Battle of Towton anniversary marked at Rievaulx Abbey

The 550th anniversary of one of the biggest battles of the Wars of the Roses has been marked with a re-enactment in North Yorkshire.

Archery and military drills at Rievaulx Abbey were two of the activities which remembered the Battle of Towton.

An estimated 28,000 soldiers died in the battle in 1461, where the House of York was victorious against the House of Lancaster.

The two sides were engaged in a struggle for the English throne.

The final victory in the civil war was claimed in 1485 by Henry Tudor, who defeated the last Yorkist king Richard III.

He went on to marry Edward IV's daughter, Elizabeth of York, to unite the two houses. The House of Tudor subsequently ruled England and Wales for 117 years.