A HISTORY OF SUSSEX The enmity between the royalist and baronial parties continued to increase until in 1264, after the appeal to the King of France had resulted in the condemnation of the Oxford statutes, war broke out. The two leaders of the barons were Simon de Montfort Earl of Leicester and Gilbert de Clare Earl of Gloucester ; they each had some slight connexion with Sussex, the former holding the manor of Sheffield and the latter that of Rotherfield. At first the fortune of war favoured the royalists, who captured Northampton, Leicester and Nottingham, relieved the castle of Rochester which Earl Warenne had been gallantly defending against Montfort and seized the Earl of Gloucester's castle at Tonbridge.' London, on the other hand, being in the barons' hands and strongly favourable to their cause, Henry evidently considered it advisable to con- centrate his forces where they would have the support of the local lords and their fortresses. For this purpose no county was more suitable than Sussex ; Lewes castle was in the hands of the King's devoted brother-in- law John de Warenne Earl of Surrey, and Pevensey and Hastings were held by his uncle Peter of Savoy ; and William de Braose of Bramber, and John Fitz-Alan of Arundel had both proved their loyalty by assisting in the defence of Rochester Castle. Accordingly at the beginning of May the royal army moved southwards from Tonbridge, passing through Robertsbridge,' where they plundered the abbey, obliging the monks to pay a heavy ransom for their lives, on to Battle, where, in spite of the loyal welcome given them by the abbey, they repeated their sacrilegious performances ; and so to Winchelsea,^ where the King vainly endeavoured tosecure the assistance of the Cinque Ports fleet, which was refused, though the hostages whom he took subsequently promised to obtain ships for his use, and were released on that understanding.' Meanwhile Montfort, with his army reinforced by a large contingent of Londoners, had left London on 6 May and was marching in the direction of Lewes, to which place the King now hastened, passing through Battle and Herstmonceux and reaching Lewes on 10 May.^ The Earl of Warenne, with Prince Edward and others, were quartered in the castle, but the King preferred to take up his residence in the Cluniac priory. By 12 May the baronial forces had reached Fletching,^ about nine miles north of Lewes, where they halted ; the choice of this locality was probably due to Earl Simon's possessing the manor of Sheffield in Fletching. Next day the bishops of London and Worcester were sent to the King to make a final effx>rt for peace ; they were empowered to offer compensation for damages and to submit the question of what statutes should remain in force to a select committee of clergy. To this Henry replied by a letter of defiance, and another of similar import was sent by Richard King of the Romans and Prince Edward in the name of all the loyal barons. The bishops returned with this challenge to Montfort, who at once began to prepare his forces for the struggle. The Bishop of Worcester » Blaauw, The Barons' War (ed. ♦ Close, 48 Hen. III. m. 6d. 1871), 125-33- Blaauw, op. cit. 134. 2 Ibid. 222. B Ibid. 139. 3 Ibid. ' Ibid. 133. 142, 159-62. 496
