Henry spent more on Dover than any other castle during his reign. He must have therefore found it infuriating that the Montfortian castellan again refused him entry upon his return from France on 15 February 1264. It was only a minor setback, though. He quickly moved on to Oxford, where he ordered the feudal host to muster, officially for yet another march on Wales but Northampton was clearly the target. He also told the student population to be gone. Then as now, they were apt to riot during spring and he was worried his Scottish irregulars might join in. When he eventually bagged several of them in his haul of prisoners from Northampton, his first thought was to chop their heads offs. He was reminded, however, that many of them came from prominent families. Then as now, students from prominent families always got special protection.
