
Hurrah – that’s the indexing done – although bizarrely I actually rather like doing the final stages of the process. Think I need to have a better starting process though… Anyway, we took a trip because as those of you know me understand, I do like a list. And I have a lovely book entitled Memorials of the Wars of the Roses by W.E. Hampton. It’s also an opportunity to replace some of the images that disappeared when my external hard drive stopped working.
So today, it was a trip to Norbury and the wonderfully named church of St Mary and St Barlok near Ashbourne. I’ve posted about the location before (https://thehistoryjar.com/2015/07/17/nicholas-and-ralph-fitzherbert-a-glimpse-of-the-wars-of-the-roses/ – click on the link to open a new tab) as I have a fascination with the livery collar that Ralph is wearing.
The FitzHerbert name is a well known one in Derbyshire. Ralph Fitzherbert was lord of the manor at Norbury from 1473 onwards when he inherited the estate from his father, Nicholas Fitzherbert (whose effigy sports a livery collar with a lion pendent) Originally, during the 12th century, the holding was granted by the Abbot of Tutbury but by the 15th century the family owned the manor, having exchanged some land with the abbey, rather than renting their principle seat at Norbury. Inevitably he was caught up in the events of the Wars of the Roses, hence my interest. The gentry in Derbyshire principally supported the House of Lancaster who were their patrons from the medieval period onwards. Nicholas FitzHerbert made the transition from Lancaster to York and served in an administrative capacity with the county. He was associated with Walter Blount who got himself into difficulty with the rest of Derbyshire’s gentry because of his support for the House of York.
Ralph FitzHerbert owed his own loyalty to William, Lord Hastings who, you may recall, was one of Edward IV’s friends. It was he who was with the king when he was forced to flee his realm in 1470. The least said about his womanising the better. In return for supporting Hastings, Fitzherbert expected political advancement – this was the era of so-called ‘bastard feudalism’.

In 1475 FitzHerbert was part of the force which accompanied Hastings to France on military campaign. His place in Hastings’ retinue may have seen him at Picquigny where a peace deal was agreed. Fitzherbert’s association with Hastings so him rise to become a teller of the king’s money before becoming his remembrancer. A remembrancer essentially kept a list, or a roll, so that barons of the exchequer knew what business was pending.
We know that FitzHerbert married Elizabeth Marshall from Upton in Leicestershire. It was a good match as she was an heiress – and should not be surprising. After all, it was the way in which gentry families extended their land holdings and kinship networks to increase their power base within a particular region. Elizabeth who outlived her husband asked to be buried beside him.
Ralph made his will on 21 January 1484 and after his death, in March, was buried in the church with an effigy which recorded his loyalty to the house of York – in particular to Richard III. His livery collar is an unusual one as it depicts Richard’s white boar (I still think it’s the only extant one on an effigy.) Ralph, a pious medieval Christian, wished to ensure a smooth transition from purgatory to Heaven. His will details money to be given to the priests officiating at his funeral and well as to various abbeys so that prayers could be said for his soul.
His heir, John, was to receive the hall’s hangings, an iron grate, the best bed, armour, a flock of sheep with a ram as well as a wagon, 6 oxen and 6 cows. Another son, Thomas, was also in receipt of a bed as were two of Ralph’s daughters. They were also gifted a silver cup each.
John FitzHerbert had his own difficulties to contend with – aside from the effigy of his father sporting a noticeable link to Richard III at the start of the Tudor period. He was married to Benedicta Bradbourne (yet more kinship networks and alliances within the region – her mother was part of the Vernon family) but it didn’t work out quite as his family might have hoped. John’s will, written in 1517, records that the couple were no longer cohabiting because Benedicta had been unfaithful. He described her as ‘lewd and vile’ ( LRO, B/A/1/14, fol. 109v.) – so not a harmonious parting of the ways. His will goes on to ensure that she did not receive any dower rights. Under English law she would usually have been entitled to a third of her husband’s estates for her use during her life time. Sometimes it is quite frustrating to be provided with a fragment of a tale but not to be able to locate more information! And this is one of those occasions.
So in Derbyshire the other 7 ‘Wars of the Roses’ effigies are -At Ashover the effigies of Thomas Babington and his wife Edith FitzHerbert. John Babington, Thomas’s father, fought for Richard III at Bosworth and its possible that Thomas did as well but he made the transition to the Tudor regime.
Ashbourne – John Cokayne and his wife Anne Vernon. He was associated with the Duke of Buckingham and on one occasion Nicholas Fitzherbert was called upon to arrest him for being at feud with the Blount family. Like FitzHerbert he served Lord Hastings in France in 1475.
Barlow – Robert Eyre and his wife Margaret Delves.(Yorkist livery collar)
Hathersage Robert Eyre of Padley and his wife Elizabeth FitzWilliam. He also served Lord Hastings in 1475 and his ability to shift with the tide is reflected by his service as a justice of the peace under Edward IV, Richard III and Henry VII.
Kedleston John Curzon and his wife Elizabeth Eyre (SS collar)
Morley John Sacheverell and wife Joan Statham. Another Derbyshire member of the gentry indentured to serve Lord Hastings in 1474- so in France 1475.
Youlgrave Thomas Cokayne (York collar) – Served Lord Hastings in France in 1475.
I’ve posted about the Ashover and Ashbourne images before but will be revisiting them. Inevitably I will be looking at Nottinghamshire for research into The Little History of Nottinghamshire (a further eight). In Yorkshire – for those of you who are wondering,-there are a whopping 49 effigies with a link to the Wars of the Roses including the tomb chest at Beverley – which definitely doesn’t have an effigy- of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland.
FitzHerbert, R. H C. (1897). Will of Ralph Fitzherbert, Esq. of Norbury, A.D. 1483.. The Derbyshire Archaeological Journal 19. Vol 19, pp. 94-100. https://doi.org/10.5284/1065424.













I had thought three parts to this little series but having written today’s post which is largely about the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries I shall be extending it to four parts.
Hotspur’s son another Henry had spent most of his childhood in Scotland because both his father and grandfather were at loggerheads with the monarch. Very sensibly after his grandfather was killed the second earl remained safely in Scotland. It was only when Henry IV died that Henry Percy took the opportunity to be reconciled with the Crown. He was officially recognised as the 2ndearl in 1413.
Katherine Neville, daughter of Ralph Neville earl of Westmorland and his second wife Joan Beaufort, was married first to John Mowbray, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. The pair had only one child – a boy named John. He’s the chap who turned up late to Towton in Easter 1461 and helped the Yorkists to win. He died in 1461and was succeeded by his son also named John – this particular Duke of Norfolk as well as being Katherine Neville’s grandson was also the one who had the on-going feud with the Paston family about Caistor Castle.
There are rather a lot of halls in England and they aren’t all ancient seats – rather some of them seem to have been given the name hall to hint at an antiquity that didn’t exist. The Telegraph’s list of best stately homes has houses and palaces – the first hall is number ten on the list. So that is my post for today. Blickling Hall in Norfolk which definitely has a pedigree.
Until about 1600 halls were large official rooms rather than private spaces. Gainsborough Old Hall is the advent for December 2nd. It’s a wonderful building constructed from timber frame and brick. It was built by Thomas Burgh who inherited the manor of Gainsborough in 1455 – so just as the Wars of the Roses was kicking off. Thomas’s father had done rather well from the Hundred Years War and had married into the Percy family to improve their social standing. It was his marriage into the Party family that bought Gainsborough into the Burgh’s possession.
Henry VIII visited the hall with wife number five- the ill fated Katherine Howard.
Sir Richard Woodville (Lord Rivers) and his eldest son Sir Anthony were men in trouble in the aftermath of the Battle of Towton fought at Eastertide 1461. They were Lancastrians who within six weeks of the battle found themselves attainted of treason and their lands confiscated.
I’ve posted before about Henry Vernon being a canny politician. He was ordered to attend Richard III prior to the Battle of Bosworth but there is no evidence for him on the battlefield – on either side. Having been in good odour with Edward IV, the duke of Clarence and the earl of Warwick if the letters in the Rutland Archive are anything to go by it is a little surprising that Sir Henry did so well under the Tudors – In fact a study of a range of Vernon’s letters gives helpful insight into the changing politics of the period – which is exactly what I intend to do in a couple of weeks with my Wars of the Roses group, along with a peek at Sir Henry’s will.