Category: Castles - Meandering Through Time

King John of France in Lincolnshire

25/6/2020

In 1356, under a scorched earth policy, Edward the Black Prince headed a raiding party that made its way across France, the point of which was to undermine the French King John II by attacking the population rather than the king himself. It was at Poitiers, that John eventually caught up with the marauding English prince. Following a clash of arms, the French army soon found themselves surrounded and many of the frightened French soldiers fled the field. The king, despite being dressed in the same clothing as his personal guard, was captured.

At first, he was taken to Bordeaux and then to England where he was held in various castles up and down the country. Although John was a prisoner he was afforded the privileges of a royal monarch. He purchased horses, he kept pets, he paid for his own astrologer and was able to listen to music played to him by his own band of minstrels.

One of the castles in which the French king stayed was Somerton in Lincolnshire, a large sandstone building built towards the end of the 13th century by the Bishop of Durham.

While staying at Somerton he was under the watchful eye of a member of the Deincourt family whose main residence was Blankney just a few miles away. While in 'captivity' John ordered wine from Bordeaux that came into Lincolnshire via the inland port of Boston. Also, Lincoln saw large amounts of sugar, spice and fabrics arrive at Brayford Pool that no doubt was shipped along the River Witham and transported by land to the castle.

However, all good things come to an end and it was on this day that the French king waved goodbye to the Daincourts at Somerton and left to begin his seven-day journey to the Tower of London in order to discuss the subject of his ransom.

Death of Prince Arthur

2/4/2020

Today marks the death of Arthur, Prince of Wales, son of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

Arthur and his new wife, the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon, had left their home at Tickenhill Manor, where they had been living since their marriage. Just before Christmas 1501, they arrived at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire, a fine castle that stands on the River Teme.

Even before the arrived at Ludlow, Arthur was suffering from ill health, he had been growing weaker since his wedding and by the beginning of March the following year both Arthur and Catherine were afflicted by an unknown illness. Although the real cause has never been established many historians believe it was sweating sickness or tuberculous.

Catherine recovered, Arthur did not, he died this day, the 2nd April 1502. He was just fifteen.

Henry VII did not attend the funeral, many believe he was too devastated by the boy's death, Catherine did not attend either.
Arthur’s untimely death led to his younger brother, Prince Henry, becoming the heir to the young boy's throne, and inheriting his lands and his wife.

Certainly, the event was a turning point in history.

Maud Marshall

27/3/2020

On this day in 1248 the death of Maud, the eldest daughter and co-heir of William Marshall.

Maud had outlived both her husbands, her first husband Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk had died in 1225, he was, along with his father Roger, listed as being the first two men (among twenty-five) to enforce Magna Carta. Maud's second husband was William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey who died in 1240. Warenne was one of the few barons who remained loyal to King John.

This must have put Maud in a bit of a position

For part of her life, Maud lived at Framlingham Castle in Norfolk, the castle had been granted to Roger Bigod (Hugh's great-grandfather) by Henry I in 1101, however, there is little information about her life there.

Maud Marshall was in her late fifties when she died, she is buried at Tintern Abbey in Monmouthshire.

My photographs were taken two weekends ago at Framlingham Castle (there was no sign of Maud)

Maud of Lancaster

4/4/2018

Maud of Lancaster was one of two sisters who were co-heiress of Henry of Grosmont the Duke of Lancaster and Earl of Leicester. Maud was born on the 4th April in 1339, to Grosmont's wife Isabel de Beaumont at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire.

Bolingbroke Castle is now in ruins, but it was once a fine castle situated in what is known as the Lincolnshire Wolds. It was built by Ranulf Blondeville, Earl of Chester in 1220 however by the sixteenth century it had fallen into disrepair. On Blondeville's death the castle passed to his sister Hawise, eventually, via the de Lacy family it ended up as part of the estate of Thomas of Lancaster. Lancaster was executed for treason in 1322 and his estate for forfeited. A year later, Henry of Grosmont successfully petitioned to take possession of his brother's estates which included Bolingbroke.

Maud's sister Blanche was also born at Bolingbroke.

Maud was Grosmont's eldest daughter, her paternal grandparents were Henry of Lancaster and Maud de Charworth and her maternal grandparents were Henry Beaumont and Alice de Comyn. Both sets of grandparent held land in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire. Her Beaumont grandparent's Lincolnshire estates were granted as a result of their association with the royal family. Edward II granted them a number of manor including Folkingham, Goady and Barton upon Humber.

On Grosmont's death in 1361, Maud and Blanche became wealthy heiresses, however the Earldom of Leicester passed to Maud's first husband and then on his death in 1389 to her sister Blanche's husband John of Gaunt, who was granted the Dukedom of Lancaster as a second creation.

On Maud's death on the 10th April 1362 Gaunt received her money and her lands to add to that of his wife share of the family estate. The Grosmont inheritance formed the foundations on which the Lancastrian's built their dynasty.

There is no image of Maud, however she may have resembled her sister. You can see an illustration of Blanche - pictured here with John of Gaunt.

WHERE'S MY CASTLE?

3/4/2018

Right, I am directly descended from the Fitzalan family - our ancestry can be traced to the reign of Henry I. The Fitzalans were feudal barons of Oswestry in Shropshire in 1080, John FitzAlan inherited Arundel Castle in 1243 and the FitzAlan family held this castle in an uninterrupted hereditary line until 1580.

I am also directly descended from Henry de Beaumont who was with the Conqueror in 1068, and placed in charge of Warwick Castle.

The Beaumont family held the castle until 1242.

My Fitzalan line takes me as far as John Fitzalan whose brother was executed for his part in the Lords Appellant, a plot to rid Richard II of his favourties.

Anyway, let's get around to the point of today's post which is a study of surnames and social mobility in England between 1170–2012. Evidently, if your ancestors descend from the upper classes in England at the time of the Battle of Hastings you are more likely to be upper-class today. Also in another study by the University of California and the London School of Economics, it was found that social status in England is strongly inherited. So what happened to me then?

Either these studies are

A) Not correct. Since I can prove a direct family link to the first image, which is Arundel Castle and to the second, which is Warwick Castle why am I living in a normal everyday house in a pretty English village

B) Is correct. Then something has gone horribly wrong !!!

Either way, I expect to receive my inheritance very shortly.

Blanche of Lancaster

12/9/2017

Blanche of Lancaster was just twenty-three when she died this day in 1368. She was the first wife of John of Gaunt the son of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault.

Blanche is said to have died of the plague that had ravaged the country that year. This was the plague's third appearance since it first arrived on English shores twenty years earlier. The previous outbreak in 1361, according to Henry Knighton an Augustinian canon of the abbey of St Mary of the Meadows in Leicester, had

'a general mortality oppressed the people. It was called the second pestilence and both rich
and poor died, but especially young people and children.'

The Leicestershire outbreak cost Blanche's parents their lives. In Lincolnshire that year there was an outbreak in Louth, a town just fifteen miles north of Bolingbroke Castle, where Blanche had given birth to Henry, the future Henry IV.

By 1368 Blanche was weakened by childbirth and susceptible to infection, she was therefore 'ripe for the picking' so to speak.

Blanche had given birth to a daughter in 1368 who died as an infant, it is plausible that Blanche may have died in childbirth her poor body weakened from the years of constant pregnancy. She was married at twelve/thirteen, had her first baby nine months later and was pregnant with another child before her body had chance to recover from the last until the aforementioned daughter born in 1368. Blanche died in Staffordshire where there was a recorded outbreak in 1369 which may have taken the life of her last child, it is not unreasonable to suppose the 'black death' took poor Blanche too.

French author Jean Froissart wrote that Blanche was 'young and pretty' even Geoffrey Chaucer was so inspired by her beauty that he wrote of her in his work The Book of the Duchess.

Blanche's body was laid to rest in Old St Paul's Cathedral in London, where Gaunt later joined her. Their tomb was destroyed by fire when the cathedral burnt down in 1666.

Note: Blanche's maternal aunt was Eleanor of Lancaster. Eleanor's first husband, John de Beaumont was also Blanche's paternal uncle.
meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/history-blog/eleanor-of-lancaster

Note: What is interesting is that both Blanche and Eleanor dates of death are one day off being exactly fifty years apart.

Death of Prince Arthur

2/4/2017

The 2nd April marks the death of Arthur, Prince of Wales, son of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

Arthur and his new wife had left their home at Tickenhill Manor, where they had been living since their marriage. Just before Christmas 1501, they arrived at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire, a fine castle that stands on the River Teme.

Even before the arrived at Ludlow, Arthur was suffering from ill health, he had been growing weaker since his wedding and by the beginning of March the following year both Arthur and Catherine were afflicted by an unknown illness. Although the real cause has never been established many historians believe it was sweating sickness or tuberculous. Catherine recovered, Arthur did not, he died this day, the 2 April 1502. He was just fifteen.

Ludlow Castle

Henry VII did not attend the funeral, many believe he was too devastated by the boys death, Catherine did not attend either. Arthur’s untimely death led to his younger brother, Prince Henry, becoming the heir to the young boys throne, inheriting his lands and his wife.

Certainly the event was a turning point in history.

Caerhayes, Cornwall

11/2/2017

If we are asked to draw a castle, Caerhayes in Cornwall is exactly as mine would appear.

Caerhayes is a small parish, consisting of a church, a castle and two or three farms, it lies near the sea between two headlands, Dodman and Pennare

The Parish church stands overlooking Caerhays with its views of the cliffs and sea is named after St Michael who is said
to have arrived in England here. The spelling of Caerhayes has varied over the years, I have found it spelt many ways, the earliest, in a document dated 1287 where a Robert de Karyhaes is witness to a quit claim between Sir Oliver de Arundell and Thomas Lord of Trempoll. It is assumed that the prefix “Caer” is linked with the hill on which the church now stands but Henderson states that he is inclined to believe that it comes from the Cornish “carou” or “cerou” meaning deer. This ancient
hill and lands on which the deer roamed is now swallowed up by the park and grounds of the estate on which stands the
19th century castle built by the Bettesworth-Trevanion family and designed by Victorian architect John Nash.

Extract from my yet unpublished story of The Family of Blanchminster.

John Cowper and Two Red Bricked Castles

28/1/2017

In 1482, one John Cowper, a 'master person, surveyor over stone masons' was working on Kirkby Muxloe Castle in Leicestershire, on its new gatehouse.

Kirkby Muxloe Castle, Leicestershire

Within the same time frame, Cowper was employed at Tattershall in Lincolnshire, working on William Waynflete's Collegiate Church, a stones throw from Tattershall's red bricked castle.

Collegiate Church, Tattershall, Lincolnshire.

It is thought, that based on Cowper's ideas, Tattershall's castle was used as a model for Kirkby Muxloe's gate house.

Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire

History Bites: White Boar Graffiti

25/1/2017

Carlisle Castle is over 900 years old, built in the time of William Rufus, it can be found not too far from Hadrian's Wall.

In the 1470's Richard, Duke of Gloucester was Lord Warden of the West Marshes, he was responsible for maintaining England's boarder with Scotland and it was Carlisle Castle that Richard would use as his base.The Duke of Gloucester had many supporters in this part of England, and as we know many wore a boar badge of loyalty.

There are a number of emblem carvings inside the castle walls that are linked to the House of York, one being a boar, these carvings are said to have been made by prisoners held at the castle.