It was the culmination of ten years of increasingly violent unrest between supporters of King Henry VI and his cousin Richard, Duke of York. Helen Cox takes .
Despite rumbling on for at least three decades, the conflict saw fewer than 15 months of actual fighting. However, the clashes that did occur were by no means insignificant – or lacking in brutality
The Battle of Wakefield is one of the bloodiest chapters in the city's history, and the scene of an estimated 3,000 deaths - but is perhaps best remembered as the inspiration for a popular children's nursery rhyme.