of other Lancastrian leaders.
The defection of Lord Grey had been arranged before hand in exchange for support in a property dispute with Lord Fanhope. In 1463 he became Treasurer of England.
