William Beaumont, 2nd Viscount Beaumont (April 1438 – 19 December 1507) was an English

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

and landowner who was a leading supporter of the Lancastrian faction during the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

. He was the son of John Beaumont, 1st Viscount Beaumont and Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Phelip. He was born at Edenham,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

. Although his exact date of birth is not recorded, parish records show the date of his

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

as 23 April 1438.

Wars of the Roses

Sir William led an uneventful life until the feud between the houses of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and Lancaster broke into open bloodshed. While he always claimed in life "...to let each man place his feet in the soil as the good lord intended..."()), he ultimately sided with the Lancastrians.

Battles and land issues

He fought in several of the major battles of the

. He was probably knighted before the Battle of Northampton, where his father was killed. He fought at the

Battle of Towton The Battle of Towton took place on 29 March 1461 during the Wars of the Roses, near Towton in North Yorkshire, and "has the dubious distinction of being probably the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil". Fought for ten hours between ...

, the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil, but was taken prisoner and attainted along with other prominent Lancastrian lords. Beaumont obtained a general pardon two days before Christmas, but all his lands were declared forfeit and granted to Lord Hastings. This action erected a permanent barrier to any reconciliation with King Edward. After the restoration of Henry VI in November 1470, King Henry revoked the

bill of attainder A bill of attainder (also known as an act of attainder or writ of attainder or bill of penalties) is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of people, guilty of some crime, and punishing them, often without a trial. As with attai ...

and restored Sir William's lands and titles. However, the following March, he opposed Edward's landing at Ravenspur. He joined forces with the Duke of Exeter, but they were too weak and were forced to stand aside at Newark and allow Edward to march south to London. Beaumont fought under Oxford at the

Battle of Barnet The Battle of Barnet was a decisive engagement in the Wars of the Roses, a dynastic conflict of 15th-century England. The military action, along with the subsequent Battle of Tewkesbury, secured the throne for Edward IV. On Sunday 14 April ...

, but suspecting treachery, they fled. With the Yorkist Edward IV on the throne again, Beaumont was once more stripped of his lands and titles. Between 1471 and 1474, he was continually at war, holding (amongst other bastions), St Michael's Mount along with

John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford (8 September 1442 – 10 March 1513), the second son of John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford, and Elizabeth Howard, a first cousin of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk (2nd creation), was one of the principal ...

, for the Lancastrians in 1473. However, misfortune continued to dog Sir William, and in 1474, he was taken prisoner and imprisoned at Hammes. Released by Sir James Blount, he landed at Milford Haven with Henry Tudor and fought against Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22 August 1485. Sir William's lands and titles were restored (for the second time) by act of Parliament on 7 November 1485.

Mental illness

By 1487, Beaumont was reported to be incapacitated by mental illness. Parliament ruled that he no longer had "sadness eriousnessor discretion to rule and keep" his estates, and gave Beaumont's former comrade-in-arms

control of Beaumont's lands during his lifetime. He and his family lived in the care of his friend for his remaining years. The precise nature of Beaumont's mental illness is not known, but two sources suggest that he was not completely incapacitated. He was witness to a bond in 1488, which suggests he was capable of lucidity at that time. In 1498, an inscription written in his name bequeathed a book to his wife. He died on 19 December 1507, aged 69, at Oxford's home at Wivenhoe, where he is buried. His widow later married Oxford. The Beaumonts were one of only seven great families who remained irreconcilably anti-Yorkist throughout the Wars of the Roses.

Family

Beaumont married firstly on 6 August 1462, Joan daughter of

Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 6th Earl of Stafford, 7th Baron Stafford, (December 1402 – 10 July 1460) of Stafford Castle in Staffordshire, was an English nobleman and a military commander in the Hundred Years' War and t ...

. This marriage was set aside before 1477. He married secondly Elizabeth Scrope, daughter and coheir of Sir Richard Scrope, the second son of Henry Scrope, 4th Baron Scrope of Bolton, by Eleanor, the daughter of Norman Washbourne.. At least one child was born to his mistress Jayne Stephens circa 1459, by the name of John Francis Beaumont. Whilst Sir William never recognised the child as his heir, he did provide for the child's

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

and welfare. Upon the death of Sir William, the Viscountcy of Beaumont became extinct in both England and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and due to discord and fighting between his great-nephews, the title fell into abeyance.

Notes

References

* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaumont, William Beaumont, 2nd Viscount 1438 births 1507 deaths People from Edenham People of the Wars of the Roses English knights 15th-century English people 16th-century English nobility Viscounts Beaumont Barons Beaumont