Complete Peerage Addition: Sir Edward Wingfield's Wydeville marriage
Douglas Richardson
It has been documented in various secondary sources that Queen
Elizabeth Wydeville, wife of King Edward IV of England, had several
sisters, including Joan and Anne Wydeville, both of whom married into
the Grey family of Ruthin. One of these two sisters reportedly
married Sir Edward Wingfield, Knt. The question is which sister?
Queen Elizabeth Wydeville's siblings are listed by Robert Glover,
Somerset Herald in a note included in Harvey et al. Vis. of the North
3 (Surtees Soc. 144) (1930): 57–58 (Widvill ped.). Yet none of the
queen's sisters is there stated to have married a Wingfield. A
snippet view of that list of siblings may be viewed at the following
weblink:
Regardless, the evidence of a Wingfield-Wydeville marriage is slim but
compelling. Metcalfe tells us that Sir Edward Wingfield was living in
1485, when he was knighted at "Granado" by Sir Edward Wydeville,
brother of Queen Elizabeth Wydeville. See Metcalfe, Book of Knights
Banneret (1885): 12, which source may be viewed at the following
weblink:
Shortly after Sir Edward Wingfield was knighted, the Visitation of the
North dated c.1490 was taken. In that visitation, it is reported that
Sir Edward Wingfield married "Margaretam filiam comitis de Riveris
dominam de Gray ruthin" [Reference: Harvey et al., Vis. of the North 3
(Surtees Soc. 144) (1930): 120–123 (Wingfeld ped.).]. A much later
visitation, the Visitation of Norfolk, states that Sir Edward
Wingfield married "Ann da. of Rich[ar]d Woodvile, Earl Rivers, wid. of
George Grey, Earl of Kent." [Reference: Harvey et al., Vis. of Norfolk
1563 & 1613 (H.S.P. 32) (1891): 312–318 (Wingfield ped.).].
The earlier visitation (and presumably the most reliable source)
states that Sir Edward Wingfield's wife was Margaret Wydeville, Lady
Grey of Ruthin, whereas the later visitation states that he wife was
Anne Wydeville, widow of George Grey, Earl of Kent. As it turns out,
Queen Elizabeth had two sisters, Joan Wydeville, Lady Grey of Ruthin,
and Anne Wydeville, Countess of Kent. The earlier visitation would
appear to point to Joan Wydeville being Sir Edward Wingfield's wife as
she was "Lady Grey of Ruthin," whereas the later visitation would
appear to point to Anne Wydeville being Sir Edward Wingfield's wife.
So what do the contemporary records show? Below are accounts of the
two sisters' histories.
Research indicates that Joan Wydeville married Anthony Grey, Knt., 1st
son and heir apparent of Edmund Grey, Earl of Kent. An account of
his life is found in Complete Peerage, 6 (1926): 160 (sub Grey); 7
(1929): 165–166 (sub Kent). He was Justice of the Peace for
Bedfordshire, 1469–1476, 1479, and Justice of the Peace for
Northamptonshire, 1469–1476/7, 1477, 1480. He was knighted in the
Tower on the eve of the Queen’s Coronation on Ascension Day, 1465. In
1470 he had a grant of 100 marks yearly from the customs in Devon and
Cornwall. On 3 July 1471 he was present in the Parliament Chamber at
Westminster and swore to accept Edward, Prince of Wales, as heir to
the Crown. In 1474 he was granted the forfeited estates of John
Manningham, Knt., including the manors of Dunton and Wrestlingworth,
Bedfordshire; however, the attainder of Manningham was reversed the
following year and the grant of these lands to Anthony Grey was
voided. In May 1475 Anthony was about to go across the seas. In Aug.
1475 he witnessed the treaty between King Edward IV of England and
King Louis XI of France near Péronne. Sir Anthony Grey died shortly
before 27 Nov. 1480, and was buried in the abbey church of St. Albans,
Hertfordshire. His wife, Joan, died before 1492.
The other sister, Anne Wydeville, married (1st) before 15 Aug. 1467
William Bourgchier, Knt., sometimes styled Lord Bourchier, son and
heir apparent of Henry Bourgchier, Earl of Essex, Viscount Bourchier,
2nd Count of Eu, by his wife, Isabel of York. They had one son,
Henry, K.G., K.B. [2nd Earl of Essex, 2nd Viscount Bourchier], and two
daughters, Cecily (wife of John Devereux, Lord Ferrers of Chartley)
and Isabel. Sir William Bourgchier was living 3 April 1470, and died
sometime before 14 Feb. 1479/80. His widow, Anne, married (2nd)
about 26 June 1480 George Grey, K.B., 2nd Earl of Kent, 5th Lord Grey
of Ruthin, Constable of Northampton Castle, 1485, 2nd but 1st
surviving heir of Edmund Grey, Earl of Kent. An account of his life
is found in Complete Peerage, 6 (1926): 160 (sub Grey); 7 (1929): 166–
167 (sub Kent). They had one son, Richard, K.G. [3rd Earl of Kent,
6th Lord Grey of Ruthin]. He was appointed Captain in the king’s army
in France in 1475. In June 1487 he was one of the Lords and knights
who came to help King Henry VII at the Battle of Stoke. His wife,
Anne, died 30 July 1489, and was buried in Warden, Bedfordshire. He
had special livery of his lands as son and heir of Edmund, late Earl
of Kent 26 May 1490. He married (2nd) on or before 1 Oct. 1490
Katherine Herbert, daughter of William Herbert, K.G., 1st Earl of
Pembroke, 1st Lord Herbert, by Anne, daughter of Walter Devereux,
Knt. They had three sons, Henry, Knt., George, and Anthony, and one
daughter, Anne (wife of John Hussey, Knt., Lord Hussey). Sir George
Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent, 5th Lord Grey of Ruthin died at Ampthill,
Bedfordshire 16 Dec. 1503. His wife, Katherine, Countess of Kent,
left a will dated 1 Dec. 1500, proved 8 May 1504, requesting burial at
Warden, Bedfordshire.
Studying the above two accounts, we see that Joan Wydeville's husband,
Sir Anthony Grey, died in 1480. Joan's subsequent history is unknown,
except that she died sometime before 1492. Assuming Joan Wydeville
survived Sir Anthony Grey, she would be available to have married Sir
Edward Wingfield who was known to be living in 1485.
As for Anne Grey, saving a divorce, it is impossible for her to have
married Sir Edward Wingfield. She had two known husbands and died as
the wife of George Grey in 1489. Following her death, her husband,
George Grey, subsequently remarried. While Anne Grey was certainly
living in 1485 during the lifetime of Sir Edward Wingfield, she is
precluded from being his wife as she was then married to George Grey,
Earl of Kent.
So the contemporary records point to Sir Edward Wingfield as having
married Joan Wydeville, not Anne Wydeville. Comments are invited.
Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah
Douglas Richardson
Besides the two visitations which I gave yesterday which provide Sir
Edward Wingfield a Wydeville marriage, there is a third visitation
which likewise gives him a Wydeville wife. The additional visitation
is the 1613 Visitation of Huntingdon. As such, it is much later than
the first visitation I cited, namely the Visitation of the North dated
c.1490, which was taken in Sir Edward Wingfield's lifetime.
The references to Sir Edward Wingfield in the Visitation of Huntingdon
read as follows:
1. Charles, Vis. of Huntingdon 1613 (Camden Soc. 43) (1849): 125–128
(Wingfield ped.: “Sr Edward Wingfeild, knight, mar. Anne, da. of
Richard Wooduile Earle Rivers.”).
2. Charles, Vis. of Huntingdon 1613 (Camden Soc. 43) (1849): 125–128
(Wingfield ped.: “Sr Edward Wingfeild, k. mar. Anne, 3 da. and coh. of
R. Woodvile, Ea. Rivers, widow of Wm. Viscount Bourchier, and was 3dly
mar. to George Grey, 3 E. of Kent; but Edw. died sp.”).
The Visitation of Huntingdon may be viewed at the following weblink:
In this visitation pedigree, we are informed that Sir Edward Wingfield
was husband of Anne Wydeville, widow of William Viscount Bourchier,
which Anne allegedly married (3rd) George Grey, Earl of Kent. As
stated in my first post, barring a divorce, this is impossible as Sir
Edward Wingfield was living in 1485, when Anne Wydeville was already
the wife of George Grey. Anne Wydeville died in 1489, as the wife of
George Grey, then Earl of Kent.
As for additional evidence that Sir Edward Wingfield survived Anne
Wydeville by many years, I find that Sir Edward was appointed one of
the executors of the 1497 will of his mother, Lady Elizabeth
Wingfield, which will was proven in 1500 [Reference: Registered Wills,
Norwich Consistory Ct., Reg. Cage fol. 135]. Corder elsewhere states
that Sir Edward Wingfield was granted an annuity of £40 by the king in
1493, and that he was employed on missions to Emperor Maximilian in
1507–8 [see Harvey, Vis. of Suffolk 1561 2 (H.S.P. n.s. 3) (1984):
217].
For reasons stated in my first post, I believe that Sir Edward
Wingfield's wife was actually Anne Wydeville's sister, Joan Wydeville,
widow of Sir Anthony Grey. Comments are invited.
Douglas Richardson
There appears to be a reference to Sir Edward Wingfield's Wydeville
marriage in Proceedings of Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and
History published in 1993. A snippet view of this information can be
found at this weblink:
If anyone has ready access to the journal, perhaps they would be
willing to post the pertinent details from this publication here on
the newsgroup.
Douglas Richardson
As I indicated in my last post, there appears to be a reference to Sir
Edward Wingfield's Wydeville marriage in Proceedings of Suffolk
Institute of Archaeology and
History published in 1993. The exact reference to this article is:
Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History Vol.
XXXVIII Part 1:
A HOUSE FIT FOR A QUEEN: WINGFIELD HOUSE IN TACKET STREET, IPSWICH AND
ITS HERALDIC ROOM, by Diarmaid MacCulloch and John Blatchly.
The article appears to examine the various arms found in the "Heraldic
Room" of the Wingfield House in Ipswich, Suffolk. I assume the arms
included there are Wingfield impaling Wydeville, which represents the
marriage of Sir Edward Wingfield and his Wydeville wife. There is
probably a second set of arms in the same room displaying Wingfield
impaling Wydeville, which would represent the marriage of Sir Edward
Wingfield's brother, Sir Richard Wingfield, and his wife, Katherine
Wydeville.
If anyone has ready access to this article and can post particulars
from it, I'd be very appreciative.
Douglas Richardson
Due to the kindness of a newsgroup member, I've had the opportunity to
look at the article regarding the Wingfield House and its "heraldic
room" which was published in Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of
Archaeology and History, Vol. 38 Part 1 (1993): 13-34. The article is
fascinating.
The evidence set forth in the article makes it clear that Sir Edward
Wingfield definitely married a Wydeville. The evidence is taken from
notes made by earlier antiquarians of wood panels which were formerly
located in the "heraldic room" of the Wingfield House in Ipswich,
Suffolk. These panels were decorated by pendants and heraldry. The
heraldic panels commemorated the marriage of Sir Humphrey Wingfield,
who built the room, and the matches of his eleven brothers, including
Sir Edward Wingfield, and one sister. The heraldry according to Le
Neve was oil-painted on paper and glued to the ceiling. There are
surviving descriptions of the panels made in 1817 and 1828 by Powell
and Davy respectively.
One of the numerous panels displayed the Wingfield arms with a
crescent for a difference impaling Wydeville. While the standard
system of cadency was not yet in place at this time period, in the
formal system of marks of cadency, a crescent is used for a second
son, which was Sir Edward's place in the birth order of his brothers.
These same arms (i.e., Wingfield with a crescent difference) are
elsewhere assigned to Sir Edward Wingfield in a Wingfield Pedigree
Roll done by Robert Glover, Somerset Herald about 1567. So there can
be little question that the panel with the Wingfield arms impaling the
Wydeville arms was intended to represent the marriage of Sir Edward
Wingfield. Moreover, inasmuch as the panels were placed in the room
by Sir Edward Wingfield's own brother, Sir Humphrey Wingfield, there
can be no doubt that Sir Edward Wingfield had a Wydeville wife.
Curiously, the marriage to Sir Edward Wingfield's younger brother, Sir
Richard Wingfield, to Katherine Wydeville is not included in the
heraldry of the wood panels. This marriage was brief and childless.
However, there were two panels devoted to Sir Richard Wingfield, one
which shows that he was a Knight of the Garter and the other which
displayed Wingfield impaling Wiltshire. The second representation
would commemorate of the second marriage of Sir Richard Wingfield to
Bridget Wiltshire, which Bridget was the mother of his children. The
lack of a heraldic panel for Sir Richard Wingfield's first marriage
may be explained by the fact that some of the heraldry was lost by the
time the information on the panels was recorded, including that on one
panel with a designation of a knight of the garter placed immediately
next to the other two panels for Sir Richard Wingfield.
Interestingly, the arms of a few other contemporary individuals were
included in the wood panels in the "heraldic room," including one
panel which displayed Tyrrell impaling Willoughby of 6. The authors
state these are the arms of Thomas Tyrrell and his wife, Margaret,
daughter of Christopher, Lord Willoughby. If so, this set of arms
would offer additional confirmation of this couple's marriage, beyond
a visitation record. One 17th Century New World immigrant, Elizabeth
(Alsop) Baldwin, of Connecticut is descended from the Tyrrell couple.
Besides the wood panels and the Wingfield Pedigree Roll, the arms of
the various Wingfield brothers and their sisters were likewise
formerly found at the canopied tomb chest of their parents in
Letheringham, Suffolk. The arms on the tomb chest were recorded by
Isaac Johnson in 1789, shortly before the tomb chest was destroyed.
The arms represent the various alliances of the Wingfield family. The
Wydeville arms were among those which were placed on the tomb chest.
The Wydeville arms occur one of the four large shields on the tomb
chest. There were also eight smaller shields on the tomb chest. The
authors believe that the Wydeville arms on the tomb chest commemorates
the marriage of Sir Edward Wingfield and his Wydeville wife.
Reviewing the evidence, there can be no question that Sir Edward
Wingfield's wife was a Wydeville. According to the visitation taken
in his lifetime cited earlier in this thread, Sir Edward's wife was
"Margaret daughter of Earl Rivers, Lady Grey of Ruthin" [Margaretam
filiam comitis de Riveris dominam de Gray ruthin]. Inasmuch as it is
impossible for Sir Edward Wingfield to have married Anne Wydeville,
wife of George Grey, Earl of Kent, the only other possibility is that
he married Anne Wydeville's younger sister, Joan (or Jane) Wydeville,
wife of Sir Anthony Grey. Since Sir Edward Wingfield clearly survived
Joan Wydeville, he would presumably be her second husband. As such
their marriage would have to have taken place sometime between 1480
(the death date of Sir Anthony Grey) and 1492 (when Joan Wydeville is
known to have been dead). It seems a safe assumption that Sir Edward
Wingfield was married to Joan Wydeville in 1485, when Sir Edward
Wingfield was knighted in Spain by Joan's brother, Sir Edward
Wydeville.
Douglas Richardson
As I indicated in a post in another thread yesterday, there are a
large number of Grey family papers which have been abstracted by I H.
Jeayes which are available on 21 microfiches under the title,
Descriptive Catalogue of the Charters and Muniments in the Possession
of and relating to the Property lately belonging to the Lady Lucas
[see FHL Microfiche 6085303]. There is largely no index to this work
which makes it difficult finding anything quickly in these papers.
Yesterday I spent some time perusing some of this resource in order to
find new information on Joan Wydeville, sister of Queen Elizabeth
Wydeville, who married (1st) before 1475 Sir Anthony Grey (diied
1480), and (2nd) Sir Edward Wingfield. Complete Peerage sub Kent
makes no reference to Joan Wydeville having survived Sir Anthony Grey,
but she obviously would have had to have outlived him if she married
(2nd) Sir Edward Wingfield.
On Fiche 2, under the heading Harrold and Thurleigh, Item 542 reads as
follows:
"Proceedings of courts of Joan Grey, one of the sisters of Elizabeth,
Queen of England (wife of Edw. IV) for the manor of Thirleigh held on
various dates in 20, 21 Edw. IV. (1480-1)." END OF QUOTE.
On Fiche 13, under Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, there is additional
information regarding these courts. Item L 26/874 reads as follows:
"Court of lady Joan Grey, wid., one of the sisters of Eliz., Queen of
England:
Thurleigh. 12 December 1480.
Wootton. 13 Dec. 1480.
Thurleigh. 10 May 1481.
Wollaston. 11 May 1481.
Wootton. 12 May 1481." END OF QUOTE.
As we can see above, Joan Wydeville, as widow of Sir Anthony Grey,
held court at three different manors between 12 Dec. 1480 and 12 May
1481. These properties are named simply as Thurleigh, Wootton, and
Wollaston. Thurleigh is clearly in Bedfordshire. I believe Wootton
is in Northamptonshire. I suspect that Wollaston is also in
Northamptonshire. I assume these properties were held by Sir Anthony
Grey before his death as the eldest son and heir apparent of his
father, Earl Edmund Grey, Following his death, his widow, Joan, would
have held them as her dower.
So we now have conclusive evidence that Joan Wydeville survived Sir
Anthony Grey's death in 1480, and that she was living as late as 12
May 1481. I might also add that Joan Wydeville is the ONLY sister of
Queen Elizabeth Wydeville who survived her husband who could have
married Sir Edward Wingfield in the designated time period.
One final note. It is certain that Joan Wydeville married Sir Anthony
Grey before 1475, as in that year Anthony Grey and his wife, Joan,
were listed among the brethren of the Confraternity of the Holy
Trinity at Luton, Bedfordshire, which guild was founded that year.
The source for this record is: Henry Gough, The Register of the
Fraternity of Guild of the Holy and Undivided Trinity and Blessed
Virgin Mary in the parish church of Luton: in the county of Bedford,
from A.D. MCCCCLXXV to MDCXLVI, published in 1906, page 19. Complete
Peerage sub Kent cites this as a source under Sir Anthony's father's
account but only refers to it as "Register" with no author, date of
publication, or page reference.
If anyone can identify the location of Wootton and Wollaston, I'd very
much appreciate hearing from them. Comments are invited.
Douglas Richardson
There is an interesting article entitled "The Alleged Daughter of Sir
Anthony Grey," by R. Ian Jack, which article appeared in Genealogists’
Magazine, 14 (1962): 56–59. As the author relates the story, in or
about 1597, Henry Grey, then Earl of Kent, initiated litigation
against George Rotherham who claimed a right to the Grey of Ruthin
arms on the grounds that George Rotherham's ancestress, Katherine
Rotherham, had been the daughter of Sir Anthony Grey of Ruthin
(husband of the famous Joan Wydeville). To support the Rotherham
case, William Dethick, Garter King of Arms, had supplied an attested
pedigree on 23 April 1594. Earl Henry Grey stated that Katherine
Rotherham was not the daughter of Sir Anthony Grey at all. Rather, he
claimed she was the Sir Anthony's niece, being the daughter of John
Grey, 8th Lord Grey of Wilton, and his wife, Anne Grey, sister of Sir
Anthony Grey of Ruthin. During the trial, Earl Henry threatened
Dethick with "the lose of his office and the lose of his eres in the
pillorie" unless he retracted, Dethick subsequently abandoned his
support of George Rotherham, and acted as an expert witness for the
prosection. On 22 June 1597, Cecil and Howard pronounced judgement in
favor of Earl Grey.
The article discusses in some detail the five pieces of evidence which
were advanced at the trial to support George Rotherham's claim. Two
of the pieces of evidence were utterly wrong. And there were problems
with the remaining evidence. In other words, George Rotherham had a
extremely weak case. Once Dethick removed his support, George
Rotherham's defense collapsed.
Besides the five pieces of evidence advanced at the trial, there is
other evidence which proves that George Rotherham's claim in 1597 was
false. Sir Anthony Grey's eventual heir was his full nephew, Richard
Grey, Earl of Kent. Richard Grey was the only child of his parents,
but, at his death in 1524, Earl Richard was succeeded by his male
heir, namely his brother of the half-blood, Sir Henry Grey, of Wrest.
At this point in England, it appears that heirs of the half-blood
still had trouble establishing themselves as the lawful heir.
Certainly Sir Henry Grey was never acknowledged as Earl of Kent.
Curiously, Complete Peerage, 7 (1929): 169, footnote g (sub Kent)
states that "In 1525 Thomas, Lord Dacre, claimed that his son
[William] and Lord Grey of Wilton were heirs general to Richard, Earl
of Kent (Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, vol. iv, p. 1310)."
Thomas, Lord Dacres, made this claim on the basis that his late wife,
Elizabeth Greystoke, was the daughter and sole heiress of Sir Richard
Grey's aunt, Elizabeth Grey, who died in 1472. The other claimant as
heir general was William Grey, K.G., 13th Lord Grey of Wilton, whose
grandmother was Sir Richard Grey's other aunt, Anne Grey, who was
living in 1493. In other words, Lord Dacre's son, William Dacre, and
William Grey, were the heirs of the full blood to Sir Richard Grey,
Earl of Kent, whereas his brother, Sir Henry Grey, was the heir of the
half-blood.
There is evidence which shows that William Dacre and William Grey
pressed their claim as heirs of the full blood. In the National
Archives, there is an abstact of a record which shows that in the
period, 1516-1563, they claimed various properties "as cousins and
heirs of Richard, late earl of Kent." A copy of this item is
presented below.
National Archives, C 4/121/170
Title of Sir William Daqe [Dacre], Lord Greystoke and William Grey,
Lord Grey of Wilton, cousins and heirs of Richard, late earl of Kent,
to various properties in list attached.
Covering dates 1516-1563. END OF QUOTE.
Had George Rotherham's ancestress been the daughter of Sir Anthony
Grey as he alleged, then his family would have been the heir general
to Sir Anthony's nephew, Richard Grey, Earl of Kent, in 1524.
Instead, following Earl Richard's death, the claimants as heirs
general to Earl Richard were descendants of Earl Richard's aunts,
Elizabeth and Anne Grey. Case closed.
John Briggs
The Victoria County History for Northamptonshire is online, and one of
the manors at Wootton is indeed recorded as being in the possession of
the Grey family at the relevant time. However, there is no record of
them at the manor of Wollaston.
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66372
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66315
--
John Briggs
Douglas Richardson
< The Victoria County History for Northamptonshire is online, and one
of
< the manors at Wootton is indeed recorded as being in the possession
of
< the Grey family at the relevant time. However, there is no record of
< them at the manor of Wollaston.
<
< http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66372
<
< http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66315
< --
< John Briggs
Thanks, John. Yes, I saw that VCH Northampton states that the Grey
family held Wootton, Northamptonshire, but there is no record of them
holding Wollaston, Northamptonshire. There are several places called
Wollaston in England, however.
The article "Fortunes of the Greys" which I've already mentioned
catalogues the numerous land sales of Richard Grey, Earl of Kent, in
the early 1500's. If he sold or conveyed either Wootton or Wollaston
(which is likely), that article will probably tell the county in which
these two manors were situated. The article is available through
JSTOR.
If you find anything else, be sure to send it along. Collegiality is
the key to solving many longstanding medieval problems.
Douglas Richardson
Whellan, Hist., Top. & Dir. of Northamptonshire (1874): 284 states
that Wootton, Northamptonshire was "certified to be held of Edward,
Lord Grey of Ruthven" in 1458. "Edward" is surely an error for
"Edmund" Grey who was Lord Grey of Ruthin at that date. If so, that
would appear to establish the location of the manor of Wootton later
held by Edmund Grey's daughter-in-law, Joan Wydeville, in 1480-1.
This information in Whellan may be viewed at the following weblink:
Douglas Richardson
I spent some more time yesterday going through the source, Descriptive
Catalogue of the Charters and Muniments in the Possession of and
relating to the Property lately belonging to the Lady Lucas, available
on FHL Microfiche 6085303.
I found nothing additional relating directly to Joan Wydeville, wife
of Sir Anthony Grey and Sir Edward Wingfield. However, I did find
that on 12 Sept. 1492 her brother-in-law, George Grey, Earl of Kent,
granted various manors including Wootton, Northamptonshire as security
of a bond of 100 marks [see Fiche 1, D.D.L. #67].
There was no indication that Wootton, Northamptonshire was then held
in dower by Joan Wydeville. As such, I assume this record means that
Joan Wydeville had died sometime before 12 Sept. 1492.
CE Wood
"John de Hastings demised the manor for life to Margery, widow (1309
or earlier) (fn. 42) of Alan, Earl of Menteith, (fn. 43) who had some
obscure connexion with his family; she, living here in 1316, was
tenant. (fn. 44) After her death it reverted to the Hastings family
and descended with Yardley Hastings (q.v.) to the Greys, Earls of
Kent. (fn. 45) In 1513 Sir Henry Grey, kt. (second son of George, Earl
of Kent), on whom the property was settled, conveyed the manor and
advowson to Sir Henry Wyatt; (fn. 46)"
Parishes: Wootton', A History of the County of Northampton: Volume 4
(1937), pp. 292-296. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66372
CE Wood
On Jul 13, 2:47 pm, Douglas Richardson <royalances...@msn.com> wrote:
> Dear Newsgroup ~
>
> Whellan, Hist., Top. & Dir. of Northamptonshire (1874): 284 states
> that Wootton, Northamptonshire was "certified to be held of Edward,
> Lord Grey of Ruthven" in 1458. "Edward" is surely an error for
> "Edmund" Grey who was Lord Grey of Ruthin at that date. If so, that
> would appear to establish the location of the manor of Wootton later
> held by Edmund Grey's daughter-in-law, Joan Wydeville, in 1480-1.
>
> This information in Whellan may be viewed at the following weblink:
>
> http://books.google.com/books?id=NRAHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA307&dq=Richard+Gre...
Douglas Richardson
Joan Wydeville, wife of Sir Anthony Grey and Sir Edward Wingfield, was
living as late as 12 September 1485. This is indicated by a grant
made on that date by King Henry VII to her brother, Sir Edward
Wydeville, a record of which is found in Campbell, Materials for a
History of Henry VII 1 (1873): 562–563. Joan and her siblings and
her niece are named in the reversionary clause of this grant. This
record may be viewed at the following weblink:
http://www.archive.org/stream/materialsforahi00offigoog#page/n582/mode/1up
Douglas Richardson
Some time ago I posted fresh evidence which confirmed the marriage of Sir Edward Wingfield and Joan Wydeville, one of the many sisters of Queen Elizabeth Wydeville (wife of King Edward IV of England). The date of this marriage is uncertain, but it evidently fell sometime between 27 Nov. 1480 (the approximate date of death of Joan's first husband, Anthony Grey) and 4 August 1492 (when Joan is known to have been deceased).
I previously had no knowledge of Sir Edward Wingfield's land holdings. As such, I assumed that he likely resided at least part of the time with his wife, Joan, on one of the two manors she held in dower of her first Grey marriage, namely Thurleigh, Bedfordshire and Wootton, Northamptonshire.
I recently found confirmation of that likelihood in the records of the Court of the Common Pleas, which show that in 1484 in a Bedfordshire action “Edward Wyngfeld, esquire” sued William Durant, yeoman, of Bedford, in that court regarding a debt [Reference: Court of Common Pleas, CP40/888, rot. 979d (available at http:// aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT3/R3/CP40no888/bCP40no888dorses/IMG_0979.htm)].
This lawsuit suggests that Edward Wingfield and Joan Wydeville were likely married before 1484, as there is no reason for Edward to be associated with Bedfordshire at this time except through his wife's dower lands. Joan Wydeville was certainly living 24 Sept. 1485, which date would fit for Edward Wydeville to be associated with Bedfordshire in 1484.
That the marriage of Edward and Joan took place before 1485, is suggested by the fact that Edward Wingfield was subsequently knighted in that year at Granada in Spain by Joan's brother, Edward Wydeville, Knt.
As for other evidence of Sir Edward Wydeville's life, I find that in 1490 Richard Goule, Citizen and mercer of London, sued him as "Edward Wyngfeld, of Letheringham, Suffolk, knight" in the Court of Common Pleas regarding a debt [Reference: Court of Common Pleas, CP40/911, rot. 493d (available at http:// aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT3/H7/CP40no911/bCP40no911dorses/IMG_0493.htm). Court of Common Pleas, CP40/911, rot. 558f (available at http:// aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT3/H7/CP40no911/aCP40no911fronts/IMG_0558.htm)].
This lawsuit indicates that in 1490 Edward Wingfield was residing in the parish of his parents, where his widowed mother, Elizabeth, then presumably resided. Indeed the fact that Edward and his mother were close is indicated by the fact that she appointed him one of the executors of the her will in 1497 [Registered will of Elizabeth Wingfield dated 1497, proved 1500, Norwich Consistory Ct., Reg. Cage, fol. 135, found on FHL Microfilm 94870]. The fact that Sir Edward Wingfield was back living in Letheringham, Suffolk in 1490 probably means that his wife, Joan Wydeville, was then deceased and that he was no longer living on her dower lands. While Joan's death by 1490 is likely, this is not certain.
Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah