This multi covers the Battle of Barnet, a decisive battle in the Wars of the Roses, fought on 14 April 1471. There is a ghostly legend concerning the Battle of Barnet!
The Wars of the Roses were a series of civil wars, fought between two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet. The Battle of Barnet was won by the Yorkists, and secured the throne for Edward IV. Many of the street names of New Barnet are named after the era.
Parking for this cache can be found along the Great North Road, close to the first waypoint, although it is metered. There is some alternative parking at the junction of the Great North Road and Kitts End Lane, close to the third waypoint, which is free. This multi is approximately 1 mile in length, from car back to car.
WAYPOINT #1 – The Yorkist Trail - N 51° 39.546, W 000° 11.991
The Yorkist forces were commanded by Edward IV. He was known as a capable tactician and leader, frequently spotting and exploiting frailties in enemy lines. Edward had held the throne before the Battle of Barnet, but in 1470 was overthrown by the Earl of Warwick, who restored Henry VI as King.
Edward had started his journey to Barnet in East Riding in March 1471. He initially moved inland towards York, announcing that he was only interested in claiming back his father’s title of Duke of York, and that he had no design on the English crown. As such, he was largely unopposed by the Lancastrians. However, once his army was of sufficient strength, he dropped the ruse and started his march south towards London, by then fighting off Lancastrian attacks as he went. Edward besieged the Earl of Warwick at Coventry, but could not persuade him to fight. Thus, he turned towards London. Warwick followed the Yorkists' trail once he had been reinforced by his allies. It was hoped that the City of London, under the control of the Lancastrian Duke of Somerset, would keep its gates closed to the Yorkist Edward, allowing Warwick's forces to catch him in the open and defeat him. However, Somerset had left the City, and Edward was welcomed by the people. The Yorkist King, Henry VI, offered himself into Edward’s custody, trusting his life to be in no danger (he was imprisoned in the Tower of London and died just over a month later).
Knowing that the Lancastrian forces were following him, Edward hurried back to Barnet, where they had set up camp on the high ground to the north. Edward did not know the exact location of the Lancastrians, and prepared his own battle lines. This Waypoint is in the very centre of where Edward is believed to have deployed his forces, stretching approximately 1,100 feet either side of what is now the A1000 Great North Road. As night fell, Edward prepared his troops for a surprise attack on Warwick early the next morning.
At this location there is a notice board with information on it about the battle. How many letters does the last word of the first line of text contain? The answer is A.
WAYPOINT #2 – The Lancastrian Trail - N 51° 39.820, W 000° 11.947
The Lancastrian forces were commanded by Richard Neville, the 16th Earl of Warwick. Warwick was the wealthiest and most powerful peer of his age, and his deposition of two monarchs caused him to be known as “Warwick the Kingmaker”.
After refusing to fight Edward at Coventry, Warwick was joined by the Marquess of Montagu (his brother); the Earl of Oxford and Duke of Exeter. His army followed Edward’s, and set up camp at Barnet. Warwick’s army outnumbered Edward’s, perhaps by as many as 2:1. As night fell, Warwick ordered his men to creep closer to where he thought Edward’s encampment was, under strict order of silence. He also commanded his cannons to continuously bombard Edward’s estimated position during the night. However, the Yorkist forces had also crept in closer, and the Lancastrian cannon overshot their lines. The location of Waypoint 2 is where the Lancastrian forces were believed to be deployed, in a line running approximately 850 foot to the east and 2,000 foot to the west of what is now the A1000 Great North Road.
During the night Warwick was visited by Montagu who reported low morale amongst the men. Montagu suggested that as the two highest ranking commanders, he and his brother should fight on foot rather than on horseback. Footsoldiers believed that mounted commanders tended to flee if the battle turned against them, but to fight on foot would signal that the two commanders were prepared to fight with their men to the death. Warwick agreed, and the horses were tethered to the rear.
At this location is a triangular road sign with a number on the back. That number is BC.
WAYPOINT #3 – The Battle of Barnet - N 51° 39.951, W 000° 11.935
Fog set in overnight. Due to the fog and the night movements, Edward did not know the precise location of the Lancastrians, and Warwick did not know the precise location of the Yorkists. At 4 o’clock in the morning, both sides awoke. Edward, who had planned for an early attack, quickly engaged. Both sides fired their cannon and arrows before laying into each other with swords and axes. The morning fog was thick, and the overnight movements had displaced the two lines, leaving each army with a vulnerable left flank. The Lancastrians were the first to exploit this advantage, the Earl of Oxford attacking the Yorkist Lord William Hastings. As the Yorkist left were overwhelmed and fled, some of the Lancastrian forces followed, a few even reaching London to spread news of a Lancastrian victory. Some started plundering Barnet, whilst the Lancastrian Oxford rallied others back to the battle and the main Lancastrian forces. Due to the thickness of the fog, the Yorkist forces failed to notice they had lost their left flank, and so its collapse actually had little effect on the morale of either side and therefore the battle, particularly as by this time the Lancastrian left wing was suffering a similar fate to the Yorkist’s.
Because both sides were attacking each other’s left flank, the battle lines slowly started rotating. So it was that the Lancastrian Oxford, retracing his steps, arrived unexpectedly at the rear of his ally, the Marquess of Montagu. Montagu’s men mistook Oxford’s for the Yorkists and unleashed a volley of arrows. Knowing full well that Montagu had recently defected to the Lancastrian cause, Oxford's men were particularly wary of him. With his mistake, they cried treachery and counter-attacked. Their shouts of treason were taken up through the Lancastrian lines which began to fall into disarray.
As the fog began to clear, Edward saw the Lancastrian forces begin to collapse and also saw its exposed centre. He sent in his reserves. Things went from bad to worse for the Lancastrians. News of the Lancastrian Exeter’s death from a Yorkist axe caused shouts to go up which were carried across the battlefield (in fact the cries were incorrect; he survived the blow, and lived for another 4 years).
In the confusion Montagu was struck in the back and killed, from either a Yorkist or Lancastrian blow. Warwick witnessed his brother’s death. Knowing the battle was lost, he tried to retreat to his horses. Edward, realising victory was at hand, ordered his guards to find Warwick and bring him back alive. However, other Yorkist soldiers found Warwick first. They pulled him down, prised his visor open and stabbed him in the neck. By the time Edward’s guards found Warwick he was dead, mutilated, and his body stripped of his gilded armour. The battle had lasted between two and three hours.
Estimates of the dead vary between 1,500 and 10,000. The exact location of the battle is not in fact known. Records of the geography and boundaries are not detailed enough, and of course the fog did not help matters. In 1740 a monument was erected to commemorate the battle. Originally located south of where it is today, it was moved north later, to the junction of the Great North Road and Kitts End Lane.
Waypoint 3 is at this monument. On the monument is an inscription, containing seven numbers. In the order that those numbers appear, they are DEFGHIJ.
How many stone blocks make up the very bottom row of the monument (or at least how many can be seen? The answer is K.
THE CACHE LOCATION
And the ghost? Strangely enough the legend of the ghost does not concern anyone who died in the battle. Indeed, the ghost of the Battle of Barnet actually arrives on the scene before the battle commenced.
Legend has it that Edward summoned the ghost of Friar Bungay, a 13th Century Franciscan Friar who became known as a magician and necromancer, before the battle. It is the ghost of Friar Bungay who is said to have summoned the thick fog which caused confusion, led to the deaths of many men, and assisted Edward in his victory.
The final cache can be found at: N 51° 39.A(F+B)(C+E+G+K) W 000° 12.(I-A)(D-H+J-E)(A-I)