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In 1497, Perkin Warbeck, a pretender to the English throne, arrived in Scotland, where James IV
received him. The Scots made a brief incursion into England, which gave Henry VII the perfect excuse to levy taxes. This, however,
incited much ill-will and caused a Cornish uprising, headed by Michael Joseph (An Gof, "The Smith"), and Thomas Flamank, a lawyer. —AJ. |
The people of Cornwall, considering themselves over-taxed by Henry to meet the expenses of the war, rose in open rebellion, and crying for the execution
of the Archbishop Morton, chancellor and chief minister, and of Sir Reginald Grey, they poured into Devonshire to the number
of 16,000 men. From Devonshire they advanced into Somersetshire, where they were joined by the Lord Audley, and many other
persons of less note. They then marched through Wiltshire, Hampshire, and Surrey, into Kent, and encamped on Blackheath. Henry,
whose great sagacity did not preserve him from superstition, believed that Saturday was his lucky day; and, accordingly, he ordered battle to be given on
a Saturday. While the Lord Daubeney moved from London to attack in front, the Earl of Oxford made a circuit to attack in rear;
and the king, with a great body of reserve and most of the artillery, kept his person out of danger at St. George's Fields, in the suburbs of Loudon. Lord
Daubeney, after a sharp conflict, in which the Cornish archers did great execution, drove in the advance post of the insurgents at Deptford Strand, carried
the bridge, ascended the hill, and established himself on the heath. At the same time, Oxford showed himself in their rear. Though without horse or artillery,
or any good officers to command them, the Cornish men fought bravely, until 2000 of them were slain. Fifteen hundred were taken with arms in their hands; and
among the prisoners were Lord Audley and Flammock, an attorney, and Joseph, a blacksmith. The Lord Audley was beheaded at Tower Hill;
Flammock and Joseph were hanged, drawn, and quartered, at Tyburn. The blacksmith died like a hero. All the rest were pardoned by proclamation.
MacFarlane, Charles, and Thomas Thomson. The Comprehensive History of England. Vol I.
London: Blackie & Son, 1876. 730.
Other Local Resources:
The Battle of Blackheath on the Web:
- An Gof and the Cornish rebels in Deptford, 1497 - Seán Mac Mathúna
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This page was created on May 27, 2012. Last updated April 13, 2023.