Stoney Stratford
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Edward’s mighty castle at Ludlow stands on a raised area of land overlooking the River Teme that lies on its western and southern borders, the town itself lies on the castle's eastern side. The original castle's foundations were built some twenty five years following the conquest of England, and by the beginning of the 14th century, it was under the ownership of Roger Mortimer, the one time lover of Edward II’s queen. By 1425 it was the principal residence of Richard, Duke of York and soon to be a symbol of Yorkist authority. Edward IV and his brother Edmund were both educated at Ludlow and in 1473 Edward established a home here for his young son, entrusting family and loyal members of his court with the prince's care and education. The medieval household was strictly hierarchical, each position was placed in order of importance and at its head was a person of equal importance to the lord, and Edward's household was no different.
Anthony Woodville as a maternal uncle to the prince was his governor, having the authority to move him from one place to another without permission from the king. Edward's education was in the hands of John Alcock, the Bishop of Worcester who also acted as head of the prince's council. Thomas Vaughan as Chamberlain controlled Edward's private expenditure, he was responsible for his living quarters overseeing the prince's day-to-day routine as well as being responsible for his well being. For instance, it was Vaughan who would have implemented Edward IV’s order that the twelve year old Prince of Wales was to be in bed by nine o’clock. Interestingly this was in complete contrast to Edward IV’s upbringing, in 1455 when Edward IV was thirteen years old, he had accompanied his father to St Albans and witnessed at first hand the brutalities of war.
As 1482 came to a close, Thomas Vaughan may have returned from Burgundy to England in time to spend Christmas, either in the city in the ‘magnificent house he had built for himself and the Prince at Westminster’ or at his castle at Betchworth. The Prince of Wales was not in residence at his castle at Ludlow, having spent the festive season at Westminster with his family. If Vaughan had spent Christmas in the city, it would be sensible for him to use this time to bring the king up to date with the events and mood of the Burgundian court after which he may well have escorted Edward back to Ludlow staying long enough to see the prince settled. In the four months to April, he would have been dealing with private matters and his administrative duties elsewhere. However, he was back in Ludlow by the end of April.
Once back within the walls of Ludlow Castle, Thomas Vaughan's life within the royal household continued as normal, while the king was at his lessons or practicing his archery skills, Vaughan would have gone about his duties as chamberlain dealing with Edward's needs, organising staff and rifling through reams of paperwork that men in such a position had to deal with, oblivious of the upheaval that was heading his way. On the 14th of April 1483, a messenger rode into the courtyard of Ludlow Castle and was escorted to the quarters of Anthony Woodville, his message was that Edward IV was dead. Rivers was ordered to bring the king to London by the first day of the new month in time for his coronation on the 4th of May. From that point on the talk of how to get Edward to London was top priority, in the ten days it took to make arrangements to depart, messages would have arrived from London as to the situation within the council. By the 23rd, Vaughan would have had the prince's affairs in order and his belongings ready on the carts for the following morning, later he may have joined the prince and Rivers in celebrating St. George's Day, eventually retiring to his quarters to prepare himself for the long journey from Ludlow to London.
As 1482 came to a close, Thomas Vaughan may have returned from Burgundy to England in time to spend Christmas, either in the city in the ‘magnificent house he had built for himself and the Prince at Westminster’ or at his castle at Betchworth. The Prince of Wales was not in residence at his castle at Ludlow, having spent the festive season at Westminster with his family. If Vaughan had spent Christmas in the city, it would be sensible for him to use this time to bring the king up to date with the events and mood of the Burgundian court after which he may well have escorted Edward back to Ludlow staying long enough to see the prince settled. In the four months to April, he would have been dealing with private matters and his administrative duties elsewhere. However, he was back in Ludlow by the end of April.
Once back within the walls of Ludlow Castle, Thomas Vaughan's life within the royal household continued as normal, while the king was at his lessons or practicing his archery skills, Vaughan would have gone about his duties as chamberlain dealing with Edward's needs, organising staff and rifling through reams of paperwork that men in such a position had to deal with, oblivious of the upheaval that was heading his way. On the 14th of April 1483, a messenger rode into the courtyard of Ludlow Castle and was escorted to the quarters of Anthony Woodville, his message was that Edward IV was dead. Rivers was ordered to bring the king to London by the first day of the new month in time for his coronation on the 4th of May. From that point on the talk of how to get Edward to London was top priority, in the ten days it took to make arrangements to depart, messages would have arrived from London as to the situation within the council. By the 23rd, Vaughan would have had the prince's affairs in order and his belongings ready on the carts for the following morning, later he may have joined the prince and Rivers in celebrating St. George's Day, eventually retiring to his quarters to prepare himself for the long journey from Ludlow to London.
On the morning of the 24th of April, Thomas Vaughan passed through Ludlow castle's gates for the last time, he may have glanced back towards the castle and noticed a grey mist creeping through the branches of the trees, I wonder if he sensed that he would not return? In reality of course, he had no reason to think anything of the sort, he would assume that the royal entourage would join with the Duke of Gloucester's men at Northampton and then travel to London for the coronation of his charge. Once through the gates, the king's party turned right onto Broad Street and then onto Ludford Bridge, the only sounds to be heard would be the clatter of horse's hooves and the wheels of the carts as they trundled noisily over the bridge's bricked surface.
Thomas Vaughan would have traveled the road from London to Ludlow on many occasions using the normal route to the city via Oxford through to Evesham, but he would have been aware of the arrangement that the royal party were due to meet with the Duke of Gloucester's party at Northampton and this was the reason they were taking the route via Watling Street which lies west of Northampton. However, five days later on the 29th, did it come as surprise when they were ordered to pass through Northampton and head for Stoney Stratford?
The village of Stony Stratford had grown from its foundations on Watling Street where the road crossed the River Ouse and because of its position on this Roman road, many inns and meeting houses had been built, it was at the inn named the Rose and Crown that Vaughan, the king and supposedly Richard Grey stayed the night of the 29th, at this point in time all seemed well. But something happened and everything changed. That something was news that during a council meeting, William Hastings had objected to the size of the royal escort and threatened to withdraw to Calais where England's largest standing army was billeted.
This one threat was enough to scare the Woodvilles, but it was also enough to force their hand causing them to change their plans and notify Rivers of the danger his family would be in if the Duke of Gloucester took charge of the prince.
So when did Anthony Woodville receive this important news?
History tells us that Richard Grey also left Ludlow with the royal party on the morning of the 24th and stayed at Stoney Stratford with his nephew, if this was the case then the “no room at the inn” reason Rivers gave Gloucester as an excuse for not meeting at Northampton may have been the truth and indeed the intention was that both groups make their way to London together with Edward V, flanked by Anthony Woodville one side and Richard, Duke of Gloucester the other, triumphant at its head. But what if Grey was not at Ludlow, but had already arrived at Northampton on the 29th and alerted Edward’s protectors of Hasting's threat and the order to get Edward to the safety of London as soon as possible. The Duke of Gloucester had not yet arrived, it may have been at this point that Rivers used Grey’s news to his advantage sending the party ahead and staying in Northampton to meet Richard, giving him the feeble excuse that there was not enough suitable accommodation for both the large royal party and Gloucester’s party in Northampton and that at Stoney Stratford there was ample.
If that was the only reason, why then did Rivers not bring his nephew with him to meet Richard? Was Rivers intention to put as many miles as possible between the Duke of Gloucester and the king?
It seems quite clear to me that Rivers did not want Edward anywhere near Richard.
The Duke of Gloucester arrived at Northampton on the 29th as arranged, however, it soon became apparent that the king's party would not arrive and only Anthony Rivers and a small escort were there to greet him. Factual evidence of the evening's meeting between Rivers, Gloucester and Buckingham is nonexistent, what we now know comes from the pen of the Crowland Chronicler and Dominic Mancini, who were not there at the time, but who tell us anyway that the evening was spent in a cordial and the relaxed atmosphere. The change of plan early in the day meant that Rivers was aware of the situation in London, but Richard and Buckingham were not, why else would it have been such a pleasant evening? Mancini writes that Gloucester received the news after Rivers had retired to his room and the Crowland Chronicler writes that Richard received word whilst travelling between Northampton and Stony Stratford and that is where the arrests were made. It is from Thomas More’s version of this incident that the world thinks that the Duke of Gloucester had lured Rivers into a trap that he had prearranged, however, the Crowland Chronicle does not comment on it at all. Gloucester ordered the arrest of Rivers and had him escorted to a prison cell at Sheriff Hutton. Gloucester then proceeded with Buckingham a couple of miles further to where the king was lodged.
So when did Anthony Woodville receive this important news?
History tells us that Richard Grey also left Ludlow with the royal party on the morning of the 24th and stayed at Stoney Stratford with his nephew, if this was the case then the “no room at the inn” reason Rivers gave Gloucester as an excuse for not meeting at Northampton may have been the truth and indeed the intention was that both groups make their way to London together with Edward V, flanked by Anthony Woodville one side and Richard, Duke of Gloucester the other, triumphant at its head. But what if Grey was not at Ludlow, but had already arrived at Northampton on the 29th and alerted Edward’s protectors of Hasting's threat and the order to get Edward to the safety of London as soon as possible. The Duke of Gloucester had not yet arrived, it may have been at this point that Rivers used Grey’s news to his advantage sending the party ahead and staying in Northampton to meet Richard, giving him the feeble excuse that there was not enough suitable accommodation for both the large royal party and Gloucester’s party in Northampton and that at Stoney Stratford there was ample.
If that was the only reason, why then did Rivers not bring his nephew with him to meet Richard? Was Rivers intention to put as many miles as possible between the Duke of Gloucester and the king?
It seems quite clear to me that Rivers did not want Edward anywhere near Richard.
The Duke of Gloucester arrived at Northampton on the 29th as arranged, however, it soon became apparent that the king's party would not arrive and only Anthony Rivers and a small escort were there to greet him. Factual evidence of the evening's meeting between Rivers, Gloucester and Buckingham is nonexistent, what we now know comes from the pen of the Crowland Chronicler and Dominic Mancini, who were not there at the time, but who tell us anyway that the evening was spent in a cordial and the relaxed atmosphere. The change of plan early in the day meant that Rivers was aware of the situation in London, but Richard and Buckingham were not, why else would it have been such a pleasant evening? Mancini writes that Gloucester received the news after Rivers had retired to his room and the Crowland Chronicler writes that Richard received word whilst travelling between Northampton and Stony Stratford and that is where the arrests were made. It is from Thomas More’s version of this incident that the world thinks that the Duke of Gloucester had lured Rivers into a trap that he had prearranged, however, the Crowland Chronicle does not comment on it at all. Gloucester ordered the arrest of Rivers and had him escorted to a prison cell at Sheriff Hutton. Gloucester then proceeded with Buckingham a couple of miles further to where the king was lodged.
At Stoney Stratford Gloucester may have found the party preparing to leave, if Rivers was detained on the twelve-mile stretch between the two villages then it is highly likely that the first Vaughan and Grey learned about it was when Gloucester arrived outside the king's lodgings asking that the king be brought to him. In the confusion, Thomas Vaughan may have been frantically looking among the gathered armed men for Rivers only to be told that he was under arrest and on his way to Yorkshire. When the king was brought to him, Richard explained the situation to the bewildered boy. He told Edward that the men who his father had held dear, including those standing with him now, not only wished to deprive him of the protectorship but had also planned to take his life, proof of which were the four cartloads of weapons that stood among the supply carts. It is unlikely that this incident passed without some sort of a struggle, maybe Grey and Richard Haute attempted resistance, and had to be physically restrained, Gloucester having to shout over the noise that they were both under arrest. In all this perhaps Thomas Vaughan held his composure, watching and listening whilst Richard made his attempt to justify his actions to the king. Was Gloucester able to look this elderly knight in the eye, a man who had been loyal to his family since 1459 and whose own home he has stayed in when he was in London, and order that he too be arrested and incarcerated until his trial.
Before escorting the king to London, Richard had dismissed all the men that were said to have made up the king's guard and ordered them home. John Alcock was not arrested, he later gained a place in Richard’s court. Richard Haute was also arrested and later pardoned in the March of the following year, Anthony Rivers, Richard Grey and Thomas Vaughan headed to Yorkshire and waited to hear of their fates.
On the 4th of May, Edward V made his way into the city via Ludgate Hill, the king riding between Gloucester and Buckingham, the four carts of weapons with the Woodville insignia preceding the king's procession, proof, it is said, that the Woodville faction did indeed intend to deprive Richard of his life.
Before escorting the king to London, Richard had dismissed all the men that were said to have made up the king's guard and ordered them home. John Alcock was not arrested, he later gained a place in Richard’s court. Richard Haute was also arrested and later pardoned in the March of the following year, Anthony Rivers, Richard Grey and Thomas Vaughan headed to Yorkshire and waited to hear of their fates.
On the 4th of May, Edward V made his way into the city via Ludgate Hill, the king riding between Gloucester and Buckingham, the four carts of weapons with the Woodville insignia preceding the king's procession, proof, it is said, that the Woodville faction did indeed intend to deprive Richard of his life.
From this point, Thomas Vaughan's story runs parallel to that of Richard’s for just under two months, and in those two months, while Vaughan languished in his cell, Edward’s queen and her children fled to sanctuary in Westminster Abbey, her son Richard was released into his uncle's care and placed with his brother in the Tower of London, the execution of William Hastings took place after a confrontation at a council meeting, a sermon was preached declaring Edward and Elizabeth's children illegitimate, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester was declared king.