Battle of Tewkesbury Battle of Tewkesbury The Battle of Tewkesbury, which took place on 4 May 1471, was one of the decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses. The forces loyal to the House of Lancaster were completely defeated by those of the rival House of York under their monarch, King Edward IV. The Lancastrian heir to the throne, Edward, Prince of Wales, and many prominent Lancastrian nobles were killed during the battle or were dragged from sanctuary two days later and immediately executed. The Lancastrian king, Henry VI, who was a prisoner in the Tower of London, died or was murdered
Hugh Courtenay (d.1471) Hugh Courtenay (d.1471) Sir Hugh Courtenay (c.1427 – 6 May 1471) of Boconnoc, Cornwall, was MP for Cornwall in 1446 and 1449. He was beheaded after the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. He was the second son of Sir Hugh Courtenay (c.1358-1425), of Haccombe and Bampton, Devon, MP and Sheriff of Devon (a grandson of Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd/10th Earl of Devon (1303–1377) and the younger brother of Edward de Courtenay, 3rd/11th Earl of Devon (1357–1419), "The Blind Earl"), by his 4th wife Maud Beaumont (d. 3 July 1467), daughter of Sir William Beaumont of Shirwell by Isabel Willington, daughter