First Battle of St Albans First Battle of St Albans The First Battle of St Albans, fought on 22 May 1455 at St Albans, 22 miles (35 km) north of London, traditionally marks the beginning of the Wars of the Roses in England. Richard, Duke of York, and his allies, the Neville earls of Salisbury and Warwick, defeated a royal army commanded by Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, who was killed. With King Henry VI captured, a subsequent parliament appointed Richard of York Lord Protector. The incapacitation of Henry VI by mental illness in 1454 had led to the recall to court of Richard of
Wars of the Roses decided with the influence of the monarch. Revisionists, such as the Oxford historian K. B. McFarlane, suggest that the effects of the conflicts have been greatly exaggerated and that there were no wars of the roses. Many places were unaffected by the wars, particularly in the eastern part of England, such as East Anglia. It has also been suggested that the traumatic impact of the wars was exaggerated by Henry VII, to magnify his achievement in quelling them and bringing peace. The effect of the wars on the merchant and labouring classes was far less than in the long drawn-out