Three of the four sons of Richard Duke of York and Cecily Neville died a gruesome death. Two died at the hands of their enemies, one tucked up in his bed and one, George, by the hand of an executioner.
The Duke of Clarence did not make life easy for anyone, least of all himself, he was self centered, treacherous, a turn coat and eventually a groveler when he realised that his previous actions were going to cost him his life. Clarence's execution took place in private, on the 18th February 1478. It is commonly thought that he went to a death of his own choosing, probably beheading, but those who believe that remains of a body, with the head intact, that lies at Tewkesbury Abbey is Clarence would disagree on that point I think. The most famous tale of his death however, is by drowning in a barrel of red wine.
The Duke of Clarence did not make life easy for anyone, least of all himself, he was self centered, treacherous, a turn coat and eventually a groveler when he realised that his previous actions were going to cost him his life. Clarence's execution took place in private, on the 18th February 1478. It is commonly thought that he went to a death of his own choosing, probably beheading, but those who believe that remains of a body, with the head intact, that lies at Tewkesbury Abbey is Clarence would disagree on that point I think. The most famous tale of his death however, is by drowning in a barrel of red wine.
Illustration by kind permission of Alice Povey from The Children's Book of Richard III by Rosalind Adam
Just like the death's of the sons of York, their burials too have caused a bit of a stir. We know that Edmund's remains lie in the family vault at Fotheringhay, Edward is buried at St George's Chapel, Windsor and Richard is newly interred at the Cathedral Church of St Martin's in Leicester, but what of George's mortal remains?
It is a particular set of remains that lie in the vault of Tewkesbury Abbey that are said to belong to George and his wife Isabel Neville. The Duke of Clarence received the manor of Tewkesbury when he married Isabel. In 1439 it had passed down through the Beauchamp family and then had passed to the Nevilles from Anne, Countess of Warwick. On Georges death, it passed to his son, but eventually it was returned to the countess and partially held by her until her death in 1490 when it was made over to the crown.
It is a particular set of remains that lie in the vault of Tewkesbury Abbey that are said to belong to George and his wife Isabel Neville. The Duke of Clarence received the manor of Tewkesbury when he married Isabel. In 1439 it had passed down through the Beauchamp family and then had passed to the Nevilles from Anne, Countess of Warwick. On Georges death, it passed to his son, but eventually it was returned to the countess and partially held by her until her death in 1490 when it was made over to the crown.
The vault, that lies behind the high alter within Gloucestershire's Tewkesbury Abbey, has been opened at least eight times since 1478. The vault into which Clarence was placed was first opened in 1477 for the burial of Isabel and then again for the burial of Clarence the following year. Records show that it was opened again three times between 1709 and 1753 to place the remains of Alderman Hawling and his family, after which it was said to have remained closed for over seventy years. At the beginning of the new century the vault was entered once more and two skulls and assorted bones were found. An article written about this opening states:
"between the burial of George of Clarence and Alderman Hawling there had been the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Henry VIII had every intention of stripping the Abbey of everything of value and then leaving it to fall into decay. This was averted when the townspeople bought the abbey from the crown. However, before the purchase Henry's henchmen would have stripped out anything of value and the vault had been ransacked. It was at this point that the coffins of George and Isabel, especially if the were decorated with gold or silver plates or handles, could have been opened and the bodies removed."
"between the burial of George of Clarence and Alderman Hawling there had been the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Henry VIII had every intention of stripping the Abbey of everything of value and then leaving it to fall into decay. This was averted when the townspeople bought the abbey from the crown. However, before the purchase Henry's henchmen would have stripped out anything of value and the vault had been ransacked. It was at this point that the coffins of George and Isabel, especially if the were decorated with gold or silver plates or handles, could have been opened and the bodies removed."
In 1829 the vault was opened again, this time to remove the bodies of the Hawlings family to a new place of burial. The bones, assumed to be those of George and Isabel, were then deposited in a stone coffin. Thirty years later Tewkesbury suffered a flood and parts of the abbey were damaged, this maybe the reason, when the stone coffin was opened, it was full of water. In 1830 records show that a glass case was made, but there is no mention of the remains of Clarence ever being placed in it.
Poor "false, fleeting, perjur'd Clarence's" remains would lie undisturbed for the next one hundred and fifty years. At some point the bones, taken to be that of Clarence and Isabel, were removed for examination and 'cleaning.' What was found were:
'Two separate partial skeletons in poor condition. The male skeleton consisted of most of the leg and hip bone, the upper left arm, left shoulder and upper part of the skull. The man had what amounted to mild arthritic changes and a degree of cranial closure consistent with the late middle age 40 - 60 years. His height was approximately 5ft 3ins. The female remains consisted of almost the entire legs minus the feet, hips, upper and half of the lower right arm and the upper skull. Examination found advanced localised osteoarthritis and a degree of suture obliteration of the skull which suggests an age between 50 - 70 years. The height was approximately 5ft 4ins.'
The examined remains were replaced with the glass case.
Poor "false, fleeting, perjur'd Clarence's" remains would lie undisturbed for the next one hundred and fifty years. At some point the bones, taken to be that of Clarence and Isabel, were removed for examination and 'cleaning.' What was found were:
'Two separate partial skeletons in poor condition. The male skeleton consisted of most of the leg and hip bone, the upper left arm, left shoulder and upper part of the skull. The man had what amounted to mild arthritic changes and a degree of cranial closure consistent with the late middle age 40 - 60 years. His height was approximately 5ft 3ins. The female remains consisted of almost the entire legs minus the feet, hips, upper and half of the lower right arm and the upper skull. Examination found advanced localised osteoarthritis and a degree of suture obliteration of the skull which suggests an age between 50 - 70 years. The height was approximately 5ft 4ins.'
The examined remains were replaced with the glass case.
The glass case, as you can see is attached to the wall, presenting unidentified remains like this just adds weight to a false claim and reminds me of the old advertising slogan "It does exactly what it says on the tin" which is basically saying look no further. The case of the so called remains of Princes in the Tower is a very good example of this. Look how magnificent that engraved container is, we've been insisting they are the remains of the sons of Edward IV since 1674.
All human remains within the vault are known to have been thrown about by Henry VIII's lackeys probably in an effort to destroy any Plantagenet relics or they were unceremoniously scattered when the vault was searched for anything of value.
We know that Clarence held the manor of Tewkesbury on his death, so there is little doubt that both his and Isabel's remains both lie in the Abbey, but I would say that the remains you see in the glass box are not those of George Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville. The chances of correctly collecting two whole skeletons is slim to say the least. If the boxed dis-articulated remains are not of the Duke of Clarence then perhaps the remains that were exhumed from the Tower of London and taken to lie in Tewkesbury Abbey might be, but that's just speculation, it has never been proved that either set of remains belong the Clarence.
What is left of George Duke of Clarence is destined to spend eternity as his brother King Richard III had one done, lost too us.
It is a sad end to a sorry affair
All human remains within the vault are known to have been thrown about by Henry VIII's lackeys probably in an effort to destroy any Plantagenet relics or they were unceremoniously scattered when the vault was searched for anything of value.
We know that Clarence held the manor of Tewkesbury on his death, so there is little doubt that both his and Isabel's remains both lie in the Abbey, but I would say that the remains you see in the glass box are not those of George Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville. The chances of correctly collecting two whole skeletons is slim to say the least. If the boxed dis-articulated remains are not of the Duke of Clarence then perhaps the remains that were exhumed from the Tower of London and taken to lie in Tewkesbury Abbey might be, but that's just speculation, it has never been proved that either set of remains belong the Clarence.
What is left of George Duke of Clarence is destined to spend eternity as his brother King Richard III had one done, lost too us.
It is a sad end to a sorry affair
More on the Duke of Clarence and 'remains' of the Princes in the Tower can be found on another of my blogs
meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/wars-of-the-roses-blog/1487-the-trial-and-execution-of-george-duke-of-clarence
http://meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/blog/1674-the-remains-of-the-princes-in-the-tower
meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/wars-of-the-roses-blog/1487-the-trial-and-execution-of-george-duke-of-clarence
http://meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/blog/1674-the-remains-of-the-princes-in-the-tower
Photographs by Karen Ladniuk
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