Henry VII: Consolidation - Lovell Rebellion

Question 1

Date

Answer 1

• April 1486

Question 2

Location

Answer 2

• Yorkshire
• Worcestershire

Question 3

Main Cause & Aims

Answer 3

• Dynastic - wanted restoration of House of York
• Overthrow Henry and replace with unspecified Yorkist claimant

Question 4

Leadership

Answer 4

• Viscount Lovell - chamberlain for Richard III
• Sir Thomas Stafford
• Sir Humphrey Stafford

Question 5

Outcome

Answer 5

• Attracts little support - war-weariness
• Lovell escapes
• Staffords both captured
• Humphrey is executed

Question 6

Level of Threat & Success

Answer 6

• Very low - rebels number derisory
• Entirely unsuccessful

Question 7

Brief Summary

Answer 7

• Led by Yorkist supporters Viscount Francis Lovell, Humphrey and Thomas Stafford
• They had taken sanctuary from Henry at Colchester after Bosworth but emerged from hiding in 1486 to gather troops against him
• The rebellion quickly collapsed

Question 8

Longer Summary

Answer 8

• After Bosworth, they had taken sanctuary in the Colchester Abbey for eight months
• In April 1486, the three left to raise a rebellion
• Lovell travelled to Richard’s old stronghold in Yorkshire to raise troops
• The Staffords did the same in Worcestershire
• Rebellions gained little traction because there was no Yorkist pretender
• Henry VII went to York and sent his uncle Jasper Tudor to pardon every rebel except Lovell himself - draining all support
• Support for Stafford’s collapsed when they heard that the king was on his way south with an army
• Lovell escaped and supported Simnel Rebellion then fled to Flanders
• Staffords fled to sanctuary but were dragged out and tried - Humphrey was executed, Thomas imprisoned

Question 9

Reasons for Failure

Answer 9

• Lack of credible alternative candidate as king - very few commoners were willing to support noble leaders
• Lovell and Staffords were only minor nobles - had no great wealth and no group of followers on which to base a rising
• Henry had an efficient intelligence operation - successfully tracked rebels when they fled, giving them no time to become a threat
• No backing from overseas - total support raised was in dozens

Question 10

Results & Changes Made

Answer 10

• Rule of sanctuary altered - now impossible to plead sanctuary in treason cases
• Yorkists learned that they needed a Yorkist Prince to stand against Henry