John Barton's adaptation would divide the plays up in a new way. The first play ("Henry VI") featured a shortened version of "1 Henry VI" and roughly half of "2 Henry VI" (up to the death of Cardinal Beaufort). The second play ("Edward IV") featured the second half of "2 Henry VI" and a shortened version of "3 Henry VI". This was followed by a shortened version of "Richard III" as the third play. In all, 1,450 lines written by Barton were added to roughly 6,000 lines of original Shakespearean material, with a total of 12,350 lines removed. Barton defended the controversial decision to cut from and add to the text on the grounds that the "Henry VI" plays "are not viable as they stand," arguing they needed to be adapted "in the interests of audience accessibility." As an example of the alterations, in the original text, the character of the Duke of Exeter appears only in "1 Henry VI", whereas in "The Wars of the Roses", he appears throughout all three plays, as a constant ally of Henry VI and the House of Lancaster. Numerous characters were also removed, such as Warwick's father, the Earl of Salisbury, a major character in "2 Henry VI", and some of the battle scenes were amalgamated to cut down on stage combat (such as the First Battle of St Albans and the Battle of Wakefield, which take place in "2 Henry VI" and "3 Henry VI", respectively).