The West, Clifton and Blount Families
On the 19th August 1382, Thomas Blount received his first royal commission; he was tasked with arresting and bringing to justice ‘those who had assaulted and robbed Alice West and her children’ and ‘ravished their daughter, Eleanor.’ For the Blounts, this was no ordinary order, for Alice West was the elder Thomas Blount’s step-daughter, and the half-sister of Thomas the younger. Eleanor, his niece, was just fifteen.
An account of the order states
‘Thomas Blount the elder, Thomas Blount the younger and John Butus- thorn to arrest and deliver to the gaol of Winchester Nicholas Clyfton, Philip Oldefrende, Richard Attefelde, servant of Nicholas Pauncefot, John Hobel- dod, Roger Bordeaux of London, tailor, John Kelfeld, John Skypton, Goucelyn, servant of Nicholas Clyfton, and William Parkere, who lately rose in insurrection with a great company at Lynhurst, co. Southampton, assaulted Alice the wife of Thomas West, knight, Thomas their son and Eleanor; their daughter, and others, at Mallewod in the New Forest, and robbed them of a horse, value 191., a saddle, value 60s., a silver-gilt girdle, value 60s., pearls and other precious stones, value 131. 6s. 8d., and linen and woollen cloths, value 6l. 13s. 4d. in addition to which Nicholas Clyfton ravished Eleanor.’ (1)
In the medieval world, the word ravishment was used to cover the crimes of abduction or ‘taking away with no sexual violation’; it could also mean the ‘carrying away of a woman to violate her sexually.’ Confusingly, the Latin word raptus/rape also means to seize.
‘Thomas Blount the elder, Thomas Blount the younger and John Butus- thorn to arrest and deliver to the gaol of Winchester Nicholas Clyfton, Philip Oldefrende, Richard Attefelde, servant of Nicholas Pauncefot, John Hobel- dod, Roger Bordeaux of London, tailor, John Kelfeld, John Skypton, Goucelyn, servant of Nicholas Clyfton, and William Parkere, who lately rose in insurrection with a great company at Lynhurst, co. Southampton, assaulted Alice the wife of Thomas West, knight, Thomas their son and Eleanor; their daughter, and others, at Mallewod in the New Forest, and robbed them of a horse, value 191., a saddle, value 60s., a silver-gilt girdle, value 60s., pearls and other precious stones, value 131. 6s. 8d., and linen and woollen cloths, value 6l. 13s. 4d. in addition to which Nicholas Clyfton ravished Eleanor.’ (1)
In the medieval world, the word ravishment was used to cover the crimes of abduction or ‘taking away with no sexual violation’; it could also mean the ‘carrying away of a woman to violate her sexually.’ Confusingly, the Latin word raptus/rape also means to seize.
Two petitions brought by Eleanor’s parents in October state.
‘ … Nicholas de Clyfton persuaded Alice West, her son, daughter and others of her household to ride out into the New Forest with him, and there he ambushed them with armed men, attacked them, and ravished their daughter Eleanor; because of this attack Alice is ill and likely to die. They request a remedy.’
This attack on Eleanor was one of 112 cases of rape and ravishment brought to court between 1382 and 1399.(2) In fact, it was probably the first case brought under Richard II’s amendments to Edward I's 1275 statute. (3) (4)
Thomas and Alice brought a second petition before Parliament three months later, referring to the outcome of the previous case - the punishment of those convicted of the rape.
‘Thomas West and Alice his wife, state that at the last parliament held at Westminster on the Monday after last Michaelmas, they complained that ‘Nicholas de Clifton at Malwood in the New Forest, and feloniously ravished their daughter, Eleanor, and because of the suit a state was made to punish such rapes in future.(5) They ask that the punishments included in that statute might be applied to Nicholas and Eleanor.’ The statute (6) mentioned in the text states: The penalties of the man and woman, where a woman ravished doth consent. In an appeal of rape the defendant shall not wage battle.’
Alice was clearly traumatised, and Eleanor - well, I cannot begin to imagine how she felt.
In this new petition, Alice and Thomas asked that Eleanor be included in said punishment. Clearly, circumstances had changed between the petitions. I don’t know what happened; perhaps it was time for all parties to think, to get things right. For Alice and Thomas, it was not just the fate of other young girls, but they had the future of their own daughter to consider. Poor Eleanor’s fate was to marry Nicholas Clifton. (7) Traditionally, the marriage of the man concerned and the victim after the offence was often seen as the best solution - virginity, being a sign of virtue, while losing your virginity before marriage was a sign of disgrace. So, Eleanor became Lady Clifton, and by 1395 she had two sons. I have to wonder what life was like for her, for the Cliftons had a history of violence and insurrection.
Nicholas’s father was William Clifton of Clifton, Westby and Goosnargh. In 1337, he was accused of ‘taking possession’ of twenty marks belonging to the Abbot of Vale Royal, and ‘forcibly obstructing the rector in the collecting of tithes within his manors.’ He is also stated as ‘inflicting certain injuries upon the hunting palfrey’ of the same rector.
Nicholas Clifton, described by Froissart as a ‘young knight’, came into his inheritance in 1365. From 1389 to 1392, Clifton was a lieutenant of John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon, probably holding the post of Governor of the Castle of Ham in Picardy (8) and where he may have met Thomas Talbot, who in 1393 led a rebellion in the north because of threatened loss of Richard II’s claim to the throne of France. Whether Clifton was part of this I haven’t discovered; however, he certainly led a rebellion of his own. His antics were suspiciously troubling for an order to ‘bring him before the king and council in the chancery, as he had disregarded a previous summons.’
Nicholas Clifton was a man to whom violence came easily; that probably started way before he met the family of Thomas West. He must have been a sweet talker too; how else did he persuade Alice to venture into the New Forest? Clifton’s actions were certainly made with malice aforethought.
Thomas and Alice’s petition was a step forward in establishing a framework to punish those who committed an act of rape - a significant event in the history of the Statute of Rape.
This episode in the life of my Blount family was not a one-off. Alice Blount was kept indoors by her mother for fear of abduction following the death of her first husband; and they would have known of the abduction of Margaret Audley by her husband’s uncle.
‘ … Nicholas de Clyfton persuaded Alice West, her son, daughter and others of her household to ride out into the New Forest with him, and there he ambushed them with armed men, attacked them, and ravished their daughter Eleanor; because of this attack Alice is ill and likely to die. They request a remedy.’
This attack on Eleanor was one of 112 cases of rape and ravishment brought to court between 1382 and 1399.(2) In fact, it was probably the first case brought under Richard II’s amendments to Edward I's 1275 statute. (3) (4)
Thomas and Alice brought a second petition before Parliament three months later, referring to the outcome of the previous case - the punishment of those convicted of the rape.
‘Thomas West and Alice his wife, state that at the last parliament held at Westminster on the Monday after last Michaelmas, they complained that ‘Nicholas de Clifton at Malwood in the New Forest, and feloniously ravished their daughter, Eleanor, and because of the suit a state was made to punish such rapes in future.(5) They ask that the punishments included in that statute might be applied to Nicholas and Eleanor.’ The statute (6) mentioned in the text states: The penalties of the man and woman, where a woman ravished doth consent. In an appeal of rape the defendant shall not wage battle.’
Alice was clearly traumatised, and Eleanor - well, I cannot begin to imagine how she felt.
In this new petition, Alice and Thomas asked that Eleanor be included in said punishment. Clearly, circumstances had changed between the petitions. I don’t know what happened; perhaps it was time for all parties to think, to get things right. For Alice and Thomas, it was not just the fate of other young girls, but they had the future of their own daughter to consider. Poor Eleanor’s fate was to marry Nicholas Clifton. (7) Traditionally, the marriage of the man concerned and the victim after the offence was often seen as the best solution - virginity, being a sign of virtue, while losing your virginity before marriage was a sign of disgrace. So, Eleanor became Lady Clifton, and by 1395 she had two sons. I have to wonder what life was like for her, for the Cliftons had a history of violence and insurrection.
Nicholas’s father was William Clifton of Clifton, Westby and Goosnargh. In 1337, he was accused of ‘taking possession’ of twenty marks belonging to the Abbot of Vale Royal, and ‘forcibly obstructing the rector in the collecting of tithes within his manors.’ He is also stated as ‘inflicting certain injuries upon the hunting palfrey’ of the same rector.
Nicholas Clifton, described by Froissart as a ‘young knight’, came into his inheritance in 1365. From 1389 to 1392, Clifton was a lieutenant of John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon, probably holding the post of Governor of the Castle of Ham in Picardy (8) and where he may have met Thomas Talbot, who in 1393 led a rebellion in the north because of threatened loss of Richard II’s claim to the throne of France. Whether Clifton was part of this I haven’t discovered; however, he certainly led a rebellion of his own. His antics were suspiciously troubling for an order to ‘bring him before the king and council in the chancery, as he had disregarded a previous summons.’
Nicholas Clifton was a man to whom violence came easily; that probably started way before he met the family of Thomas West. He must have been a sweet talker too; how else did he persuade Alice to venture into the New Forest? Clifton’s actions were certainly made with malice aforethought.
Thomas and Alice’s petition was a step forward in establishing a framework to punish those who committed an act of rape - a significant event in the history of the Statute of Rape.
This episode in the life of my Blount family was not a one-off. Alice Blount was kept indoors by her mother for fear of abduction following the death of her first husband; and they would have known of the abduction of Margaret Audley by her husband’s uncle.
How very frightened must these women have been.
1
Calendar Patent Rolls 1381-1385
2
Emma Hawkes: Preliminary Notes on Consent in the 1382 Rape and Ravishment Laws of Richard II
3
Rape Act 1275
4
The suggested punishment for these heinous acts in the 11th century was castration and blinding; this was later changed to imprisonment and a fine.
5
The petition highlights the ‘legal and social context of the time, as well as the efforts to address the issue of sexual violence. It is a testament to the concerns of the time regarding the protection of women and children from sexual assault and the desire for legal action to ensure justice.’ Thomas West and the Statute of Rapes, 1382. Oxford University Press.
6 Ric. II. Stat 2
7 I bequethe to Sir Nichot *Cliston knyght, and to Alianore his wif, my doughter, and to Thomas Clistofi here sone - The will of Lady Alice West of Hampshire 1395
8
History of the Fylde of Lancashire
Calendar Patent Rolls 1381-1385
2
Emma Hawkes: Preliminary Notes on Consent in the 1382 Rape and Ravishment Laws of Richard II
3
Rape Act 1275
4
The suggested punishment for these heinous acts in the 11th century was castration and blinding; this was later changed to imprisonment and a fine.
5
The petition highlights the ‘legal and social context of the time, as well as the efforts to address the issue of sexual violence. It is a testament to the concerns of the time regarding the protection of women and children from sexual assault and the desire for legal action to ensure justice.’ Thomas West and the Statute of Rapes, 1382. Oxford University Press.
6 Ric. II. Stat 2
7 I bequethe to Sir Nichot *Cliston knyght, and to Alianore his wif, my doughter, and to Thomas Clistofi here sone - The will of Lady Alice West of Hampshire 1395
8
History of the Fylde of Lancashire
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