Sampford Courtenay, battle of

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Sampford Courtenay, battle of, 1549. The Cornish rebels against the Prayer Book in English in the summer of 1549 declared that they would not accept the new service which was ‘but like a Christmas game’. Later in June they crossed the Tamar and laid siege to Exeter. The protector to the young King Edward VI, Somerset, was in a difficult position, with widespread risings in Norfolk and other parts of the country. Early in August a punitive force under Lord Russell (Bedford) drove the insurgents from Clyst St Mary with heavy loss and relieved Exeter. The remainder were routed on 17 August at Sampford Courtenay, near Okehampton. The Norfolk rising was suppressed at the end of the month.

J. A. Cannon