The Princes in the Tower, page 30
At Setúbal in Portugal, on 25 April 1496, Brampton revealed that his wife had met ‘Piris’ (the Portuguese name attributed to York) at Middelburg where she had fled the plague in Bruges. ‘Piris’ lived opposite her, working for a craftsman who sold needles and purses. Here, he got to know some of the French boys who worked for her. The youth then went with her on her husband’s ship as he wanted to live in their household with their son.
In Portugal, she asked Brampton if he ‘wanted him to take him for the household and he answered no, that he had other French boys in service and didn’t want any more, but he would place him with a fidalgo [nobleman]’. Later, one of Brampton’s boys was returning to Flanders and the ‘boy’ (York) ‘wanted to go with him’ because Brampton ‘did not want to take him in as his son’ but ‘the ship sailed and he was left behind’.59
John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk (c. 1425–85)
John Howard was a leading Yorkist noble, soldier, ambassador, shipping magnate and merchant. He died at Bosworth, leading King Richard III’s vanguard. He was one of King Richard’s closest advisors, described by him on 10 February 1484 as ‘oure righte entirely beloved Cousyn’. At this time, Howard had been tasked with bringing John Norris, brother of the rebel Sir William Norris, to the king’s presence.60 Howard was connected to the Norris family through his second marriage in c. 1466, as step-father of Sir William Norris (see John Norris on p. 263).
In May and December 1484, Howard and Sir John Everingham were named on Commissions of Array for Norfolk and Suffolk.61 Howard was also closely connected to Christopher Colyns and King Maximilian.62 For Howard’s connections in France, see Chapter 14.
After Bosworth, Howard’s body was repatriated to Thetford Priory, Norfolk, lapped in lead. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it was removed to Framlingham Church, Suffolk, along with his son Thomas.
In 1841, the Howard tombs were opened.63 The front of what seems to have been John Howard’s skull presented a severe wound. The face guard (beaver) of his helmet was reported torn off during combat with the Earl of Oxford, and Howard to have died by a Lancastrian arrow to the face which pierced the brain.64 He would have died instantly.
For Sir John Wyndam’s execution ( John Howard’s son-in-law) alongside Sir James Tyrell (and including a seaman and barber), see Tyrell, p. 257.
For more on John Howard, see Chapters 3 and 14.
Halneth (Halnath) Mauleverer (d. 1502) and Family
In 1461, Halneth Mauleverer was esquire of the office of the verger who carries the rod before the king at the feast of St George at Windsor Castle. The office was vacated by Halneth and given to William Evington in July 1472.65
Halneth, of Allerton Mauleverer, near Knaresborough in Yorkshire, married Jane (sometimes called Joan), a daughter of Thomas Carminewe, and as a result moved south to Ashwater, Devon, in the early 1460s.66 Halneth was Sheriff of Cornwall in 1470 and of Devon in 1479 and 1483.
He was given the great honour of standing night vigil by Edward IV’s coffin as it rested in St George’s Chapel on 18 April prior to burial. With Halneth was Christopher Colyns (see p. 278).67 Halneth was joint Commissioner of Array for Cornwall and Devon in 1484, and an Esquire of the Body to Edward IV and Richard III. He was also an Usher of the Chamber to Edward IV and Master of the Game in the king’s parks in Devon.68
In November 1483, he sat on a commission ‘to arrest and imprison all rebels in the counties of Devon and Cornwall’.69 In December 1484, Halneth was granted lands in Cornwall by King Richard for his ‘good service against the rebels’.70 In December 1484, he was named on a Commission of Array in Cornwall, and with his brother, Thomas (Sheriff ), on a Commission of Array in Devon.71
On 17 December 1484, as the king’s servant, Halneth was granted the office of Constable of Launceveton (Dunheved) in Cornwall.72 In 1485, together with his elder brother, Sir Thomas, and his uncle, William (see p. 263), he fought for Richard III at Bosworth. He and William were pardoned by Henry VII on 24 November 1485,73 and Sir Thomas on 9 November 1485.74
On 19 May 1491, Halneth was named with others as being ‘mainprized’ (stood surety through threat of a large fine) for the loyalty of Thomas, Marquess of Dorset.75
Sir Thomas Mauleverer was knighted by Richard of Gloucester in 1480 on the Scottish campaign and made a Knight Banneret during the invasion of 1482.76 It is probable Thomas’ younger brothers, Robert and Halneth, were with him on campaign. Robert (d. 1500) may have also fought for Richard at Bosworth.
In 1486, Sir Thomas was a feed man of the 4th Earl of Northumberland and supported the rebellion of 1487 on behalf of Edward V with Lincoln and Lovell. He was pardoned in 1488.77 John Pullen/Poleyn (Sir Thomas’ brother-in-law, married to his sister, Grace) was also involved in the 1487 rebellion and received a pardon in 1488.78 Sir Thomas died on or by 4 April 1494.79 It is not known which Mauleverer sailed with Richard of York’s invasion force from Holland and was captured at Deal in Kent in July 1495.
Dame Elizabeth Mauleverer (Thomas’ wife) was Lady-in-Attendance on Queen Anne at her coronation.80 Grace Poleyn was also a gentlewoman of Queen Anne and received livery for Anne’s coronation.81 Her husband, John Poleyn of the Poleyn family of Scotton, near Knaresborough, was Esquire and Sergeant of the Royal Cellar by February 1485.82 Poleyn (Pullen) was a distant relative of Sir Robert Percy of Scotton.83 John Vavasour, Gentlemen Usher of Queen Anne’s Chamber, was married to Sir Thomas Mauleverer’s daughter, Bridget.84
Sir William Mauleverer, of Wothersome in Bardsley, West Yorkshire, Commissioner of Array for Kent, was the only son of Robert Mauleverer and uncle of Halneth and Thomas. In August 1484, he was awarded a grant of land in Kent by King Richard III for ‘his good service against the rebels’,85 and named in a Commission of Array for the county in December.86 He died in April 1498. In his will he left a ‘little ring’ given to him by Richard III to ‘Our Lady of Walsingham’ (see Chapter 14).
In December 1483 and November 1484, Halneth served with Sir James Tyrell on Commissions of the Peace in Cornwall.87
John Norris (Norreys) (d. 10 October 1485?)
Norris (Norreys) of Yatenden, Berkshire,88 was an Esquire of the Body of Edward IV (with Walter Hungerford).89 On 11 January 1482, a pardon was issued to Norris and a gentleman of London, John Russe.90 It is not known if John Russe was any relation to Robert Russe, one of the conspirators in London on 22 July 1483.
At Edward IV’s funeral, Norris took part in the short procession from St Stephen’s Chapel to Westminster Abbey. By 23 May 1483, he was made Esquire of the Body of Edward V.91 This appointment was probably made, or at least confirmed, by Richard of Gloucester, as Protector. By 1 August 1483, John and Sir William Norris were named in a commission for Berkshire.92 In Leicester, on 23 October, during the autumn uprising, Norris is named with others, including his brother, Sir William, in a proclamation requiring their capture or surrender with pardon.93
On 10 February 1484, John Norris was commanded to the king’s presence. It seems Norris was quickly apprehended by John Howard, or handed himself in, as he received a general pardon only two days later on 12 February 1484 and escaped attainder.94 Sir William also received a pardon, but it failed to pass the Great Seal.95
A John Norris was dead by 2 July 1491,96 but he may have been the John Norris who died on 10 October 1485.97 On 3 July 1495, during Richard of York’s invasion at Deal in Kent, a ‘John Norrys’ was captured and later executed. Described as a Yeoman (gentleman landowner), this may have been Edward IV’s Esquire of the Body.98
Norris and his family were connected by marriage to John Howard. In January 1467, following the death of his first wife, Howard married Margaret, daughter of Sir John Chedworth. Margaret had previously been married to John Norris senior. John Norris junior seems to have acted as a London agent for Howard in the magnate’s shipping business, selling some of Howard’s ships and dealing with the sale of freight.99 It is therefore possible that Howard might have recommended Norris as an attendant and guard of the sons of Edward IV in the Tower. If so, Norris may have known or heard something about the removal of Richard, Duke of York, and his journey abroad.
Norris may have also recounted his knowledge of the elder boy’s ‘melancholic words’ to family members. Did these family members (Sir William and Edward) then interpret the elder boy’s distress as something sinister and lend their support to Henry Tudor? Or was the family simply returning to its former Lancastrian allegiance? Sir William Norris had been knighted by Henry VI before the Battle of Northampton and was not one of Richard of Gloucester’s ‘frendys’.100 It is also possible that John Norris fought with Howard at Bosworth, thereby the family would ensure that whoever won the day, the family would prosper.
The Norris family was also linked to Francis Lovell by marriage: Lovell’s sister, Frideswede, was married to Edward Norris, the son of Norris’ elder brother, Sir William.101 Edward was present for Henry VII at Stoke Field along with his father and was knighted after the battle.102 It is not known why Frideswede received a grant of 100 marks for life from King Richard III in January 1485, or if she had left Edward Norris by then.103 If Edward Norris was in the vanguard at Stoke, then he actively fought against his brother-inlaw, Francis Lovell.
Sir William Norris is listed among those knighted by Henry VII after Stoke Field. As he was already a knight, this is probably an error for his creation as a Knight Banneret. William was a leader of the Newbury uprising in Berkshire in 1483 in which Richard Woodville was attainted. William fled to the continent and returned with Henry Tudor to fight for him at Bosworth. William was well rewarded by King Henry and was one of the leaders who fought against Richard, Duke of York, in September 1497. William’s brother-in-law was John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford. William died in 1507.104
Henry and Thomas Peirse and the Peirse Family
The Peirse family, of Bedale in North Yorkshire, first come to our attention in a family pedigree of 1634.105 At this time, Thomas Peirse’s great grandson, John Peirse Esq. (d.c. 1658), had been appointed a Gentleman Sewer to Charles I.106 He was in charge of serving dishes at the king’s table and sometimes tasting them. A resident of East Greenwich, London (then described as Kent), John Peirse Esq. had also purchased the manor of Bedale in or around 1593. The Manor of East Greenwich had been part of the Manor of Bedale from 1570.107
John’s father, Henry, had also owned lands in Bedale. He was described in 1621 as a Yeoman, a freeholder of a small, landed estate.108 John was the first member of the family to hold official office, thereby helping to raise the family’s fortunes. His younger brother, Richard (died unmarried), was also Gentleman Sewer to Charles I. In 1637–38, Richard is named as the owner of houses and 170 acres of land in Bedale.109 By 1654, John’s eldest son, John Peirse Esq. of Bedale, is described as an Alderman of London.110 An address in 1635 is given as St Martin’s Parish, near Ludgate.111 John died unmarried. As a result, the manor of Bedale descended to his great nephew, Henry Peirse Esq. (d. 1759).
The Peirse family pedigree begins with Peter Peirse of Bedale, described as ‘Standard Bearer to King Richard the third at Bosworth field where he lost a leg but lived many years after’. Searches for Peter’s forebears are ongoing.
Although Peter, as a Christian name, is not recognised in the senior Peirse line, it seems it may have been commonly used within the wider Percy family in northern England. Christopher Hunwick, archivist at Alnwick Castle, brought Picot Percy of Bolton Percy, North Yorkshire, to our attention. Picot seems to have had descendants in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries called Peter Percy (of Bolton Percy).112 Other related searches have revealed a fourteenth-century Peter Percy, of Dunsley in North Yorkshire, near Whitby.113 It is therefore possible that our Peter Peirse may have been a descendant of one of these lines, as a cadet or possibly illegitimate branch. Illegitimacy was very much regarded as a stain on a family at this time and may explain why the Peirse family did not record the antecedents of Peter Peirse. It is notable that the family were happy to record their ancestor’s role on behalf of Richard III.
Peter Peirse’s son is our Thomas Peirse, with no other siblings recorded. Thomas owned land in Bedale,114 and it seems likely that he lived to a good age. His son and heir was Marmaduke Peirse of Bedale and Cleveland (d. 1609).115
Marmaduke comes to our attention on 27 October 1559 through the grant of a lease on some property in the manor of Bedale by the owner, William Dygby.116 This was probably a tenement building because on 9 August 1565 the new owners were suing for a year’s unpaid rent.117
By 1575, ‘Marmaduc Pearsey’ was serving on the jury for Bedale,118 and in October 1581, he is named in his brother-in-law’s will (Thomas Gaile).119 The name of Marmaduke’s sister is not recorded, nor is there an entry in the Beresford-Peirse family tree. Her daughter is named in Gaile’s will as ‘Anne’ and this may also have been her mother’s name.
Thanks to the Beresford-Peirse family (of Bedale), we know that Thomas Peirse had a second son, Christopher Peirse of Burrell. Christopher was buried on 16 August 1597.120 Nothing else is currently known about Christopher.
It also seems that Thomas had a third son, Richard, which would go on to become a Peirse family Christian name. He was buried in Bedale on 14 April 1573.121
In 1511–12, a Thomas Percy was responsible for the keeping of the 5th Earl of Northumberland’s house at Wressle Castle and/or Leconfield. He was in charge of all foodstuffs bought for the house in this year and was described as ‘Clerk of the Kitchen’.122 Thomas may have been the son of Peter Percy, a merchant of Scarborough and Hull. Peter had a brother, John Percy, also a merchant in Scarborough.123 Any connection to the Peirse/Percy family of Bedale currently remains untraced.
Searches to date have uncovered no genealogical record for Thomas’ brother, Henry, which suggests he was unmarried and childless when he died in Portugal in 1487. Henry became a popular Peirse family Christian name.
William Puche (Poche) (d.c. March 1484)
On 8 March 1484, William Poche is named as the Keeper of the Little Wardrobe in the Tower of London for life, with two grooms under him.124 Poche was the ‘Keeper of beds and other harness within the Tower’.125 This may explain later stories of the smothering of the boys between two mattresses. Poche was a Yeoman of the Crown, who lived in the parish of St Mary of Barking in London.126
On 14 January 1484, William Poche was warranted with Robert Brackenbury and four others to seize the forfeited lands and castles of the rebel John Turburvile of Bradford in Wiltshire, for Turburvile’s high treason.127 Puche (Poche) is not to be confused with Sir William Pecche (Petch) of Kent (d.c. April 1488).128
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (1455–83)
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, came from a Lancastrian family. In 1460, his grandfather was killed fighting for Henry VI at the Battle of Northampton. In 1466, at the age of 10, he was married to Katherine Woodville (aged about 8), Queen Elizabeth’s younger sister. They would have five children (Humphrey died young).
In 1474, as a descendant of Thomas Woodstock, the youngest son of Edward III, Buckingham was awarded Woodstock’s royal arms, without quartering129 and became a Knight of the Garter. However, following his very early return to England from the French invasion of 1475, Buckingham was ‘kept conspicuously out of public office’130 and rarely attended court. He may have entertained pretensions to the throne, hence Edward IV’s reluctance to reward him and his fall in favour. It is also not known why Buckingham joined the October 1483 uprising against King Richard (see Chapter 6).
Sir William Tyrwhit (Tyrwyth/Tyrwhite) (c. 1456–1522)
William Tyrwhit seems to have been a trusted servant of the Crown as one of Edward IV’s ushers,131 an Esquire of the Body, and Sheriff of Lincolnshire.132 Tyrwhit was on a Commission of the Peace for Edward V in Lincolnshire on 14 May 1483.133
He was named as King Richard’s servant and Esquire of the Body and Steward of the King’s Lordship of Caistor in the county of Lincoln on 8 December 1483, with Richard authorising a payment to him (£10) for the offices in October the following year.134 On 16 November 1483, he was awarded the keeping of Swalefield Park,135 and in December appointed to commissions in the county of Lincoln to try cases of treason136 and to a Commission of Array on 1 May 1484.137
In March 1485, Tyrwhit was awarded for life the lordship of Seaton, in North Yorkshire, and described as a Squire for the Body.138 Tyrwhit was granted lands in (rebel) Berkshire by King Richard on 20 February 1485139 and annuities from the lordship of Freston, Lincolnshire.140
Tyrwhit similarly served Henry VII. He was knighted after Stoke Field and described as a ‘knyghtes bacheler’ at the coronation of Elizabeth of York.141 During Henry’s reign, Tyrwhit was mainly associated with Lindsey in Lincolnshire, where he served on several commissions. On 10 February 1502, he was involved in an action with others against Sir Robert Willoughby of Broke.142 By 10 March 1505, he was named as Sir William Tyrwhit of Ketelby (Lincolnshire).143
Tyrwhit was made Bailiff of Calais in 1491, Knight of the Body (1493), Justice of the Peace (1491–94) and Sheriff of Lincoln in 1494 and 1517. He was also made Knight Banneret at the Battle of Blackheath in 1497. Sir William is buried in Lincoln Cathedral.144
Burgundian-Habsburg Nobility
King (Emperor) Maximilian I (1459–1519)
Maximilian was the son of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Frederick III (1415–93) and his wife, Eleanor of Portugal (1434–67).
After the death of the Burgundian Duke Charles the Bold in 1477, Maximilian married his daughter and heir Mary of Burgundy, through which the Habsburg dynasty rose to prominence in Europe. The young Archduke Maximilian was successful in defending Burgundian unity in a fifteen-year war with France. The birth of his children, Philip (the Handsome) and Margaret (of Austria), secured the Habsburg dynasty in the Netherlands.
