Siege of Leicester 1173

Siege of Leicester 1173. Medieval Leicester. Upstart Uprising , Shortly after Easter 1173, Henry "the Young King" rebelled against his father King Henry, bringing turmoil to the whole of the Plantagenet kingdom in Britain and France. Chief among young Henry's noble supporters was Robert "Blanchmains", the 3rd Earl of Leicester. His involvement in the rebellion had devastating consequences for the town and its people., Besieged! , In reaction to Blanchmains and the rebels attacking the King's forces in Normandy, Henry II ordered his chief justice, Richard de Lucy, to capture the town of Leicester. On the 3rd July, de Lucy, along with the "Army of England", besieged the town. Accompanying the soldiers were almost 200 carpenters "to make [siege] machines for the army at Leicester". For three weeks Leicester held out. A fire then swept through the town, causing Blanchmains' garrison, led by Ansket Mallory, to retreat to the safety of the castle. The townsfolk were now defenceless, and surrendered the town on 28th July., Defeat and Destruction , On 29th September, Robert Blanchmains arrived in Norfolk with a large force of mercenaries, aiming to reach Leicester. But delays gave de Lucy time to bring his army south, where on the 17th October they surprised Blanchmains forces as they crossed a river at the village of Forham, north of Bury St Edmunds. The battle swiftly ended in defeat for Bachman who was captured. He was imprisoned in France for three years for his role in the rebellion. Fighting however continued on until the summer of 1174, when Henry I finally crushed the rebels. Leicester Castle was one of the last rebel strongholds to surrender. Parts of the castle and the town's defences were then destroyed to ensure that Leicester could not be used to launch any further rebellions.