Katherine Wingfield, countess of Suffolk
Charles Ward
I would appreciate any information regarding the ancestry of Katherine
Wingfield, wife of Michael de la Pole (d.1388) who was created earl of Suffolk
in 1385. Was she his only wife?
Thank you.
Charles Ward
mew...@utcvm.utc.edu
Todd A. Farmerie
Charles Ward wrote:
>
> I would appreciate any information regarding the ancestry of Katherine
> Wingfield, wife of Michael de la Pole (d.1388) who was created earl of Suffolk
> in 1385. Was she his only wife?
>
She was daughter of John Wingfield, whose father John is the first well
documented ancestor of the family. John, the father, married the
heiress of the local Honeypott family, and had (at least) three sons, of
whom John, the eldest, was heir. There is some debate concerning the
wife of this younger John. Moriarty, in an article on the family which
appeared in the NEHGR (vol. 103, or 108 I think) presented evidence that
suggests the classical assignment should be replaced by one placing here
as member of the Brewes family. I do not know if their daughter was
Michael's only wife. I have not researched this family, but I don't
recall seeing any other.
Todd
Todd A. Farmerie
Charles Ward wrote:
>
> I would appreciate any information regarding the ancestry of Katherine
> Wingfield, wife of Michael de la Pole (d.1388) who was created earl of Suffolk
> in 1385. Was she his only wife?
>
I went back to my notes, and can now provide a better answer. This is
based primarily on the information found in an article on the early
generations of the family by Moriarty found in the NEHGR 103:287-95.
John Wingfield (perhaps son of the William W appearing in the records of
the previous generation) is said by a visitation pedigree to have
married Elizabeth Honypot. This visitations provides a long line of
distinguished/invented marriages, followed by this obscure one,
suggesting that this was the earliest marriage that the compiler could
find documentation for, the earlier generations being the result of
creative invention. That the marriage is correct is supported by the
existance of a Honypot family in the area at the time, and by the
location of a small farm within the parish of Wingfield bearing this
name, and presumably the seat of the family. John and Elizabeth had
three sons: John, their heir; Richard, who held Denningham (and whose
line ended with his son William, the heir being cousin William de la
Pole); and Thomas, who held Letheringham and was progenitor of the later
Viscounts Powerscourt.
John Wingfield (the son) is said to have risen through service to the
Black Prince in the French Wars. His wife, Eleanor, is traditionally
said to be daughter of Gilbert de Glanville, but there is no
contemporary support for this union, while there is evidence suggesting
an alternative. In his will, John had a chapel founded, and in addition
to requesting that he and his wife be remembered in prayer, he also
included Sir Richard Brews and wife. As Richard was the previous holder
of Wingfield, which passed to John and then to the de la Poles, and at
Eleanor's death, she was in possession of a holding called Brews, it is
likely that Richard Brews was father-in-law of John. John and Eleanor
had a daughter and sole heiress, Catherine, who married Michael de la
Pole and passed to him the manor of Wingfield. As far as I can tell,
she was his only wife.
Todd