Category: Neville Family

THE DEATH OF CECILY NEVILLE

1/6/2016

Cecily Neville...."wife unto the right noble prince Richard late Duke of Yorke, fader unto the most cristen prince my Lord
and son King Edward the iiijth' died this day in 1495.

The aforementioned quote is taken from Cecily's last will and testament which was also made on the 31st of May. You will note that she makes no mention of Richard as her son or as king, but this may be because her servants were too afraid of Henry VII rather than favouritism on her part.

The will makes provisions for several members of her family, including her granddaughter Elizabeth of York and her sons Arthur,
Prince of Wales and Henry the future Henry VIII. She also remembers Margaret Beaufort and leaves money and goods to pages within her household and religious houses.

Cecily's will was proved on the 27th August at Lambeth.

Also I geve and bequeith to the Kinges noble grace all such money as is owing to me of the customes and two cups of gold Also I geve and bequieth to the Quene a crosse croselette of diamantes a sawter with claspes of silver and guilte enamelled covered with green clothe of gold
and a pix with the flesh of St Christofer Also I bequieth to my lady the Kinges moder a portuos with claspes of gold covered with black cloth of golde Also I geve to my lord Prince a bedde of arres of the Whele of Fortune and testour of the same a counterpoint of arras and a tappet of arres with the pope Also I geve to my lord Henry Duke of Yorke three tappets of arres oon of them of the life of St John Baptist another of Mary Maudeleyn and the thirde of the passion of our Lord and Saint George…

…Also I geve to my doughter of Suffolk the chaire with the covering, all the quoscions , horses and harneys belonginge to the same and all my palfreys Also I geve to my son of Suffolke a clothe of estate and iij quosions of purpull damaske clothe of goldAlso I geve to my son humfrey two awter clothes of blewe damaske brawdered and a vestyment of crymeson satten for Jhus masse. Also Igeve to my son William a traves of white sarcenet twoo beddes of downe and twoo bolsters of the same. Also I geve to my Doughter Anne priores of Sion a boke of Bonaventure and Hilton in the same in Englishe and a boke of the Revelacions of Saint Burgitte

Transcription

Also I give and bequeath to the kings noble grace all such money as is owing to me of the customs, and two cups of gold. Also I give and bequeath to the queen a cross crosslet of diamonds, a salter with clasps of silver and gilt enameled, covered with green clothe of gold, and a pyx with the flesh of St Christopher. Also I bequeath to my lady the king's mother a portuos with clasps of gold covered with black cloth of gold. Also I give to my lord prince a bed of arras of the wheel of fortune and tester of the same, a counterpoint of arras and a tappet of arras with the pope. Also I give to my lord Henry, duke of York three tappets of arras, one of them of the life of St John Baptist another of Mary Magdalene and the third of the passion of our Lord and Saint George…

Cecily then bequeaths gifts to Fotheringhay College, the college at Stoke Clare, the nunnery at Sion and her granddaughters (the children of Edward IV) and makes a range of bequests to the de la Pole family (John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, having married her daughter Elizabeth):

…Also I give to my daughter of Suffolk the chair with the covering, all the cushions, horses and harness belonging to the same and all my palfreys. Also I give to my son of Suffolk a clothe of estate and 3 cushions of purple damask clothe of gold.
Also I give to my son Humphrey two alter clothes of blue damask embroidered and a vestment of crimson satin for Jesus' masse. Also I give to my son William a traves of white sarcenet, two beds of down and two bolsters of the same. Also I give to my daughter Anne, prioress of Sion, a book of Bonaventure and Hilton in the same in English and a book of the Revelations of Saint Bridget.

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The Burial of George Duke of Clarence: A Sad End to a Sorry Tale

31/5/2015

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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 turncoat 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 deaths of the sons of York, their burials to 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 George's 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, which lies behind the high altar 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."

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.

Photograph + two above by Karen Ladniuk

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 are 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 belongs 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 to us.

It is a sad end to a sorry affair

Duke of Clarence Memorial Plaque at Tewkesbury Abby 2019

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

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THE DEATH OF CECILY NEVILLE

The Burial of George Duke of Clarence: A Sad End to a Sorry Tale

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