There
is some information in the chronicles which supports this. While some
accounts simply say that Edward took his army to Kenilworth, others imply
that only part was used. Most say that Edward and Clare went to
Kenilworth but make no mention of Mortimer. It would be logical for Edward
to take Clare with him. Firstly, Clare is likely to have had the nucleus
of the division of experienced men which he commanded at Lewes, and
secondly, bearing in mind that Clare had fought
against Edward only the previous year, Edward would want to keep an eye on
him. But of Mortimer, there is no mention and it is my suggestion that his
part of the army did not take part in the attack on Kenilworth. There is
mention in the chronicles of a surprise attack and rapid movement which
again would be consistent with a smaller force. Guisborough says that the
force hid in a deep ditch near the castle and heard the sound of troops
coming towards them (which in fact turned out be foraging party) which put
them in fear of discovery so that they mounted their horses and put lances
in their hands. There is no mention of infantry, and the fear of discovery
suggests a smallish force totally dependent upon surprise for success.
Although my knowledge of Kenilworth is not extensive, I was not able to
find evidence of a deep ditch near the castle capable of hiding an army of
10,000 men.
The
chronicle which gives most support to part only of the army going to
Kenilworth is the Evesham Chronicle. It describes how Simon junior
"hurried with his men towards Kenilworth where not many days later he was
plundered most shamefully. For, about the festival of James the apostle,
Edward the first born son of the King and Gilbert of Clare, Count of
Gloucester and William of Wales and other temporal lords then in the City
of Worcester pretended to march towards Shrewsbury and as a precaution
sent their horse trappings with the foot soldiers towards that place.
When they came to the road which veered towards Kenilworth they took
that route." This implies that the raiding party slipped away north of
Worcester and the rest of the army, mainly foot, continued on the
Shrewsbury Road until sufficient time had elapsed to make it impossible
for anybody to warn Kenilworth, and then retraced their steps to
Worcester.
At
Kenilworth, Edward's raid was a success except that he failed to capture
Simon junior, doubtless an important objective. The surprise was total
and from the above passage, it may be that it was unheard of at the time
for men of quality to be attacked while asleep, unarmed and defenceless,
by others of their own class which may have been partly responsible for
the decision to sleep in the open in the first place. This may also be the
reason why relatively few casualties are reported, most of the magnates
who were attacked, being made prisoner. Simon junior is usually described
as escaping, partially dressed, by means of a boat over the lake which is
between the Priory grounds and the castle although one chronicler says
that Simon junior in fact slept in the castle. Edward's success was to
capture banners, horses and a number of the leaders of Simon junior's
army, which although not destroyed, was
thoroughly disorganised and its morale severely dented.
The
apparent departure of the royalist army for Shrewsbury on the afternoon of
Saturday 1st August was doubtless reported quickly to Simon senior in
Hereford by his spies. It may be that Simon senior smelt a rat , but he
had been trying to cross the Severn for weeks and had to make the most of
this opportunity. Either the same day or early on the Sunday morning his
army set out from Hereford , succeeded in crossing the Severn and spent
Sunday night at Kempsey, about three miles south of Worcester, a tough
journey of 25 miles. At this stage , he must have intended to march
straight on to Kenilworth , skirting Worcester to the east and then taking
the Alcester road (modern A 422). If he had intended to go directly from
Hereford to Evesham, he would surely have crossed the Severn further south
than Kempsey.
