Battlefields›Aldgate Skirmish, Siege of London 1471
Medieval

Aldgate Skirmish, Siege of London 1471

1471
London, England
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
London, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Lancastrian rebels under Thomas Neville ('the Bastard of Fauconberg')
VS
Victor
Edward IV's Yorkist government (London militia and Tower garrison, led by Henry Bourchier, Earl of Essex, and Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers)
Forces involved

Lancastrian attackers estimated at around 3,000 men under Thomas Neville; Yorkist defenders included London militia estimated at around 4,500, led by the Earl of Essex, with support from Earl Rivers and the Tower garrison.

Outcome
Lancastrian rebels under Thomas Neville, attempting to free Henry VI from the Tower of London, attacked Aldgate and Bishopsgate on 14-15 May 1471 during the wider Siege of London (12-15 May). Insurgents briefly seized the rampart at Aldgate but were driven back by a pincer assault from the London militia and Tower garrison; some were trapped behind the portcullis and killed. The rebels retreated with only minor gains (about 50 oxen intended for the Tower garrison), and the siege was lifted.
The Battle

History & Significance

Aldgate Skirmish, Siege of London 1471 was a skirmish of the Medieval period, fought in London, England in 1471. This engagement forms part of the broader pattern of conflict that shaped the political and military history of the UK during this era.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Aldgate Skirmish, Siege of London 1471 lies on Thames Group, bedrock that formed in the Eocene. The rock here is clay, silt, sand and gravel.

Questions & Answers

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Everything a full report reveals about Aldgate Skirmish, Siege of London 1471

This page covers Aldgate Skirmish, Siege of London 1471. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Aldgate Skirmish, Siege of London 1471

London Wall: remains of Roman wall, bastions and city gate of Aldgate from 17 Bevis Marks to India Street
London Wall: remains of Roman wall, bastions and city gate of Aldgate from 17 Bevis Marks to India Street
Scheduled monument · ~0.1 mi

London Wall is a scheduled ancient monument comprising substantial remains of the Roman defensive circuit built to enclose the City of London. The visible sections, particularly those between Bevis Marks and India Street, preserve portions of the wall's core masonry together with evidence of bast…

Jamzze / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
London Wall: remains of medieval and Roman wall extending 75yds (68m) N from Trinity Place to railway
London Wall: remains of medieval and Roman wall extending 75yds (68m) N from Trinity Place to railway
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 mi

London Wall is a scheduled ancient monument comprising the substantial remains of the medieval and Roman defensive wall that formerly enclosed the City of London. The visible section, measuring approximately 75 yards (68 metres) in length, extends northward from Trinity Place to the railway line…

Stefan Wolmarans / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Tower of London
Tower of London
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 mi

Tower of London is a historic fortified complex founded by William the Conqueror in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest of 1066, initially constructed as a military stronghold to control the City of London and the Thames. The site is dominated by the White Tower, a stone keep begun in the 1060s…

Bob Collowan / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Merchant Taylors' Hall
Merchant Taylors' Hall
Scheduled monument · ~0.4 mi

Merchant Taylors' Hall is a historic building located in the City of London, Middlesex, which has served as the headquarters of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors since the fourteenth century. The hall dates substantially from the sixteenth century, though it has undergone considerable re…

RichTea / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Roman hypocaust and building on site of Coal Exchange
Roman hypocaust and building on site of Coal Exchange
Scheduled monument · ~0.4 mi

I appreciate your request, but I must acknowledge that I have no reliable scholarly information in my training data about a hypocaust or Roman building at the Coal Exchange site in Middlesex with the specific list entry number 1005546. Rather than provide text that might be inaccurate or invented…

Carla Brain / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
London Wall: section bounding All Hallows Churchyard
London Wall: section bounding All Hallows Churchyard
Scheduled monument · ~0.4 mi

London Wall: section bounding All Hallows Churchyard is a scheduled ancient monument comprising a surviving section of the Roman defensive wall that encircled the City of London. The wall at this location, which adjoins All Hallows Church in the City, dates from the late second or early third cen…

Bobulous / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
London Wall: remains of Roman wall and bastion (4a) at Crutched Friars
Scheduled monument · ~0.1 miles
London Wall: section of Roman wall and bastion beneath Crosswall, No. 1 America Square and Fenchurch Street railway station
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near Aldgate Skirmish, Siege of London 1471

Siege of the Tower of London (1460)
1460
~0.4 miles away
Spa Fields Riots, March on the Tower of London, 1816
1816
~0.4 miles away
Peasants' Revolt: Storming of the Tower of London, 1381
1381
~0.4 miles away
Jack Cade - Skirmish at London Bridge
1450
~0.6 miles away
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