Battle of Radcot Bridge The Battle of Radcot Bridge was fought on 19 December 1387 at Radcot Bridge in England , a bridge over the River Thames now in Oxfordshire but then the boundary between Oxfordshire and Berkshire . It was fought between troops loyal to Richard II , led by court favourite Robert de Vere , and an army captained by Henry Bolingbroke , Earl of Derby . Background . The previous year had seen increasing hostility between the young King Richard II and his magnates . This crisis reached a head in November 1386 , when the Wonderful Parliament compelled King Richard to remove his chancellor , Michael de la Pole . According to the 16th century chronicle Raphael Holinshed : In the words of a modern English historian : On Saturday 22 September 1397 Sir Thomas Mortimer was summoned to stand trial as a traitor . Mortimer ’ s alleged crime was the slaying of Thomas Molineux , constable of Chester Castle , at the skirmish at Radcot Bridge in 1387 . Molineux had been one of the most important Royal agents in the Chester Palinate , and had been responsible for the daily exercise of de Vere ’ s power in the region . In spite of Richard II ’ s enduring resentment against the killer of his trusted servant , there were deeper political considerations behind the proceedings against a man who had been merely one of many gentry supporters of the Appellants . In August 1387 King Richard retaliated ; he assembled a Council of magistrates at Nottingham and attempted to redefine the Royal Prerogative so as to render the Wonderful Parliament treasonous . The leaders of the Parliament , including Richard ' s uncle Thomas of Woodstock , Duke of Gloucester , hit back during the Miraculous Parliament of November 1387 . During this session , Woodstock and the Earls of Warwick and Arundel submitted an appeal which accused several of Richard ' s closest friends of routinely deceiving the King for their own profit . Preparatory events . Richard responded by summoning Woodstock and the other Lords Appellant to the Tower of London ; all three refused . This was open dissent , and both Richard and the Appellants knew the implications of such defiance . According to the author of the " Eulogium historiarum " , Richard asked Woodstock whether his companions were willing to take arms against him , to which the Duke replied : " we do not rebel or arm ourselves against the King except in order to instruct him " . Pushed further by Richard , who protested that Parliament did not have the right to command a King even in the case of " the meanest kitchen boy " , the Duke darkly reminded his nephew of his own standing : " But I am the son of a king " . Fearing deposition , King Richard ordered that the citizens of London should take up arms . De Vere was despatched to Cheshire , where King Richard had assembled an army of five thousand retainers , under the direct command of Sir Thomas Molineux . De Vere now took these sourthwards towards London . The battle . The most direct routes to the capital were blocked by Arundel ' s men , so de Vere decided to cross the Thames at Radcot , near Faringdon . However , the bridge itself was under the guard of Derby ' s troops ; they had also partly dismantled its structure . Undeterred , de Vere gave the command to storm the crossing . At this point , a larger force of Derby ' s men arrived from the north , effectively surrounding the Cheshiremen . de Vere managed to escape the field , eventually making his way to France ; once it was known that he had fled , his army promptly surrendered . Among the handful of casualties was Molyneux himself , who was killed during the abortive attempt to cross the Thames . Aftermath . After the battle , Woodstock and the other Appellants held a council with Richard at the Tower . Richard had no means of resisting their demands , and it was agreed that a further Parliament should be called in February 1388 . The resulting Merciless Parliament saw a fullscale purge of Richard ' s household .