The Princes in the Tower, page 37
Medieval Symbolism in the Church
There are many items in the church that could be considered representational of the House of York. There are several floor tiles that were produced at the Barnstaple tileries early in the sixteenth century and have been credited with showing that these tileries were in production much earlier than was at first thought. The swan motif is fairly common in West Country churches, but the Rose of York and the Sun in Splendour seen at Coldridge show a strong link to the House of York. In addition to the tiles, there are many carved oak roof bosses probably depicting the Yorkist Rose, and one that shows the Sun in Splendour. There would appear to be a deliberate attempt here to make a Yorkist statement, because in the window adjacent to this boss there is a salvaged fragment of a similar badge in stained glass.
Robert Markenfield: A Strange Assignment
On 1 March 1484, Elizabeth Woodville, no longer queen and now referred to as Dame Elizabeth Grey, left sanctuary at Westminster Abbey with her daughters after Richard III publicly swore an oath guaranteeing their safety and good marriages for her daughters. Thomas Grey, Marquess of Dorset, Elizabeth’s eldest son by her first marriage, had previously fled the same sanctuary. On 3 March 1484, Robert Markenfield, an associate and servant of the king, from Ripon in Yorkshire, was granted the Coldridge estates and sent there:
Grant, during pleasure, to the King’s servant Robert Markynfeld of the office of keeper of the park of Colrigge, Co. Devon, in the King’s hands by the forfeiture of Thomas, late Marquis of Dorset, receiving the accustomed fees from the issues of the Manor of Colrigge with all other profits.16
Robert Markenfield was a brother of Sir Thomas Markenfield of Markenfield Hall, Yorkshire. Our knowledge of Robert is very limited. In 1468 a priest at Ripon Cathedral, Thomas Hawk, left Robert his jerkin and helmet, battleaxe and sword.17 The same priest, who had been disgraced for adultery and possibly helped by the Markenfield family, also left many of his household items to Sir Thomas and his mother, Margaret.
Sir Thomas was a loyal retainer to Richard III and fought at Bosworth. As Professor A.J. Pollard states:
Sir Thomas Markenfield, who was born around 1447 and died in 1497, is celebrated for his attachment to Richard III … he was rewarded with a grant of confiscated estates in Somerset to the value of £100 p.a … and was made Sheriff of Yorkshire.18
It has been reported that both Thomas and Robert were favoured by the king, but it is very strange that Robert was only granted this small manor and deer park in deepest Devon. Was there a special assignment given to him by the king that was associated with the deal struck with Elizabeth Woodville? Did Robert Markenfield follow the wishes of the mother of the two princes and take Edward V to Coldridge to be known as John Evans?
To add to this intrigue, we will see that Robert Markenfield will become involved with another local landowner and associate of John Evans, Sir John Speke, who in 1497 will receive a heavy fine for assisting Richard of England, the brother of Edward V.
Sir John Speke and Richard of England
Sir John Speke (1442–1518) held lands in Somerset and Devon; in particular, the manors of Heywood, at Wembworthy, and Brushford, which adjoin the manor of Coldridge. His son, John (1468–1524), who succeeded him, was on the same side as Robert Markenfield in 1495 in a land dispute at Wembworthy.19
In the 1516 will of Sir John there are mentions of bequests of money and a horse to a Peter Markenfield, who may have been a son of Robert and obviously in good standing with the Spekes. Without doubt, Evans and the Spekes would have been associates and there is no evidence to show that they were not friends.
The tomb of Sir John Speke in the Speke Chantry at Exeter Cathedral bears a striking similarity to the Evans tomb, although it is much more ornate. As previously mentioned, Evans and Speke would have collaborated on the installation of the parclose screens at Coldridge and Brushford.
The involvement of Sir John Speke with Richard of England is of particular interest: for assisting him in 1497, Speke received the very heavy fine of £200 from Henry VII. The rebellion on behalf of Richard of England involved a Cornish uprising attacking the city of Exeter, initially by trying to enter the north gate. The fifteenth-century route to the north gate would have taken Richard from Okehampton to Crediton via Down St Mary and Copplestone, passing very close to Coldridge and Wembworthy. Speke may have offered Richard rest and refreshment on his estates prior to the final 20-mile march to Exeter and the involvement of John Evans may have been very possible.
The presence of two images of the Sun in Splendour – of a similar design to those in the livery of Edward IV – in the stained glass at Speke’s church at Wembworthy, further suggests an affinity between Speke and the House of York. It should be noted that Sir John Speke had married Alice, one of the daughters of Sir Thomas Arundel. Arundel was a relative through marriage to Sir James Tyrell.
Sir Henry Bodrugan, Coldridge and Edward V
It is significant that Bodrugan, one of the most controversial characters that ever came out of Cornwall, had links to Coldridge and was a supporter of Richard III and the House of York. Robert Markenfield was granted the manor and deer park of Coldridge on 3 March 1484. A month later, on 8 April 1484, a Sir Henry Bodrugan (also known as Trenowith) was given Coldridge as well as other estates in Devon.20
In the uprising of October 1483, Sir Richard Edgecombe of Cornwall had joined the Duke of Buckingham in his revolt against King Richard. Sir Henry Bodrugan, acting for the king, had besieged him at Cotehele. Vastly outnumbered, the desperate Edgecombe managed to break through the cordon and escape to France, where he joined Henry Tudor. It is unclear what role Markenfield played from that point in Coldridge, but possibly he was working for Bodrugan, as he was still in the area in 1495.
This was not the first time that the Bodrugans had an involvement in Coldridge. In 1331, Joan Bodrugan married Henry Champernon, who held Coldridge among his estates.
Henry Bodrugan was a colourful character whose actions appeared to jump between a kind benefactor and responsible Cornish ruler and that of a pirate and robber. Contemporary records show that in February 1486 he was in the favour of Henry VII and put to chasing down Cornish pirates.21 But in February 1487, a warrant was issued for his arrest for sedition and in May 1487 Bodrugan attended the Dublin coronation of King Edward.
In November 1487 he was attainted, and his land then passed to Sir Thomas Lovell (no relation to Francis) in April 1488. Presumably Dorset’s land, including Coldridge, went to Lovell before it went back to Dorset. Lovell was Chancellor of the Exchequer, fought against the Yorkist forces at Stoke and was noted for extortion under Henry VII.
Could Sir Henry Bodrugan have been the man who managed the transportation of the young Edward V from Devon to the Dublin coronation, or more likely, some of his supporters? Three facts may support this: Bodrugan attended the coronation; he owned the Coldridge estates at that time; and he also owned two suitable ships moored in Devon or Cornwall, the Mary Bodrugan and the Barberye, both ideal for sailing up the coast to Ireland.
William Darcy, Robert Markenfield and the Coldridge Connection
During the Dublin coronation on 27 May 1487, Edward V was carried on the shoulders of ‘Great Darcy of Platten’. William Darcy, a leading Anglo-Irish statesman, was from a family that originated in England. Of the family remaining in England, Philip, 6th Lord Darcy, had a daughter Margery, who married Sir John Conyers.
Conyers had been a loyal retainer to Richard of Gloucester, later Richard III. In 1438, Sir John and Margery had a daughter, Eleanor, who would marry Sir Thomas Markenfield and thus be sister-in-law to Robert Markenfield of Coldridge.
John Goddesland
‘We have strong presumptive evidence that Prince Edward certainly was alive in March 1485, which is up to a year and a half after the period when More and others say that he and his brother were put to death,’ said John Bayley in 1830.22 His comment is based on the following record. On Wednesday, 9 March 1485 the King’s Signet Office records, ‘A warrant to Henry Davy to deliver to John Goddeslande fotemane [footman] unto the lord Bastard two dublettes of silk oon jaket of silk oone gowne of gloth two shirtes and two bonetes [hats]’.23
As we have seen, some have attributed this grant of clothing to King Richard’s bastard son, John of Gloucester. However, John (unlike Edward V) was not a lord (see Chapter 5, note 39). ‘Lord Bastard’ would have also been a courtesy title for Edward V as the former king and Prince of Wales.
Recent research has revealed that the surname Goddesland is unusual. It originated within 15 miles of Coldridge and was, until only recently, ‘restricted to North Devon’.24 There was a John Goddesland recorded at Burrington, 8 miles from Coldridge in 152425 and a John Goddesland recorded as resident in Coldridge in 1569.26 As this was a rare and localised name at that time it is possible that the Burrington Goddesland was the same person mentioned in the Signet Office record.
The Royal Connection
The evidence presented above shows a viable link between Coldridge, John Evans and the House of York and Edward V. In particular, the presence of two royal images is significant. The Edward V portrait in the Evans Chantry, and what was probably a royal coat of arms carrying the Yorkist Falcon and Fetterlock badge of Edward V in the chancel, sends a strong message.
It is true that in a major church or cathedral, where the footfall would justify these representations, one might expect to see the images or messages that exist at Coldridge, but not in a tiny village in Devon that was difficult to access in the early sixteenth century. In fact, images this strong representing Edward V do not exist anywhere other than Coldridge. One can only assume that the reasons for this imagery were very local. There is also the pattern of historical events that add depth to a royal connection.
Who was Responsible for all the Yorkist Imagery in the Church?
John Evans carried out extensive works in the church at Coldridge, as well as the funding of the parclose screens at nearby Brushford and Colebrooke. It is also thought that he was responsible for the magnificent early sixteenth-century rood screen at Coldridge, regarded by many as the finest in Devon.
His personal chantry required major construction work involving the insertion of new pillars and a realignment of the roof. This work must have been very expensive, and Evans would have needed significant funds to achieve it. The Barnstaple floor tiles and the stained-glass images date from the early part of the sixteenth century. The desk inscriptions confirm that Evans completed ‘this work’ by 1511 and the first pillar of his chantry, when viewed from the chancel, has the engraving ‘IX’ followed by a crown symbol, which could indicate that the major stonework was in place by 1509, the year Henry VII died.
Some have suggested that Dorset was responsible for all the Yorkist imagery at Coldridge, but as he died as early as 1501, this would not be possible, and we must conclude that Evans was the major player in this.
Was John Evans Really Edward V? The Facts that Support the Theory
The absence of any early records for Evans, a person who must have had sufficient standing to warrant the level of grants he received, suggests secrecy. The Coldridge estates were owned by Dorset, maternal brother of Edward V and Richard, Duke of York. Coldridge would have been ideal as a remote and inaccessible place in which to locate Edward if by arrangement with Richard III or Henry VII.
Richard III sent his associate, Robert Markenfield, to Coldridge two days after his reconciliation with Elizabeth Woodville. The presence of royal imagery depicting Edward V, and numerous Yorkist badges and motifs, in this remote church in a tiny village is unique. The tomb exhibits the message ‘EV(AS)’, with the inverted inscription ‘KING’ below it. If ‘AS’ was a truncated ‘ASA’, it would spell ‘in sanctuary’ in Latin. Even ‘EVAS’ reversed has significance as the word SAVE (saven, c. 1200), with the meaning to protect or rescue from harm.
There are three unique inverted portraits of a Tudor lady hidden in the rood screen, which could be a caricature of Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry Tudor. On the Evans tomb, the face resembles the small portrait in the window, and both exhibit facial damage, possibly a battle wound. The small portrait carries a royal crown and wears an ermine collar. The floating crown is thought to have been originally placed above a royal badge or coat of arms in the chancel. This royal crown has the Falcon and Fetterlock badge of Edward V (and his grandfather and father). The ermine spots are shown, uniquely, as deer, linking them to the deer parker. The forty-one deer could suggest, if subtracted from the 1511 date of the chantry, the birth of Edward V in 1470. Bearing in mind prevailing life expectancy, the age of 41 would have been an appropriate age for Evans to finish his chantry.
A Possible Scenario
The premise of The Missing Princes Project is to examine evidence afresh and objectively on a cold-case basis. The investigation at Coldridge has hopefully been presented in that way. However, it is important to consider what the evidence might mean and to examine viable scenarios that would fit the facts presented. This is one such scenario; there may well be others.
In an agreement between Richard III and Elizabeth Woodville in March 1484, she and her daughters leave sanctuary. As part of this agreement, and on the understanding that his very life depends upon it, her elder son is to be placed in a secure location and given a new name.
Robert Markenfield is tasked with taking Edward to Coldridge, where he is given the name John Evans. After Henry VII’s repeal of Edward’s illegitimacy, Markenfield and Evans hide for a short time at Markenfield Hall in Yorkshire, meeting with Francis Lovell. The landowner, Sir Henry Bodrugan, then supports Evans (Edward V) and his coronation in Ireland when, in 1487, Elizabeth Woodville and Dorset conspire with others, including John, Earl of Lincoln, to retake the throne. Henry VII becomes aware of this and puts Dorset in the Tower and constrains Elizabeth at Bermondsey Abbey.
Edward V is crowned as King Edward in Dublin. At the Battle of Stoke he is led from the field with a facial injury, possibly caused by a blow from a sword across the chin. The injury may have been inflicted deliberately after the battle to limit the potential for Edward to ever challenge the throne again. He gives the name ‘John’ on the battlefield as there is an agreement that he should revert to the role of John Evans of Coldridge.
In 1497, Richard of York appears. During the advance on Exeter, Richard camps at Wembworthy, on the land and with the support of Sir John Speke, and meets his brother Edward V at Coldridge. Dorset and Robert Markenfield may have been involved.
As Edward is badly disfigured and has difficulty speaking, it has long been agreed that Richard becomes the new heir and makes his bid for the throne. To achieve this, Richard needs to take the walled city of Exeter and make this a base in which he can build local support. The attack fails and Edward, who is in grave danger, settles in Coldridge as John Evans and distances himself from the political arena for good.
Appendix 4
The Dendermonde Letters, 25 August 1493
Margaret of Burgundy to Queen Isabella of Spain
From the dowager duchess of Burgundy to the Queen
Most serene and most excellent Princess and honourable cousin, I entirely commend me to Your Majesty.
Last year, the illustrious Earls of Desmond and Kildare, chief Lords of Ireland, and other lords of the island at the same time, wrote to me that the second son of Edward, formerly king of England, my most beloved brother, by name Richard Plantagenet Duke of York, whom everyone thought was dead, was still alive and was with those Earls in Ireland safe and held in great honour. They affirmed this with letters corroborated by their seals and with a sacred oath. They prayed that I might be willing by the right of affinity and blood, to offer aid and resources to the same Duke of York and promised they would also help him. This was for me a sort of dream and ravings.
However, after this Duke of York was recently invited to France by the King of France, as the son of King Edward and as his cousin, I sent certain men who would recognise him as easily as his mother or his nurse, since from their first youth they had been in service and intimate familiarity with King Edward and his children. These men too with a most sacred oath affirmed that this man was the second son of King Edward, and they cursed themselves with great oaths, if it should turn out otherwise, and were ready to endure every torment and great physical pains of every kind.
At last the Duke of York himself came to me out of France, seeking help and assistance. I recognised him as easily as if I had last seen him yesterday or the day before, the reason being that I had seen him long ago in England, and that was not by one or two general signs, but by so many visible and specific signs that hardly one person in ten hundred thousand [a million] might be found who would have marks of the same kind. Then I recognised him by the private conversations and acts which had taken place between him and me, which undoubtedly no other person would have been able to guess at. Lastly I knew him by the questions and conversations of others, to all of which he responded so aptly and skilfully that it was obvious and easy to see that this was he whom they thought had died long ago.
I indeed for my part, when I gazed on this male Remnant of our family – who had come through so many perils and misfortunes – was deeply moved, and out of this natural affection into which both relationship and the rights of blood were drawing me, I embraced him as my only nephew and my only son. And I decided either to aid him in his right as far as my resources allowed, or at least maintain and take care of him. But what can I do a woman and a widow, bereft of father and so many mighty brothers? For after all the disasters in our most unfortunate family, after the fall of our House from the summit of Royalty, what aid, what help still lies in me? Can I do other than implore the faith, justice, kindness and mercy of most powerful princes who are closely related to me?
