BONVILLE, William, Lord Bonville of Chawton. K.G. (1393-1461)                 

William was constable of Exeter Castle and a joint commissioner of array for Devon and Cornwall three times in the late 1450’s. By the time of the 2nd battle of St Albans he was to be found on the Yorkist side. At the age of 68 he was one of the elder commanders along with Lord Fauconberg. Bonville and Sir Thomas Kyriell were in attendance on Henry VI at the 2nd battle of St Albans. After Warwick’s flight both men stayed with Henry to protect him from any harm that might occur from the confusion in the aftermath of the battle. Henry had promised they would not be harmed by the victorious Lancastrians. Unfortunately he was to prove unequal to his promise. After his reunion with his wife and son, Bonville, Kyriell and the other Yorkist prisoners were brought before Henry, Margaret and their seven-year-old son, Edward. Margaret gave Henry no opportunity to keep his word. Turning to her son she asked, “Fair son, what death shall these two knights die?” The child replied, ”Let them have their heads taken off.” A stunned Bonville, who had believed Henry’s word, told the child, ”May God destroy those who taught thee this manner of speech.” The executions were duly carried out the next day.

BOURCHIER, Henry, Earl of Essex. K.G. (1403-1483)                             

Henry Bourchier was the eldest son of William Bourchier, Count of Eu. His mother, Anne, was one of the daughters of Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, the youngest son of Edward III. Humphrey Stafford Duke of Buckingham was his half-brother. Henry was closely allied to the House of York and was married in 1426 to Isabella, the only sister and sibling of Richard, Duke of York, creating yet another of the tangled webs of relationships of the time.

Henry was created Viscount Bourchier in 1445. He fought for York at the 1st battle of St Albans in 1455. In 1460 he again supported the House of York, at the battle of Northampton. After Richard of York’s death at the battle of Wakefield Henry gave his loyalty to his nephew, Edward IV. He was present at the 2nd battle of St Albans, and at the battle of Towton. In 1455 he had served as Treasurer of England during the time of his brother-in-law York’s term as Protector. He filled the position again in 1460, and from 1471 to 1483, under Edward IV. Edward gave him the title Earl of Essex in 1461. After Edward returned from exile to reclaim his throne in 1471 his uncle once more joined him in arms, at the advanced age of 68, fighting at the battle of Barnet. Two of Henry’s sons died in battle for Edward IV, Edward in 1460, and Humphrey, Lord Cromwell, in 1471. Henry himself lived until 1483. He died on April 4th, just five days before his nephew King Edward. He was buried in Beeleigh Abbey, but his tomb was transferred to King’s Langley Church after the suppression of the monasteries.


BOURCHIER, Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury (1404-1486)

The brother of Henry, Earl of Essex, Thomas was translated from Bishop of Ely to Archbishop of Canterbury in 1454. For many years he steered a course between the two opposing sides in the conflict, often acting as mediator. After the battle of Ludford Bridge, George and Richard, the two youngest sons of Richard, Duke of York, were resident in his household for some time. In 1460 he gave his full support to the Yorkists and urged the people of Kent to join the Earls of Salisbury, Warwick and March before the battle of Northampton. Thomas seems to have decided that backing York would benefit the country and bring greater stability. He crowned Edward IV in 1461. He was instrumental in persuading Elizabeth Woodville to release her younger son, Richard, Duke of York, from sanctuary in 1483. He was the officiating archbishop who crowned Richard III, and two years later, after Bosworth he crowned Henry VII. This was his last public act. Thomas enjoyed building, and it is to him that Knole house in Kent owes much of its appearance today. He died in 1486 and is buried in Canterbury Cathedral.

 

BRACKENBURY, Robert, kt. K.B. (k. 1485)                                          

Robert Brackenbury was a friend and supporter of Richard III. He was dubbed a Knight of the Bath at Richard’s coronation in 1483. One of the northern supporters of Richard, Robert was made sheriff of Kent in 1484. He was constable of the Tower of London at the time of the disappearance of the two princes, and has been the subject of much speculation as to his involvement (or otherwise) ever since. Sir Robert commanded the Knights of the Body at the battle of Bosworth. His loyalty to his King and friend cost him his life. The exact whereabouts of Sir Robert’s burial are unknown, but the will of his bastard son directed that he be buried in Gainsforth Church, so this is a possibility.


BRAMPTON, Edward [Duarte Brandao], kt.

Born in Portugal in 1440, Sir Edward, a Portuguese Jew, became a friend and supporter of both Edward IV and Richard III. Edward was his sponsor at his baptism into the Christian Church. After settling in England, and making an English marriage, he became an Esquire of the Body to Edward IV. He fought on the Yorkist side at the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury. Died in 1508.

BRANDON, William, kt.  (k.1485)                                                                 

The only son of Sir William Brandon, who had fought for Edward IV at the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury, William in contrast was one of the leaders of the Buckingham rebellion in 1483 against Richard III. He appears to have fled abroad after the rebellion's end to join Henry Tudor. Returning to England in Tudor’s train, he was Henry’s standard bearer at the battle of Bosworth, where he was killed by Richard in the final stages of the battle. William’s son, Charles, was taken into the King’s household, where he eventually became a great friend of the future Henry VIII. In 1515 Charles married Mary Tudor, the Queen Dowager of France, the youngest sister of Henry VIII. Their granddaughter Lady Jane Grey was the "nine days' queen".


BROOKE, John, Lord Cobham (d. 1515)

The son of Edward Lord Cobham. John married as his first wife Margaret Neville, the daughter of Lord Abergavenny. He was present on the Yorkist side at the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury. He served in the force which invaded France in 1475. In the reign of Richard III he supported the king at the time of the Buckingham rebellion. Even though John was a Yorkist supporter he was not present at the battle of  Bosworth. He appears to have made his peace with Henry VII, being sent to Flanders in 1492 to support Maximilian of Austria. In 1492 he was one of the leaders of the force sent to defeat the Cornish rebellion. John died in 1515 and is buried in Cobham.


BUCKINGHAM, Dukes of - See STAFFORD

BURGH, Thomas, Lord Burgh. K.G (d. 1496)                                            

The son of Thomas Burgh and Elizabeth Percy. Prominent during the reigns of five kings, Thomas married Margaret Roos and built Gainsborough Old Hall much as it stands today. He was a squire to Edward IV, to whom he gave crucial support, and was knighted by Edward in 1464. In 1469 he assisted in Edward’s escape from the custody of the Earl of Warwick, causing him to be driven out of Lincolnshire for a time. Present at the coronation of Richard III, Thomas held the canopy over Richard’s head. In September the same year (1483), Thomas attended the ceremony, in York at which Richard’s son was invested as Prince of Wales. Richard made Thomas a Knight of the Garter, and stayed the night at his house in Gainsborough on his journey back to London. After Richard’s death at the battle of Bosworth, Thomas continued to serve the new Tudor dynasty and was given a barony in 1487. He died in 1496.

BUTLER, Eleanor, Lady (d. 1468)

Eleanor Butler was born Eleanor Talbot. She was the daughter of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, the 'Great Talbot' who had died at Castillon in 1453. Her sister Elizabeth was the wife of the last Mowbray Duke of Norfolk. Eleanor had been the wife of Sir Thomas Butler who had died some time before Edward IV came to the throne. At some point when Edward was newly proclaimed king, or possibly just before, the two had met but just how, and where, there is no record. It was after Edward IV’s death that Lady Eleanor’s name came to be so well known. Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells, appeared before the council and made the claim that Edward’s children by Elizabeth Woodville could not inherit the throne as their mother’s marriage was not a true marriage. Edward, so Stillington claimed, had already been troth-plight to another lady. That lady was Lady Eleanor Butler. The ceremony of troth-plight was at that time a legally binding ceremony under canon law, especially if it was followed by consummation. If this allegation was true Edward’s subsequent marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was invalid, Eleanor still being alive at the time of the marriage. Stillington claimed to have either been present or performed the ceremony. In the eyes of the church therefore, Edward had never been legally married to Elizabeth. It is difficult to know the truth of this allegation after this length of time. All records to the claim were destroyed at a later date, but it formed the basis of Richard’s claim to the throne. The whole matter was put forward in a document known as Titulus Regius, which expressed Richard’s claim to the throne. All copies of this act were destroyed by order of Henry VII after his accession to the throne. Only one was found, at a much later date.

How much truth was there in this story? It is hard to imagine a man as careful as Richard III not making some effort to check this story, but we shall never know the truth. It was in the interests of Henry VII to try and make sure this matter was indeed untrue as it affected his wife, Elizabeth of York’s, legitimacy, so any evidence of its truth would be destroyed along with Titulus Regius. It remains yet another mystery of the period.

Eleanor never revealed this matter, although she did not die until 1468, four years after the king’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville. Her last years were spent in Norwich at the convent of the Whitefriars, where she had entered a religious order. It was here she was buried. Her secrets or otherwise died with her.

BUTLER, James, Earl of Wiltshire, Earl of Ormond. K.G (1420-1461)                 

James Butler was created Earl of Wiltshire in 1449. In 1452 he succeeded his father as Earl of Ormond, giving him a double title. A particular favourite of Henry VI, Wiltshire married Eleanor Beaufort, one of the sisters of the third and fourth Dukes of Somerset, as his second wife. In 1453 as Earl of Ormond he was Lieutenant of Ireland. When conflict broke out Wiltshire fought on the Lancastrian side. He was present at the 1st battle of St Albans in 1455, Mortimer's Cross in 1461 and at the battle of Towton. Wiltshire also held the post of councillor to the Lancastrian Prince of Wales. After Towton he was a proscribed traitor. He was captured the same year at Cockermouth and executed there.

CATESBY, William, kt. (ex. 1485)                                                            

William Catesby was the son of Sir William Catesby, a Northamptonshire knight. His chosen career was the law. Throughout the 1470-80’s he was councillor to the Duchy of Lancaster. He also acted in a legal capacity for many prominent men, Lord Hastings and Archbishop Bourchier among them. As a protégé of such prominent men he came to the notice of Richard III during his protectorate. It is thought that Catesby played some part in the downfall of Lord Hastings. Suffice it to say that under Richard III he came to play a prominent part in government. Catesby was present at the battle of Bosworth but whether he actually fought is unknown. With his aptitude for changing sides, as shown by his changing masters from Hastings to Richard, he may well have hoped to offer his services to Henry VII. He was not given the chance. Catesby was one of the few men executed by Henry’s order after the battle. He is buried in Ashby St Legers in Northamptonshire.


CHAUCER Alice, Duchess of Suffolk (1404-1475)

Alice was the only child of Thomas Chaucer and his wife Matilda Burghersh. Alice’s grandfather was Geoffrey Chaucer, known to history as the father of English verse. Chaucer’s wife, Alice’s grandmother, was Phillipa Roet, the sister of John of Gaunt’s third duchess, Katherine Swynford. Thomas Chaucer, her father was, along with Thomas Swynford, Katherine’s son by her first marriage, one of the keepers of Richard II during his captivity at Pontefract Castle.

Alice’s first husband was Sir John Philip her second Thomas Montagu, Earl of Salisbury. By this marriage she was stepmother to Alice Montagu, the wife of Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury. Alice married for the third time in 1430. Her new husband was William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk. William was a prominent member of the court of Henry VI and one of the favourite advisers of Margaret of Anjou. He was given the title of Duke in 1448. Alice's only child was born in 1442; she was already 38 years old, at that time quite old to bear a first child. After William’s death in 1450 Alice continued to serve Margaret at court.

Her only son married Elizabeth, the second daughter of Richard of York. This led to a change of allegiance for the Suffolks. Whether Alice continued to support the Lancastrian cause is unknown. What is known is that some affection must have remained between her and her former mistress. In the 1470’s after the battle of Tewkesbury, Alice was given custody of the former queen. This was a responsibility she retained until her death in 1475. Alice lies in a magnificent tomb in St Mary’s Church, Ewelme.

CHENEY, John, kt. K.B. (d. 1499)                                                           

John was an Esquire of the Body to Edward IV and made a Knight of the Bath at the coronation of Elizabeth Woodville. In 1475 he served in the invasion of France. Edward made him his Master of the Horse in 1479. John was a giant of a man, like his master King Edward. After Edward’s death he joined the Buckingham rebellion. When the rebellion failed he joined Henry Tudor abroad. One of those who returned with Henry, he was one of Henry’s bodyguards at the battle of Bosworth, where he was struck down by Richard III and injured. John was created Lord Cheney in 1487. He is buried in Salisbury Cathedral.

CLIFFORD, John, Lord (1435-1461)                                                        

The eldest son of Thomas, Lord Clifford, who fell at the 1st battle of St Albans in 1455, and his wife Joan Dacre, John was an ardent Lancastrian supporter. After his father’s death he succeeded to the title as 9th Lord Clifford. In 1458 he demanded compensation for his father's death from the Yorkist leaders. He was governor of Penrith castle and commissary general of the Scottish Marches. He was one of the Lancastrian commanders at the battle of Wakefield. After the battle Edmund of Rutland, York’s son, was unfortunate enough to fall into John’s hands. With his hatred of all the York family John had no compunction in killing Edmund even though the boy was unarmed. His words, “By God's blood, thy father slew mine! So will I slay the accursed blood of York”, show just how strongly he resented the death of his father. John was with the Lancastrian force in the north in March 1461 and was given the task of preventing the Yorkists from crossing the river Aire at Ferrybridge. Successful for a while, he was eventually forced to turn back toward his own army. In his retreat he unwisely removed his bevor and received an arrow in the throat, dying a short while later in great agony. John’s final resting place is unknown but there is a school of thought that he lies in Dintingdale not far from where he fell, with the men of his force who died with him.


CLIFFORD, Robert, kt. (d. 1509)                                         

The younger brother of John, Lord Clifford and Sir Roger Clifford. Married Elizabeth, daughter of William Barley. Justice of the Peace on several occasions between 1479 and 1488. Probably, with his brother, Sir Roger, one of those involved in the conspiracies to put Henry Tudor on the throne. Sir Robert was the man who brought down Sir William Stanley. Entrusted by Henry with several diplomatic missions, in 1493 Sir Robert left the Tudor court for Flanders. Here he made contact with those involved with Margaret of Burgundy in the planned attempt to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne of England, claiming he was the younger son of Edward IV, Richard Duke of York. This conspiracy posed a serious threat to Henry, and there is little doubt that Sir Robert was instructed to find out and name those giving the plot their backing. How he managed to win the confidence of the plotters is unknown, but suffice it to say that he did. On his return to court Clifford began to name names. Among them was Sir Gilbert Debenham, Sir John Savage and his own father-in-law William Barley. By far the most prominent of those named was Sir William Stanley, who for some years had been in possession of  the Clifford lands near Skipton. It is very possible that there was more than a little revenge in his accusation.

Robert Clifford’s reward for his efforts was position of Master of the Ordnance and Knight of the Body to Henry VII. He died in 1509 and is buried in Aspenden Church.

 

CLIFFORD, Roger, kt. (ex. 1485)                                                                                 

The younger brother of John, Lord Clifford, Roger was present at the battle of Wakefield where he received his knighthood from John. Once again he was with his brother at the 2nd battle of St Albans. After John’s death at Ferrybridge the previous day, he assumed command of the Clifford retainers at Towton. After this battle, Roger does not reappear again until 1485 when he was executed on the orders of Richard III, whether for involvement in a plot or because of his Lancastrian allegiance is unknown.

CLIFFORD, Thomas, Lord Clifford (k. 1455)                                           

The father of John and Roger. Married to the sister of Ranulph, Lord Dacre. The owner of estates in the north of England, including Skipton Castle. Thomas Clifford, like his sons, was a Lancastrian supporter. One of the commanders of King Henry’s army at the 1st battle of St Albans, Thomas was, with the Duke of Somerset and the Earl of Northumberland, killed in the fighting. He was buried in St Albans Abbey.

CONSTABLE, Marmaduke, kt. (d. 1518)                                                

Known because of his short stature as Little Sir Marmaduke. He married as his first wife Margery, the daughter of Lord Fitzhugh. His second wife was Joyce, the daughter of Sir Humphrey Stafford. Joyce was the mother of his children. A J.P in 1479-82, '91 '94 and from 1507 until his death, Marmaduke was an indentured retainer of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland. He served in the invasion of France in 1475, and in the Scottish campaign with Richard of Gloucester in 1482. In 1480 he was Sheriff of Yorkshire and in 1484 served in the same office for Staffordshire. When Richard III became king, Sir Marmaduke became a Knight of the Body, constable of Tutbury castle and of Castle Donington. In 1484 he was commissioner of array for Derbyshire and Kent. In 1485 he fought for Richard III at the battle of Bosworth. Granted a pardon by Henry Tudor, Sir Marmaduke continued to serve the crown until his death in 1518. He is buried in Flamborough Church.


CONYERS, John, kt. (k. 1469)

Married Alice Neville, which made him a relation of the Earl of Warwick by marriage. May have been “Robin of Redesdale”, leader of the rebellion against Edward IV in 1469. Fought in the rebel army at the battle of Edgecote where he lost his life.


CONYERS, Richard, kt. (d. 1503)

Thought by some to be the leader of the rebellion in 1469 rather than John Conyers [above]. Definitely fought at the battle of Edgecote. In 1485 John fought for Richard III at the battle of Bosworth.

COURTNEY, Thomas, Earl of Devon (ex. 1461)                                      

The son of Thomas Courtney the 5th Earl, Thomas was married to Margaret Beaufort. He was a Lancastrian supporter. He was joint commissioner of array first for Devon in 1458 and 1459, and also for Cornwall in 1459. He fought on the Lancastrian side at Wakefield in 1460 and the following year he was present at the battle of Towton. Captured after the battle, he was executed at York.