254 THE CAPTURE OF LORD RIVERS AND April and the unworthy men who administered the government for Henry VI. But they were not left to their plotting in peace, as even before their flight Somerset had begun to fit out an expedi- tion for Calais to make good his right to the captaincy, and very soon a royal commission was issued which, stating that the duke of York and his accomplices were endeavouring to stir up an insurrection in Kent, empowered Lord Rivers and the sheriff of Kent to array the Kentishmen and to seize all ships belonging to the earl of Warwick. 1 Acting on this commission, Rivers took possession of a few of Warwick's ships which were lying in the harbour of Sandwich, and if there was any real danger of an insurrection in Kent, it was held in check. On the other hand, Somerset's expedition ended in failure. Warwick turned the guns of Calais on him, and although the duke succeeded in making himself master of the neighbouring fortress of Guines, whose garrison he won over with fair promises, all that he could do after that was to stay at Guines, keep a covetous eye on Calais, and engage in almost daily skirmishes with Warwick which were a good deal more disastrous to him than to his rival. In the meantime, however, Margaret of Anjou was mindful of her friend, and plans were soon made to send Somerset assistance. Lord Rivers and Sir Gervase Clifton were to have charge of the relief expedition, and Clifton's work was to guard the sea while Rivers proceeded to Guines with the reinforcements which, it was hoped, would enable Somerset to take Calais. 2 But again misfortune befell. For Warwick, who had many friends in Kent and more than one citizen of Sandwich with him in Calais, knew of the preparations his enemies were making, and resolved to nip their enterprise in the bud. Two well-known Paston letters tell the story of how the earl sent Dynham to Sandwich and of how Dynham seized Rivers, his wife, the dowager duchess of Bedford, and his son, Sir Anthony Woodville, in their beds and carried them off to Calais, but it has remained for the following inquisition to determine the exact date of the daring raid and also to acquaint us with the names of a number of the men who participated in it. CORA L. SCOFIELD. Inquisitions. Miscellaneous, Chancery, file 317. Inquisicio capta apud Depford' in comitatu Kancie die lune proximo post mensem Pasche anno regni Regis Henrici sexti post conquestum tricesimo octavo coram lacobo Comite Wiltes', Roberto Hungerford' de Hungerford', milite, lohanne Fortescu, milite, lohanne Prisot, milite, Petro Ardern, milite, Willelmo Yelverton', lohanne Markham, Ricardo Byngham, Nicholao Ayssheton, Roberto Danvers, Roberto Danby, Waltero Moyle, lohanne Nedeham, et Thoma Thorp', lusticiis domini Regis ad 1 Col. of Patent Rolls, Hen. VI, 1452-61, p. 555. 2 Ibid., Warrants under the Signet, &c., file 1375, 1 December.
