East Stoke, Nottinghamshire

East Stoke
East Stoke

 East Stoke shown within Nottinghamshire
District Newark and Sherwood
Shire county Nottinghamshire
Region East Midlands
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town NEWARK
Postcode district NG24
Dialling code 01636
Police Nottinghamshire
Fire Nottinghamshire
Ambulance East Midlands
EU Parliament East Midlands
UK Parliament Newark
List of places: UK • England • Nottinghamshire

East Stoke is a small village in Nottinghamshire nestled between the A46 Fosse Way trunk road (which cuts through the middle of the village) and the River Trent. It lies about 6 miles southwest of Newark. It is thought to be the site of the Roman settlement called Ad Pontem, the 'place of the bridges,' but this is disputed.

In 1487 it was the scene of a very bloody Battle of Stoke Field between Yorkist rebels and the army of Henry VII. The Yorkists were arrayed on the brow of a hill to the south east of the village, with their right flank anchored on a high spot known as Burham Furlong. Routed by Henry VII's army the Yorkists fled towards the Trent down a ravine (known locally even today as the Bloody Gutter) in which many were cornered and killed. To signify his victory Henry raised his standard on Burham Furlong. The spot is marked by a stone memorial with the legend "Here stood the Burrand Bush planted on the spot where Henry VII placed his standard after the Battle of Stoke 16 June 1487"[1] It is thought that several thousand combatants lost their lives in less than three hours.[2]

What remains clear is that "the Battle of Stoke Field effectively brought an end to that period of civil war known as The Wars of the Roses that had ravaged England since the 1450’s."[3]

Notes

  1. ^ Haigh, Philip A. 1995. The Military Campaigns of the Wars of the Roses. Stroud, Gloucestershire. Allan Sutton Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7509-0904-8
  2. ^ Battle of Stoke Field
  3. ^ http://www.keyworth-history.org.uk/may.htm

External links