1459 in England - Events

Events

• 1450
  • 7 February - John de la Pole marries Lady Margaret Beaufort.
  • 15 April - Hundred Years' War: French defeat the English at the Battle of Formigny.
  • 3 May - Execution of William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk taking the blame for English losses in the Hundred Years' War.
  • 6 June–12 July - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Jack Cade leads a rebellion in Kent and Sussex against war taxes.
  • 12 August - Hundred Year's War: Cherbourg surrenders to the French, allowing France to take control of all of Normandy.
  • September - Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York marches an army to London and attacks alleged traitors in the royal government.
  • Extension of Great Malvern Priory begins, with exceptional stained glass windows.
• 1451
  • June - At the insistence of Parliament, Henry cancels all land grants made during his reign.
  • 30 June - Hundred Years' War: Bordeaux surrenders to the French.
  • 21 August - Hundred Years' War: Bayonne surrenders to the French, ending British rule in Gascony.
  • September - The Duke of York refuses a royal summons to answer for breaking the peace.
• 1452
  • February - The Duke of York calls for armed resistance to King Henry VI.
  • 1–3 March - Supporters of the Duke of York confront the royal army at Dartford. The Duke yields and is pardoned.
  • 21 July - John Kemp enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury.
  • 22 October - Hundred Years' War: John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury re-captures Bordeaux; England regains control of much of Gascony.
• 1453
  • March - Parliament grants Henry generous taxes and condemns past rebels.
  • 17 July - Hundred Years' War: At the Battle of Castillon, the French under Jean Bureau defeat the English under the Earl of Shrewsbury, who is killed.
  • July - The King becomes mentally unstable; his cousin Richard, Duke of York acts as regent.
  • 24 August - Fighting in the north between the families of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and the Earls of Northumberland.
  • 19 October - The Hundred Years' War comes to a close, with the French recapture of Bordeaux leaving the English retaining only Calais on French soil.
• 1454
  • 15 March - Edward of Westminster invested as Prince of Wales.
  • 23 April - Thomas Bourchier enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury, an office he will hold for almost 32 years.
  • June - The Duke of York suppresses a rebellion led by Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter in the north of England.
  • December - Henry VI recovers from his mental instability; the Duke of York is dismissed as regent.
• 1455
  • May - Garrison at Calais mutinies over pay arrears.
  • 22 May - Wars of the Roses: Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York defeats the army of Henry VI at the First Battle of St Albans; Henry is captured.
  • 19 November - The Duke of York is reinstated as regent.
  • November–December - Rioting and rebellion in Devon.
  • Earliest known reference to knitting in England.
• 1456
  • 25 February - Richard of York dismissed as regent for the second time.
  • April - Calais mutiny ends when wool merchants agree to back the garrison's pay.
  • 17 August - Court moves to Coventry; Kenilworth Castle strengthened as the King's principal residence.
• 1457
  • 1 January - Osmund of Salisbury (died 1099) is canonised, the last English saint created until the 20th century. His remains are translated from Old Sarum to Salisbury Cathedral on 23 July.
  • 28 August - French raiders sack Sandwich, Kent.
• 1458
  • 25 March - Formal reconciliation between Yorkists and Lancastrians at St Paul's Cathedral, London.
  • May - Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick defeats a Spanish fleet in the English Channel.
  • Foundation of Magdalen College, Oxford.
• 1459
  • 23 September - Wars of the Roses: At the Battle of Blore Heath, Yorkists under the Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury defeat a Lancastrian force.
  • 12 October - Wars of the Roses: Lancastrian victory at the Battle of Ludford Bridge. Following the battle, the Duke of York flees to Ireland.
  • 10 November - Parliament, held at Coventry, condemns Yorkists as traitors.