Humphrey almost single-handedly led the Lancastrian resistance during the early years of the reign of Edward IV,[3] until he was executed in 1469, in the king's presence.
Humphrey's father Thomas died early in the conflict, while his uncle, Lord Neville, was killed at the Battle of Towton in 1461.
[3] Humphrey shared the Lancastrian sentiments of the elder branch of the house of Neville, the offspring of Westmorland's first marriage, and he declared for Henry VI when, on 26 June 1461, he, with Lord Roos and others, made a descent into Durham as far as Brancepeth from Scotland, whither he had fled after Towton.
Neville, who is described as 'esquire of Brancepeth', and filled the office of bailiff of Hexham, was captured and attainted in the parliament held in the following November.
Humphrey remained some time in the Tower, but ultimately managed to break out, and, returning to Northumberland, 'made commotion of people against our sovereign lord the king [Edward IV]'.
Sir Humphrey would seem to have fought at the Battle of Hexham, and, flying southwards, took refuge in a cave on the banks of the Derwent, which here for some distance forms the boundary between Northumberland and Durham.
Humphrey Neville is said to have remained in his cave, leading the life of a freebooter for five years, until, in the summer of 1469, Edward IV fell into the hands of the Earl of Warwick and was carried captive into the north.
The Latin extract quoted by Surtees without giving his authority, according to which Neville was captured in Holderness, may possibly contain a confusion of the Yorkshire with the Durham Derwent.