Katherine Stourton, Baroness Grey of Codnor (c. 1455 – 1521) was an English noblewoman. Her life reflects the turbulence of English political life in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries; her first husband was attainted for treason, and her third husband holds the record for the longest period of imprisonment in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

Background

She was the daughter of William Stourton, 2nd Baron Stourton and Margaret Chideock, eldest daughter of Sir John Chideock and Catherine Lumley. Her father, although he was not a leading political figure, enjoyed the confidence of King Edward IV: in 1469 he sat on the commission of oyer and terminer which convicted

Thomas Hungerford of Rowden Sir Thomas Hungerford of Rowden (died 17 January 1469) was an English nobleman. He supported the House of Lancaster, Lancastrian cause in the War of the Roses and was executed for supporting a conspiracy to restore Henry VI of England, Henry VI.L ...

and Henry Courtenay of treason.

First marriage

About 1475, Katherine married Sir William Berkeley, son of Sir Maurice Berkeley of

Beverstone Castle Beverston Castle, also known as Beverstone Castle or Tetbury Castle, was constructed as a medieval stone fortress in the village of Beverston, Gloucestershire, England. The property is a mix of manor house, various small buildings, extensive gar ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and his wife Anne West. At about the same time, her brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

married William's sister, another Katherine.Stourton, Charles, Lord, ''History of the Noble Family of Stourton'', London, UK (1899) p. 240 William became a political figure of some importance at the court of Edward IV; he was constable of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, organised the entertainment of the King's sister

Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy Margaret of York (3 May 1446 – 23 November 1503)—also by marriage known as Margaret of Burgundy—was Duchess of Burgundy as the third wife of Charles the Bold and acted as a protector of the Burgundian State after his death. She was a daugh ...

on her visit to England in 1480, and played a leading role in organising Edward IV's funeral.Ross, Charles, ''Richard III'' (1984), University of California, pp. 108, 329 Ross suggests that it was loyalty to Edward's children that led Berkeley, like several other key members of the royal household, to oppose

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

when he seized the throne. He was one of the leaders of Buckingham's revolt in October 1483. After the failure of the revolt, Berkeley, unlike many of the rebels, did not immediately flee the country, having apparently some hope of a

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

. The Parliament of 1484 attainted him as a

traitor Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, but in March he was pardoned. Katherine's brother John stood

surety In finance, a surety , surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pay ...

for his good behaviour. Soon afterwards he abandoned the

Yorkist The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...

cause for good and joined the future Henry VII in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

. After Henry's victory at the

Battle of Bosworth The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 Au ...

the Berkeley lands were restored, and several court offices were promised to William. By this time, however, he was already a sick man (having made a

codicil Codicil may refer to: * Codicil (will), subsequent change or modification of terms made and appended to an existing trust or will and testament * A modification of terms made and appended to an existing constitution, treaty, or standard form c ...

to his will in September 1485) and seems to have died early in 1486. He and Katherine had no children.

Second marriage

Before 1492, Katherine married

Henry Grey, 4th (7th) Baron Grey of Codnor Henry Grey, 4th Baron Grey of Codnor (1435 – April 1496) was an English nobleman of the fifteenth century. Having initially supported the House of Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses, he later gave his allegiance to the victorious King Edward ...

, becoming his third wife. Henry, who was at least twenty years older than Katherine, was one of the principal

magnates The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

. Despite a record of fomenting

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

, which brought him before the

Star Chamber The Star Chamber (Latin: ''Camera stellata'') was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (c. 1641), and was composed of Privy Counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judic ...

on at least one occasion, he enjoyed the trust of successive Kings, and was

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

in 1478–79. Although the marriage was childless, it seems to have been a happy one, and upon his death in 1496, Grey provided generously for Katherine in his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

Third marriage

Within a year of Grey's death, Katherine made a third and illustrious marriage into the

House of York The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, ...

itself; her husband was

William de la Pole William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, a younger son of

John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, KG (27 September 1442 – 14–21 May 1492), was a major magnate in 15th-century England. He was the son of William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and Alice Chaucer, the daughter of Thomas Chaucer ...

, and

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

, sister of Edward IV.Weir, Alison, ''Britain's Royal Families- the Complete Genealogy'' Bodley Head 1989, p. 135; Since William was more than 20 years younger than Katherine his motives for marrying were presumably financial, although the families had long been close, and William's sister married Katherine's brother William Stourton, 5th Baron Stourton. Within a few years, with the House of York almost extinct and the

Tudor dynasty The House of Tudor was a royal house of largely Welsh and English origin that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd and Catherine of France. Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of England and it ...

on the throne, Katherine and William faced an uncertain future. Henry VII, the first Tudor king, did not have his son's ruthless determination to eliminate all the surviving

claimants,Chrimes, S.B. ''Henry VII'' Yale University Press 1999, pp. 92-94 but he was deeply suspicious of the de la Poles, and with some reason; William's eldest brother,

had been killed at the

Battle of Stoke Field The Battle of Stoke Field on 16 June 1487 may be considered the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, since it was the last major engagement between contenders for the throne whose claims derived from descent from the houses of Lancaster and Yo ...

, fighting against Henry for the pretender

Lambert Simnel Lambert Simnel (c. 1477 – after 1534) was a pretender to the throne of England. In 1487, his claim to be Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, threatened the newly established reign of Henry VII (1485–1509). Simnel became the ...

, who claimed to be the rightful Yorkist heir. In 1501, two of William's brothers

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

and

Richard de la Pole Richard de la Pole (died 24 February 1525) was a pretender to the English crown. Commonly nicknamed "White Rose", he was the last Yorkist claimant to actively and openly seek the crown of England. He lived in exile after many of his relatives w ...

fled the country, after being accused, probably with good cause, of

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

. The fact that William did not flee with them might be seen as evidence of his innocence, but Henry was clearly taking no chances; William was arrested and spent the rest of his life in the Tower of London, dying there in 1539. Katherine died in London in November 1521.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grey of Codnor, Katherine Stourton, Baroness 1450s births 1521 deaths English baronesses Daughters of barons

Katherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and Catherina, other variations are feminine Given name, names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria ...

Place of birth missing Place of death missing