Battle of Stoke Field: End of the Roses War

by David Cohen

The Last Stand of Martin Schwartz and his German Mercenaries at the Battle of Stoke Field 16th June 1487. Artist Henry Marriot Paget.

In the shadow of Bosworth, a quieter yet decisive battle sealed the fate of the Plantagenet claim to the English throne. The Battle of Stoke Field, fought on 16 June 1487, is often overlooked, yet it marked the true end of the Wars of the Roses. While Henry VII had claimed victory two years earlier, the Yorkist resistance flared once more with the backing of foreign mercenaries and a pretender—Lambert Simnel—who was paraded as Edward Plantagenet. What followed was a confrontation that tested the resolve of the newly crowned Tudor monarch and his ability to unite a fractured realm.

The clash near East Stoke was brutal and chaotic, pitting a desperate Yorkist army against Henry’s more organised and better-positioned forces. Despite the Yorkists’ initial momentum, they were ultimately crushed, with key leaders slain and the rebellion extinguished. The battle not only solidified Henry VII’s rule but also signified the death knell of the dynastic feuding that had torn England apart. Yet, for all its importance, Stoke Field remains a footnote in popular memory—a final, bloody exclamation mark on a war that shaped the English monarchy.

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Read More: https://historymedieval.com/battle-of-stoke-field-end-of-the-roses-war/