Sir John de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Beauchamp of Kidderminster (1339–12 May 1388) of

Holt Castle Holt Castle () was a medieval castle in the village of Holt, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. Work began on the castle, which is on the Welsh–English border by the banks of the River Dee, in the 13th century during the Welsh Wars. In the m ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

was an administrator and landowner.

Origins

He was the son of Richard de Beauchamp, of Holt (d. 1327), the son of John de Beauchamp, of Holt (d. after 1297), the son of William (III) de Beauchamp (d. 1269), and brother of

William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick ({{Circa, 1238 – 1298) was the eldest of eight children of William de Beauchamp of Elmley and his wife Isabel de Mauduit. He was an English nobleman and soldier, described as a "vigorous and innovative ...

(c.1238-1298).

Career

He served under John of Gaunt in the Spanish campaign of 1372 and in 1373 obtained a grant of a yearly fair at a place called 'le Rode' in the parish of Holt, on the day of St. Mary Magdalene. A favourite of the ailing King

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

, in the years 1370 to 1375 he received several grants of offices, including the constableship of

Bridgnorth Castle Bridgnorth Castle is a castle in the town of Bridgnorth, Shropshire. It is a scheduled monument, first listed in 1928. History 11th century The castle was founded in 1101 by Robert de Belleme, the son of the French Earl, Roger de Montgomerie, 1s ...

. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for

to Edward III's last parliament (January 1377) and

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

's first (October 1377). Richard II regarded him warmly, and acted as godfather to his son. Retained in the household, Beauchamp soon received substantial further patronage, and by 1384 he had been made Receiver of the Chamber and Keeper of the King's Jewels. He received the Order of Knighthood on Richard II's entry into Scotland in 1385. That December he was granted for life the office of

Justiciar of North Wales The Justiciar of North Wales was a legal office concerned with the government of the three counties in north-west Wales during the medieval period. Justiciar was a title which had been given to one of the monarch's chief ministers in both England a ...

, to which was added in August 1386 a charter of liberties within his recently purchased estate at

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

. Even though the Commons demanded in October that a new

Steward of the Household The Lord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household is one of the three Great Officers of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Household of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch. He is, by tradition, the first great officer of ...

be appointed only in parliament, Richard II refused to comply, and in January 1387 he promoted Beauchamp to the stewardship. Even more provocative was Sir John's creation on 10 October following as 'Lord of Beauchamp and Baron of Kidderminster', a new dignity to be maintained from the estates of Deerhurst Priory. This was the first creation of a peerage by

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

. He was probably the builder of Holt Castle. Beauchamp's rapid rise from esquire to baron could not be borne by the

Lords Appellant The Lords Appellant were a group of nobles in the reign of Richard II of England, King Richard II, who, in 1388, sought to impeach five of the King's favourites in order to restrain what was seen as tyrannical and capricious rule. The word ''appel ...

, who included his kinsman, Thomas Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick. The latter probably saw the rise of his cousin as a threat to his dominance of the Midlands. Arrested and imprisoned along with three other household knights, Lord Beauchamp was impeached in the

Merciless Parliament The Merciless Parliament was an English parliamentary session lasting from 3 February to 4 June 1388, at which many members of King Richard II's court were convicted of treason. The session was preceded by a period in which Richard's power wa ...

and condemned by the lords for treason. He was beheaded on

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

on 12 May 1388 and was buried in

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and Blessed Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England cathedral in Worcester, England, Worcester, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Worcester and is the Mother Church# ...

. Fortunately for his heir,

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 * Second E ...

, then aged eleven, he had

entail In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust, established by deed or settlement, that restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents that property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise ali ...

ed certain of his manors, so these were exempt from forfeiture.

Marriage and children

In about 1370 he married Joan FitzWith, daughter and heiress of Robert FitzWith, then a minor in the king's wardship."Parishes: Holt". In ''A History of the County of Worcester'', Volume 3 (London, 1913), pp. 401–408 By Joan he has issue including: * John Beauchamp, 2nd Baron Beauchamp of Kidderminster (1378–1420) (attainder reversed 1398; forfeit in 1400 by renewal of attainder).

Notes

References

*''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beauchamp, John de Beauchamp, 1st Baron People from Malvern Hills District 1388 deaths Year of birth unknown English MPs January 1377 Barons in the Peerage of England

Peers created by Richard II Masters of the Jewel Office 1339 births English MPs October 1377