Lord Stanley arrives at Piggy Longton 1472

Lord Stanley (1st Earl of Derby) has answered Lord Darcy’s call for military assistance, as Piggy Longton is under the certain threat of Yorkist attack.

Stanley has sent two contingents, bowmen and a fine body of men-at-arms. Though he is not present, Stanley has sent Sir. Raymond Roddington to command the troops.

Lord Darcy plans to have Roddington command the right and he will reinforce him with additional bow and billmen. 

Firstly he needs to simply to make up the numbers on that wing, but secondly, Darcy has a slight mistrust of Stanley and wants to make sure that he has enough of his own troops on that wing, to keep Stanley true!

These two bases here are all Perry plastic and have just come off their painting sticks. They seem to be defending a particularly flowery / tufty plot of land! :-)

They have been painted up from black primer, matt varnished and then a satin varnish dragged over the metal for some highlights.

The flag is from Pete’s Flags on E-bay, which comes in a set of three, including a banner that would be a good fit for a Stanley Command base, which might be a nice addition to do at some future point for Bosworth related games.

Notes - Lord Stanley is a powerful magnate, with extensive estates across Cheshire and Lancashire. His contribution here is a significant act, as he has a reputation of ‘hedging his bets’. 

He managed to keep his soldiers stay out of the battle at Blore Heath in 1459 by ‘not arriving in time’, though his brother, Sir. William Stanley did fight for the Yorkist side.

Lord Stanley had been involved in both getting Edward (Yorkist) to the throne and then returning Henry (Lancastrian) to it, so was gaining a reputation of duplicity based upon political expedience.

[post note - later this same year, Eleanor, his wife will die and Stanley will marry Lady Margaret Beaufort, of Lancastrian persuasion and the mother of Henry Tudor, a future Lancastrian King (1485 - Bosworth and all that, when Stanley again would appear to serve two masters) ….. so who knows which way Lord Stanley sees the wind blowing today!]

With Stanley arriving in the camp and news that Sir. John Delves also approaches with help from Somerset (4th Earl), things are escalating. Edward and Lord Trebian (Yorkists) will realise that they must strike before Darcy grows too strong. 

Resource Section.

My sister webspace ‘COMMANDERS’  showcases the various figure and boardgame systems that I am enjoying and gives a flavour of where current projects are up to. Link.

https://commanders.simdif.com

Piggy Longton - Bishop of Dungborough’s perilous journey.

Resuming the Chronicles of Piggy Longton. 

It is 1472 and Lord Darcy, of Lancastrian persuasion, is convinced that he is about to be attacked by the Yorkist, Edward, aided by Lord Trebian of West Rottington. 

While preparing the defences at the hamlet of Piggy Longton, he has despatched messengers seeking military assistance from Somerset (4th Earl).

He must also get a message to King Henry, advising that Edward is in open rebellion and has foreign mercenaries with him, plus a handsome war chest provided by France. 

This task he has entrusted to his close friend and ally, the resourceful Bishop of Dungborough.

For the rest of this post, which follows the Bishop’s journey, please use the ‘read more’ tab.

Piggy Longton 1472 - picking up the story.

It is hard to believe that we are looking at the best part of a year since Piggy Longton was last visited and the chronicler set down their pen.

Over the next few weeks, we will be picking up on the trials and tribulations of our small hamlet, with a look at the start of 1472.

In preparation for this series of threads, I thought it worth returning to two posts. 

The first covers the concept of Piggy Longton and its geo-political history. This post first appeared in October 2020 and there will be new readers who will have missed it altogether and old readers who may just enjoy a dip back into the post.

The second is the most recent post, dated February 2023, when the rebel, Edward (Yorkist), makes approaches to Lord Darcy (Lancastrian) to gain his support in securing the crown. 

The meeting did not go so well and the conclusion of that post left us with three dilemmas.

Would Edward, together with Lord Trebian (Yorkist), make an attack on Piggy Longton?

Could the Bishop of Dungborough (Stephen the Fearless) get to London to warn the King that Edward was at large and had foreign mercenaries with him?

Lord Darcy had sent Sir John Delves to seek military aid from Somerset (4th Earl), how would that go?

We also have a new character, Sir. James de Giffard, the eldest son of Lord Darcy, who is being trusted to his first serious battle command.

Archers (Perry plastics) for Lord Stanley have just gone onto the painting sticks to give us another unit for our growing armies. 

At the end of last year, I bought a set of flags from Pete’s Flags for the Stanley brothers, so hopefully this year we will see their contingents arrive …… though they haven’t decided who they will side with yet :-)

Resource Section.

The origins of the Parish of Piggy Longton. LINK

https://battlefieldswarriors.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-battlefield-to-fight-over-often.html

The last post (Feb 2023) about Piggy Longton as covered by the chroniclers. LINK

https://battlefieldswarriors.blogspot.com/2023/02/edward-visits-piggy-longton-1472.html

My sister webspace ‘COMMANDERS’  showcases the various figure and boardgame systems that I am enjoying and gives a flavour of where current projects are up to. Link.

https://commanders.simdif.com

Edward visits Piggy Longton 1472

In our small corner of England, 1472 has already become a period of heightened tension and conflict between the neighbouring Piggy Longton (Lancastrian persuasion - Lord Darcy) and West Rottington (Yorkist persuasion - Lord Trebian).

On New Year Day, Trebian raided the food storage on Lord Darcy’s estate and some weeks later, Lord Darcy counter raided West Rottington, to recover the feed and to punish Lord Trebian by setting fire to a barn.

These local ‘tribal’ tiffs have been ongoing for some years and the positioning of the two local magnates has become increasingly impassioned. But, today there is a change in the dynamic of good old fashioned rivalry ….. Edward (Yorkist rival for the throne) is on his way to Piggy Longton for ‘discussions’ with Lord Darcy.

Last Year (1471) Edward had gone into open rebellion against King Henry, with the large battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury testing the King’s ability to hold onto power. After the Lancastrian loss at Barnet, King Henry was captured and placed in the Tower, leaving Edward controlling the capital.

Unfortunately for the Yorkist cause, Queen Margaret raised another Lancastrian army to march on London, intent on releasing the King. The armies met at Tewkesbury and Margaret defeated the Yorkists, resulting in King Henry’s return to power.

[Both of these battles were played out as boardgames and covered on this blog - the links to the battle reports are in the Resource section below].

It now seems that Edward is once again circulating in England to stoke rebellion and has entered this region to recruit to his cause. 

He can naturally count on the support of fellow Yorkist, Lord Trebian and while he has no reason to believe that Darcy will support him (they fought against each other last year), his reason for visiting Piggy Longton today is to threaten and intimidate Lord Darcy rather than court his favour.

A herald accompanied by an archer

Heralds had already arranged the agreed meeting, which was to take place on the Smoggy Bank Bridge over Smoggy Brook.

Edward had arrived at the rendezvous with both pike (French ‘long spear’) and crossbowmen - he wanted to demonstrate that he had foreign support, with foreign troops and the enhanced war chest that goes with that.

Darcy (left) in an uneasy meeting with Edward

Darcy attended with a group of Men-at-Arms, a selection of his most trusted men, who as a bodyguard would fight to the last if necessary.  Both men had taken the pre-caution of having cavalry nearby, out of the way, but close enough should the diplomatic mission deteriorate into a hurly burly!

As the two men conversed on the bridge, Edward, in no uncertain terms described King Henry as a weakened king, who would be defeated this year and he pledged that if Darcy came over to him now, he would keep his lands ….. if not he would die on the battlefield and his estates be given to Trebian!

Lord Darcy, aware that King Henry still enjoyed significant, though not overwhelming support and that Edward was in a precarious position, still desperately recruiting, told Edward that he was obligated to serve the rightful King of England and that he would not be drawn into a treasonable act.

“I am loyal to mine own king, whoev'r t is yond hast the right to holdeth yond title”.

Darcy was careful to word his response in a way that did not commit himself to Henry the person, but rather to the crown and by implication, showing that should Edward take the crown and become legitimate King, then he, Darcy, would be an equally loyal servant to Edward.

If that was intended to pacify Edward, it spectacularly failed, Edward turning away in temper to end the meeting, growled;

“Thy chance to standeth by mine own side hast hath passed - from h're on, I consid'r thee mine own foe”.

Edward and his small contingent left the hamlet and returned to their camp at West Rottington.

With a sense of foreboding, Darcy immediately dispatched Sir. John Delves to appraise Somerset (4th Earl) of the meeting and to seek urgent military assistance. 

“The king wilt beest madeth acknown yond edward is actively recruiting”.

It was essential that the king be told at once, but how best to do that to ensure secrecy and the safety of his envoy to guarantee the delivery of the information, when the countryside held such dangers, brought by divided loyalties? Threat of ambush was everywhere.

The answer presented itself later at vespers ….. Divine inspiration thought Darcy! 

The Bishop of Dungborough (Stephen the Fearless) and Friar Evian would travel towards London, on the pretence of visiting the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury on matters of the church. That should at least get them safely into the capital. From there-on-in, the Bishop would have to use his initiative.

Stephen the Fearless with Friar Evian

Darcy set about fortifying the hamlet, employed his armourer and blacksmith to their trades for the benefit of the levy being called up and he prepared his son, Sir. James for his first major military command.

With so many parts in motion, nothing was certain - England was close to being plunged once again into another year of civil war. Just how will this unravel?

   

Resource Section.

Previous account of the Battle of Barnet. LINK

Previous account of the Battle of Tewkesbury. LINK

My sister webspace ‘COMMANDERS’ is being re-configured to showcase various figure and boardgame systems that I am enjoying and gives a flavour of where current projects are up to. Link.

https://commanders.simdif.com

Attack on West Rottington 1472

The reader may recall that on New Year Day, Yorkist forces under the command of Sir Bartholomew Rolfe, raided Beacan Farm and embarrassed Lord Darcy (Lancastrian), by stealing a goodly proportion of Piggy Longton’s winter feed.

That feed was essential to surviving the winter, so there was no choice other than to get it back, but honour and reputation also demanded that Lord Darcy took steps that would penalise the Yorkists and discourage them from making further raids in the future.

This carried a real risk of military escalation between Lords Darcy and Trebian and by implication, between the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions at a regional or even national level - some care was needed!

To read about the action as recorded in the Chronicles, please use the ‘read more’ tab. 

Attack at Beacan Farm - Piggy Longton 1472

After our Christmas stay at Piggy Longton as a Guest of Lord Darcy, an ardent Lancastrian supporter, New Year finds us as the guest of his nemesis, Lord Trebian of West Rottington, an avid Yorkist.

It is New Years Eve and our greeting by Lord Trebian could not have been friendlier. For accommodation, we join other guests at a local hostelry, renown for strong ale and boisterous evenings. 

As the day wore on, there was a growing carnival atmosphere as traders pitched their tents in the market square with a mixture of party games such as ‘shoot the Lancastrian’.

Lord Trebian had paid this trader 5 Groats to give every punter who asked, 3 arrows to hit a human sized doll at 100 paces. It was very popular, but in reality, it turned out to be a recruiting ground to find a group of elite type archers, with successful archers signing a pledge to serve Trebian for the next three days and receiving some nice coin in exchange.

Of all the trader tents, even the one selling Yorkist model soldiers in the new 300mm scale in carved wood, it was this one that I kept coming back to, not to shoot a Lancastrian, but rather wondering why Lord Trebian should be so interested in gathering competent archers to his fold on this day of all days. 

That evening, the strong ale loosened a few tongues, but the most that I could gather was that Lord Trebian had banned the soldiers from drink that night and that the following morning, there was due to be some sort of exercise!

Please use the ‘read more’ tab to discover what New Year surprises crafty old Trebian has in store for Piggy Longton.

Sir Bartholomew Rolfe - Chronicles of Piggy Longton

This post introduces a new character for my Piggy Longton ImagiNations.

Sir. Bartholomew Rolfe, a Yorkist through and through, was widely known and well respected by the men of West Rottington, as his background and transformation to knight was most unusual in character, it being rare for someone to have moved across the social divide to gain such status. His surname gives indication of his humble peasant beginnings. 

The son of a local farmhand working on the estate, as then belonging to Lord Trebian’s father, Conrad. He was in the right place at the right time to save Conrad’s life by bravely fending off a murderous enemy ambush. 

He fought with such ferocity that the elderly Conrad, impressed and grateful, took him under his wing and fully funded his education and subsequent pathway to Squire, during which time he served within the household cavalry as Squire to Sir. John Radcliffe, fighting in the service of Conrad.

Upon Conrad’s death, his son, the present Lord Trebian, continued to financially sponsor Rolfe, who through good deed and combat worthiness, at the age of 22 and with the indulgence of the Crown, had recently been knighted.

His heraldic device is plain, with a black and white field and the scythe emblazoned upon it, representing his immediate heritage of commoner. This was viewed with some humour by some of his more class conscious contemporaries, though few would want or dare to insult him to his face. 

Sir. Bartholomew with his favoured weapon, the flanged mace, moves to the attack with his colours carried by his aspiring Squire, Thomas Payne

However, to the ordinary men who followed him, especially those who remembered him as a boy, he was revered. They would follow him, above all others, to the ends of the earth! That alone put him into a different league to his fellow warriors, even leaving some worried of the consequences should he ever lose their favour and lead a rebellion or tread an otherwise treacherous path (F’r we liveth in the most treach’rous of times).

Rolfe was in his prime, fiercely loyal to the Trebian household and as a warrior without equal, was becoming increasingly relied upon by Lord Trebian …… who has, by the way, just sent for Rolfe to discuss a ‘local situation’!  

Lord Trebian has his campaign map spread across the table
and is surveying his neighbour’s estate!

Resource Section.

My sister webspace ‘COMMANDERS’ is being re-configured to showcase various figure and boardgame systems that I am enjoying and gives a flavour of where current ongoing projects are up to. Link.

https://commanders.simdif.com

1471 - Feud on the battlefield!

Regular readers may recall that recently, in my figures based Wars of the Roses ‘Imaginations campaign’, which deals with two local feuding factions, I used a boardgame to play out a couple of the bigger battles taking place on the national stage.

The most recent was Tewkesbury and our local feuding Lords, Darcy and Trebian, were instructed to bring troops to support their respective armies (Lancastrian and Yorkist).

I represented this by inserting a few extra counters into the boardgame to show the extra troops brought by our two local notables.

During the boardgame, a situation presented itself that I wanted to bring to the figures table, so here were are. This post is all about that clash, using miniature figures, between Lords Darcy and Trebian, who by chance had been posted to the same part of the battlefield.

For the rest of this post, please use the ‘read more’ tab.

Tewkesbury 1471 and the Men of Piggy Longton

This is a post that mixes a boardgame with a figures narrative background.

For those who don’t know, I have been running a number of linked figure battles in a fictional setting called Piggy Longton. Part of the ‘imaginations’ narrative has spilled onto the national stage, as King Henry, who visited Piggy Longton, moved back down to London and immediately became embroiled with the Battle of Barnet, which the Lancastrians lost and Henry found himself a prisoner in the Tower of London.

While the smaller actions at the hamlet are played out with my figure collection, I am using my Men of Iron boardgame system from GMT to do the set piece big battles. We have already done Barnet and now the narrative at the national level is pushing us towards Tewkesbury.

Queen Margaret (Lancastrian) has gathered an army to march on London, to defeat Edward and release King Henry from captivity. The two armies clash at Tewkesbury, a critical battle that will likely decide the issue of royal dynasty and of importance to me …. who will be granted control of Lord Darcy’s estates (Piggy Longton). 

Both Edward and Margaret had sent out a call to arms to their respective followers to give support and so this spills into our Piggy Longton world as we are about to witness our key land owners being drawn into the national conflict.

With Queen Margaret’s ‘invitation’ to Lord Darcy to bring his forces and Edward’s  expectation for Lord Trebian to do the same, we will see our Piggy Longton characters brought into the boardgame.

Please use the ‘read more’ tab for the rest of this post.

1471 - The 2nd Battle of Coron Torr

The saga of the Piggy Longton continues ….. King Henry, presently lodged at Crispin Priory, had to remind Sir Roger that he was not under house arrest and that the imperative was to reach London before the rebels could strike.

He ordered that they leave immediately and make for Oxford, where they could collect reinforcements and then continue on to London.

Sir Roger, was of course duty bound to obey his King and he knew that Henry was right. Help had not arrived from Lord Darcy, so something was amiss and remaining at the priory any longer would just increase the chances of detection by the Yorkist enemy. Leaving that night and travelling only at night, they arrived three days later within the protection of Oxford - not it must be said without some difficulty along the way, but that is a story for another time.

Edward, frustrated by the inability of Salisbury to deliver the King to him as he had sworn he would do, could not delay further and he ordered Salisbury to leave Dungborough and move his forces south towards Banbury, where he would meet him, together with Lord Hastings and Montagu, from where they would advance on the capital.

He ordered Lord Trebian to put a strong garrison into Piggy Longton and use that as a base to organise an intensive search for Henry’s (now abandoned) hide-away.

Somerset (4th Earl) had arrived at Lord Darcy’s camp to collect his men to march to Oxford, a staging post for the Lancastrian forces that were gathering to move onto London for the inevitable battle that would be fought there.

This left Darcy alone to attempt the recapture of Piggy Longton from the Yorkists, though as a parting gesture, Somerset had left a body of pikemen that they may “doth valorous and striketh feareth into the hearts of the foe”.

So once again, Darcy had to attack towards Crown Hill, the gateway to his estates from the west.

What Darcy didn’t yet know was that to the south, the Lancastrians had just been beaten at the Battle of Barnet, that Edward now controlled London and that King Henry was to be imprisoned in The Tower of London.

please use the ‘read more’ tab for the rest of this post.