Richard de Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester, KB ( – March 1421/1422) was an English peer. The only son of William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny and Joan de Beauchamp, Baroness Bergavenny. William Beauchamp was the fourth son of the Earl of Warwick, and he had purchased the

marcher lordship A marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in France ...

of Bergavenny from the Hastings family shortly before it died out in the male line. Joan FitzAlan was a daughter of

Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel Richard Fitzalan, 4th Earl of Arundel, 9th Earl of Surrey (1346 – 21 September 1397) was an English medieval nobleman and military commander. Lineage Born in 1346, he was the son of Richard Fitzalan, 3rd Earl of Arundel and Eleanor of Lancast ...

, who was executed by

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 ...

shortly before the latter's deposition. Joan was married to William in 1392 when she was 17 and he 55. There were certainly political dimensions as both families had been involved in 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 ...

and were also major landowners in the West Midlands and the

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...

. Documentation about Richard Beauchamp's life, particularly his young life, is scarce. His father died when he was 17, but he was outlived by his mother. Due to a conveyance executed by his parents and their lawyers, a few years before his father's death, the Bergavenny entail was temporarily broken. Joan Beauchamp would enjoy by jointure and survivorship rights for life to the entirety of the lordship of Bergavenny; the lordship, castle, manor, town and all lands attached to the lordship were hers for life, rather than passing to his son in full or 2/3 during his mother's life. During her widowhood (1411–1435), Richard's mother Joan enjoyed ownership of the lordship, castle, manor, town, appurtenances and attached lands, acquired an armed, liveried following and actively sought to expand her holdings. In legal documents, she was referred to as "Domina de Bergavenny" ("domina" being Latin feminine for "lord" or "dominus" and thus carrying a stronger connotation than "lady" in English which typically implied a style, not a title"). After his majority in 1416, Richard was never summoned to parliament as the lord of Bergavenny although his father had been, and his descendants would. On 27 July 1411, he married Lady Isabel le Despenser, daughter of

Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester Thomas Despenser, 2nd Baron Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester (22 September 1373 – 13 January 1400) was the son of Edward le Despenser, 1st Baron le Despencer, whom he succeeded in 1375. Royal intrigues A supporter of King Richard II against ...

, and great-granddaughter of

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 ...

. They had one child, Lady Elizabeth de Beauchamp, later 3rd Baroness Bergavenny, who married Sir Edward Neville, later 1st Baron Bergavenny. He was joint Warden of the Welsh Marches in 1415, and a captain of lances and archers in Normandy in 1418. In February 1420/1, he was created

Earl of Worcester Earl of Worcester is a title that has been created five times in the Peerage of England. Worcester is a cathedral city in Worcestershire, England. Five creations The first creation came in 1138 in favour of the Norman noble Waleran de Beaumon ...

. Worcester was mortally wounded on 18 March 1421/2 at the

Siege of Meaux The siege of Meaux was fought from October 1421 to May 1422 between the English and the French during the Hundred Years' War. The English were led by King Henry V. Henry became ill while pressing this long siege, which took place during the wint ...

and died soon after. His body was taken back to England and he was buried on 25 April 1422 at

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. His daughter inherited his estates, although she didn't inherit Bergavenny until her grandmother, whose sole heir she was, died in 1435

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Worcester, Richard de Beauchamp, Earl of 1390s births 1420s deaths 15th-century English nobility Earls of Worcester

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

Knights of the Bath Barons Bergavenny (Peerage of England) Lords of Glamorgan