SIR JOHN SAVAGE

East Stoke is a small village in Nottinghamshire nestled between the A46 Fosse Way trunk road (which cuts through the middle of the village) and the River Trent. It lies about 6 miles southwest of Newark. It is thought to be the site of the Roman settlement called Ad Pontem, the ‘place of the bridges,’ but this is disputed. In 1487 it was the scene of a very bloody Battle of Stoke Field between Yorkist rebels and the army of Henry VII. The Yorkists were arrayed on the brow of a hill to the south east of the village, with their right flank anchored on a high spot known as Burham Furlong. Routed by Henry VII’s army the Yorkists fled towards the Trent down a ravine (known locally even today as the Bloody Gutter) in which many were cornered and killed. To signify his victory Henry raised his standard on Burham Furlong. The spot is marked by a stone memorial with the legend “Here stood the Burrand Bush planted on the spot where Henry VII placed his standard after the Battle of Stoke 16 June 1487” It is thought that several thousand combatants lost their lives in less than three hours. What remains clear is that “the Battle of Stoke Field effectively brought an end to that period of civil war known as The Wars of the Roses that had ravaged England since the 1450’s. Sir John Savage was present at the battle and it is for this reason he is included in the Trent Miniatures Adventure range.