Sir Ralph Bulmer (died 1558) of Wilton in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

(present day

Redcar and Cleveland Redcar and Cleveland is a borough with unitary authority status in North Yorkshire, England. Its main settlements are Redcar, South Bank, Eston, Brotton, Guisborough, the Greater Eston part of Middlesbrough, Loftus, Saltburn and Skelton. Th ...

), was an English knight and soldier active on the Scottish border and during the war of the

Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following its break with the Roman Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break the ...

. Around 1535, Ralph married either Anne Aske, a co-heiress of Roger de Aske, or Anne Tempest a daughter of Sir John Tempest. Henry VIII granted them possessions of

Marrick Priory Marrick Priory was a Benedictine nunnery in Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, England, established between 1140 and 1160 by Roger de Aske. The parish Church of the Virgin Mary and St. Andrew and 400 acres of local land also belonged to the priory, w ...

Pilgrimage of Grace to Solway Moss

Ralph's uncle, Sir John Bulmer, and his family were attainted of treason for their part in the

Pilgrimage of Grace The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "most ...

in June 1537. According to the inventory made by the crown officers, John's manor house at Bulmer was made of slate and greatly decayed. Ralph was a prisoner 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 sep ...

in March 1538. He carved his name "RAVLEF BVLMAR 1537" in the Beauchamp Tower. Ralph was released and later restored to some of the family lands. In November, 1542, Ralph was a captain of a company of 100 men in the campaign against Scotland that culminated in the battle of Solway Moss. He was accompanied by Sir William Bulmer, who commanded 50 men. On his arrival, Lord Hertford was not pleased with the instructions Bulmer had brought him from the

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

to destroy the town of

Jedburgh Jedburgh (; gd, Deadard; sco, Jeddart or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in s ...

as he was ill-equipped for the task. Ralph was credited with his colleague Ralph Eure and the garrisons of

Berwick upon Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

and

Teviotdale Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and ...

with burning during November 1542;

Coldingham Coldingham ( sco, Cowjum) is a village and parish in Scottish Borders, on Scotland's southeast coastline, north of Eyemouth. Parish The parish lies in the east of the Lammermuir district. It is the second-largest civil parish by area in Berwi ...

; Reston; Ayton with 5 other places; Crochanshaws; Primeside with 6 other places;

Coldstream Coldstream ( gd, An Sruthan Fuar , sco, Caustrim) is a town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream is the home of the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army. Description Coldstream l ...

town and Abbey; Scaythmure and other farmsteads belonging to it (which included Swinton and Swithmore).

Captain of Roxburgh

After the

battle of Pinkie The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh ( , ), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Crow ...

in September 1547, Ralph was made commander of an English fort in the occupied zone at

Roxburgh Roxburgh () is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at leas ...

. He wrote to the

Duke of Somerset Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

on 30 December 1547, complaining of slow progress re-fortifying the site. The site of a new fort had set by the surveyor, Sir Richard Lee. Ralph had already written complaining of the lack of application of William Ridgeway the military engineer who seldom came to Roxburgh. Ralph was intending to collect the profits from the lands of Kelso Abbey and

Melrose Abbey St Mary's Abbey, Melrose is a partly ruined monastery of the Cistercian order in Melrose, Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks at the request of King David I of Scotland and was the chief house of th ...

, and planned to set Ker of Cessford, an ally, against Walter Scott of Buccleuch to strengthen his hold on the area. Ralph also obtained intelligence from spies in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

for Somerset. In November 1547 he reported on the movement of artillery to assault the English garrison at

Broughty Castle Broughty Castle is a historic castle on the banks of the River Tay in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, Scotland. It was completed around 1495, although the site was earlier fortified in 1454, when George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, received permission t ...

near Dundee. In 1557 Ralph was in readiness with the English border wardens for a Scottish invasion.Lodge, Edmund, ''Illustrations of British History'', vol. 1 (London, 1838), pp. 333, 348, 358.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulmer, Ralph English people of the Rough Wooing 16th-century English soldiers 1558 deaths Year of birth unknown