C.P. Addition: Parentage of Eleanor Talbot, wife of Sir Thomas Boteler
Douglas Richardson
Complete Peerage 12 Pt. 1 (1953): 422 (sub Sudeley) gives an
abbreviated account of the history of Thomas Boteler, son and heir
apparent of Ralph Boteler, 7th Lord Sudeley (died 1473).
Specifically, it states the following regarding Thomas Boteler:
"Thomas Boteler, son and heir apparent, married Eleanor, sister of Sir
John Talbot, [he] died v.p. and s.p. between 1450 and 1468. His widow
died 30 June 1468."
The documents below were recently found in the helpful online A2A
Catalogue (http://www.a2a.org.uk/search/index.asp). They concern
Thomas Boteler and his wife, Eleanor Talbot. The documents indicate
that Thomas Boteler was knighted and that he living 10 May 1453, but
died before 15 January 1460. This provides a much more narrow time
frame for Sir Thomas Boteler's death than indicated by Complete
Peerage. The documents below also identify Sir Thomas' wife, Eleanor
Talbot, as the daughter of John Talbot, K.G., 1st Earl of Shrewsbury,
by his 2nd wife, Margaret, daughter of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of
Warwick. The documents also reveal that shortly before her death in
1468, Lady Eleanor (Talbot) Boteler conveyed her lands to her sister,
Elizabeth (Talbot) Mowbray, Duchess of Norfolk.
Further details of this addition to Complete Peerage can be found
sometime in the future on my new website:
Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah
E-mail: douglasr...@royalancestry.net
* * * * * * * * * * *
Source: A2A Catalogue
Warwickshire County Record Office: Holbech of Farnborough,
Reference Code: L1
Holbech of Farnborough.
Reference: L1/78
Creation dates: 2 July 29 Hen.VI [1451]
Physical characteristics: The tag for a seal in simple queue has been
torn away.
Scope and Content
Letter of attorney by Ralph Buttiller Lord of [?S]udeley to John
Aylesbury and John Seman to take seisin from John Beaufitz in the
manor of Fennycompton' with its appurtenances.
Endorsement:
litera attorn' facta Johanni
Beaufitz de Fenycompton
- - - - - - - - -
Reference: L1/79
Creation dates: Chepingdorset 10 May 31 Hen.VI [1453]
Physical characteristics: Seal, heraldic, round, of red wax, partly
broken.
Scope and Content
Gift, with warranty, by Ralph Botiller lord of Sudeley knight to
Thomas Botiller his son and heir and to Thomas' wife Eleanor daughter
of John Earl of Salop' and of Margaret his wife and to their
legitimate issue of his manors of Chepingdorset, Greffe, Fennycompton'
and of all his lands and tenements called Shipleysthing in Greffe: all
the lands, tenements, rents, reversions and services are to be held of
the capital lords by the services due and accustomed to the capital
lords of the fee.
Witnesses: William Catesby knight William Birmyncham knight William
Lucy esquire Thomas Throkmorton and John Broune and others
Endorsement: maij 31 H 6 Radus Boteler dominus de Sudley en feoffes
Tho his sonne & heire & Alionora his wyfe daughter of John Earle of
Salop.
- - - - - - - -
Reference: L1/80
Creation dates: 10 May 31 Hen.VI [1453]
Physical characteristics: Fragment of seal, heraldic, round, of red
wax.
Scope and Content
Letter of attorney by Ralph Botiller lord of Sudeley knight to John
Beaufitz to give seisin to Thomas Botiller his son and heir and to
Thomas' wife Eleanor daughter of John Earl of Salop' and of Margaret
his wife of and in his manors of Chepingdorset, Greffe and
Fennycompton, and of and in all his lands and tenements called
Shipleysthing in Greffe.
Endorsement: maij 31 h 6 Raphe Butelor's letter of [sic] attorney to
Bewfitte to [? give] lyvery to Tho his sonne & Alionore his wyfe.
- - - - - - - -
Reference: L1/81
Creation dates: 10 May 31 Hen.VI [1453]
Physical characteristics: Two seals, round, of red wax, each on a
double tag.
Scope and Content
Letter of attorney given by Thomas Botiller son and heir of Ralph
Botiller lord of Sudeley knight and by Eleanor his wife daughter of
John Earl of Salop' and of Margaret his wife to Thomas Throkmarton' to
take seisin from Ralph Botiller lord of Sudeley knight of and in the
manors of Chepingdorset, Greffe, Fennycompton' and of and in all the
lands and tenements called Shipleysthing with appurtenances in Greffe
and in all the lands, tenements, rents, reversions and services in
Chepingdorset, Greffe and Fennycompton'
Endorsement: 10 maij 31 h 6 Thomas Boteler & Alionore his wyfe made a
letter of attorney to Tho Throckmorton to take lyvery & seisin from
Radus Boteler
- - - - - - - - -
Reference: L1/82
Creation dates: 15 Jan. 38 Hen.VI [1460]
Physical characteristics: Seal, heraldic, round, of red wax, on tag.
Scope and Content
Quitclaim, with warranty, by Ralph Buttiller lord of Sudeley knight to
Eleanor Buttiller one of the daughters of John Earl of Salop and
lately the wife of Thomas Buttiller knight Ralph's son of all his
right and title of and in the manor of Fennycompton' and in all the
lands, tenements, meadows, pastures, woods, rents, reversions and
services in Fennycompton'.
Endorsement: 15 Januarij 39 [sic] h 6 Raphus' Boteler releases to
Alionore Boteler one of the daughters of John Earle of Salop late wyfe
of Sr Tho Boteler sonne of the said Raphus'
- - - - - - - - -
Reference: L1/85
Creation dates: [1468]
Physical characteristics: Seal, round, of red wax, on tag.
Scope and Content
Gift, with warranty, by Eleanor Boteler' lately the wife of Thomas
Boteler' knight now deceased to Elizabeth Duchess of Northefolch' wife
of John now Duke of Northefolch' one of the daughters of John Earl of
Salop' deceased and sister of her the aforesaid Eleanor and to Thomas
Throkmarton' and to John Eyuers of her manor of Fenycompton' together
with the reversion of her manor of Ore [Oare] under Savernake in co.
Wilts and of divers messuages, lands, tenements, rents, reversions and
services in Draycote, Coldecote and Chikeladerigg [Draycot, Calcutt
and ?Chicklade] in the said county, now in the tenure of John Cheyny
for life, without demand of waste to be held by services due and
accustomed to the capital lords of the fee.
Witnesses: William Catesby knight Thomas Huggeford and John Huggeford
esquires and others.
Fenycompton' 4 June 8 Ed.IV
Endorsements:
4 Junij viijo Ed 4 Alionior Boterler late wyfe of Sr Tho Bo[?terler]
[sic] enfeoffs Eliz dutchesse of Norfoulke one of the daughters of
John Earle of Salop sister of the said Alionore Tho Throckmorton and
John Evars
Datum die
quarto Junij Ed: quarti
post conquestum octavo
- - - - - - - - - -
Reference: L1/86
Creation dates: [1468]
Physical characteristics: Seal, round, of red wax, on tag.
Scope and Content
Letter of attorney given by Eleanor Boteler lately the wife of Thomas
Boteler deceased to Robert Handy and Thomas Askell knights jointly and
singly to deliver full seisin of the manor of Fenycompton to Elizabeth
Duchess of Northefolch' wife of John now Duke of Northefolch' one of
the daughters of John Earl of Salop' deceased sister of the aforesaid
Eleanor to Thomas Throkmarton' and to John Eyuers.
Feny Compton', 4 June 8 Ed.IV
Endorsement: 4 Junij viijo Ed 4 letter of attorney from Alionore late
wyfe of Sir. Tho Boteler to delyver seisyn to Elizabeth [sic]
Dutchesse of Norffolke
- - - - - - - - - -
Reference: L1/87
Creation dates: [1468]
Physical characteristics: Three seals, round, of red wax, each on a
double tag.
Scope and Content
Letter of attorney given by Elizabeth Duchess of Northefolch' wife of
John now Duke of Northefolch' by Thomas Throkmarton' and by John [MS
torn: ? Ey]uers to John Seman' and Gilbert Cockes jointly and singly
to take seisin of and in the manor of Fenycompton' and in all the
lands, tenements, rents, reversions and services with appurtenances in
Feny Compton' according to the charter given by Eleanor Boteler lately
the wife of Thomas Boteler knight deceased
Fenycompton', 4 June 8 Ed.IV
Endorsement: 4 Junij 8 E 4 letter of attorney from Eliz Dutches of
Norfolke Tho Throckmarton & John Evers to John Seman & Gilbert Cooke
to take seisyn from Alionore Boteler late wyfe of Sr Tho Boteler
- - - - - - - - - -
Reference: L1/88
Creation dates: Seudeley, 26 March 8 Ed.IV [1468]
Physical characteristics: Seal, heraldic, round, of red wax on double
tag.
Scope and Content
Gift of corrody of £6.13.4 for life by Ralph Buttiller Knight Lord of
Seudeley to John Beaufitz his servant, for his good and pleasing
service, of and in the manor of Sherryfeslenche and Churche Lenche,
co. Worcester, to be paid at the feasts of the Annunciation of Blessed
Mary the Virgin and of St. Michael the Archangel in equal portions by
the farmers or occupiers of the said lands, which may be entered,
distrained or confiscated by the said John Beaufitz or his attorney if
there is default for 8 weeks, until payment is made.
Endorsement: Carta corrodij Radl Buttiler
facta Johanni Beaufitz de sex
lib tresdecim solid' & iiij or denariorum [sic] pro termino vite
Brad Verity
> The documents below were recently found in the helpful online A2A
> Catalogue (http://www.a2a.org.uk/search/index.asp). They concern
> Thomas Boteler and his wife, Eleanor Talbot. The documents indicate
> that Thomas Boteler was knighted and that he living 10 May 1453, but
> died before 15 January 1460. This provides a much more narrow time
> frame for Sir Thomas Boteler's death than indicated by Complete
> Peerage. The documents below also identify Sir Thomas' wife, Eleanor
> Talbot, as the daughter of John Talbot, K.G., 1st Earl of Shrewsbury,
> by his 2nd wife, Margaret, daughter of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of
> Warwick. The documents also reveal that shortly before her death in
> 1468, Lady Eleanor (Talbot) Boteler conveyed her lands to her sister,
> Elizabeth (Talbot) Mowbray, Duchess of Norfolk.
Douglas,
I have forwarded your post to historian and Richard III Society member
John Ashdown-Hill.
Mr. Ashdown-Hill has been studying the details of the life of Eleanor
Talbot Butler, whose infamous precontract with Edward IV allowed
Richard III to declare Edward V and all of his siblings illegitimate.
He has been writing articles about her for 'The Ricardian' since 1997.
I don't believe he's aware of these abstracts from the A2A catalogue,
as the following passage from his most recent article 'Lady Eleanor
Talbot's Other Husband' The Ricardian Volume XIV (2004), pp. 62-64,
shows.
"Sir Thomas Butler is a shadowy figure and only three facts seem to be
generally known about him: that he was the only son and heir of Ralph
Butler, Lord Sudeley, that in about 1450 he married Lady Eleanor
Talbot, daughter of the first earl of Shrewsbury, and that about ten
years later he died, leaving no children. The details of his father's
career are well established and are not explored extensively here.
Sir Thomas' father, Lord Sudeley, was an important man whose name is
occasionally accompanied by that of one of his stepsons, but his son
and heir seems scarcely to be mentioned. Only after Sir Thomas' death
does his name occur in connection with the death of his widow,
Eleanor, and the ensuing confiscation by Edward IV of the manors which
Thomas had once held.
"I have speculated on a previous occasion that the Sir Thomas Butler
who is known to have been killed on the Lancastrian side at the battle
of Towton might possibly have been Lord Sudeley's son and Eleanor
Talbot's husband, but this cannot be the case. It is clear from Lady
Eleanor's inquisition post mortem that Sir Thomas Butler had died, and
his widow had inherited his two manors, during the reign of Henry VI,
since, while impugning Henry's right to the throne, the inquisition
specifically dates Eleanor's inheritance of the manors to year
thirty-nine of his reign. Anyone writing at the time of Eleanor's
inquisition post mortem in 1468 who wanted to refer to a death at the
battle of Towton would certainly have dated the event to the first
year of the reign of Edward IV rather than to the thirty-ninth year of
Henry VI, so we can be certain that Sir Thomas must have died before
Edward IV was proclaimed king on 4 March 1461."
I'm sure he'll find the post very interesting, and will certainly
order copies of the original documents in full to examine.
Very good catalogue find.
Cheers, -----Brad