Thomas Percy, 1st Baron Egremont (29 November 1422 – 10 July 1460) was a scion of a leading noble family from

northern England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...

during the fifteenth century. Described by one historian as "quarrelsome, violent and contemptuous of all authority", Egremont was involved in numerous riots and disturbances in the northern localities, and became a leading figure in the internecine

Percy–Neville feud The Percy–Neville feud was a series of skirmishes, raids, and vandalism between two prominent northern English families, the House of Percy and the House of Neville, and their followers, that helped provoke the Wars of the Roses. The original ...

. When the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

began mid-decade, Egremont fought for the king on the Lancastrian side, being killed five years later at the Battle of Northampton.

Early years

His youth was rarely peaceful; at the age of twenty five he was part of a force that engaged the

tenants A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant has rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a lea ...

of the Archbishop of York, John Kemp in a physical confrontation (possibly to the disapproval of his father and elder brother, Henry, Lord Poynings, although it is equally possible that he began a 'propaganda campaign' against Kemp at the same time) outside the village of Stamford Bridge. Following the

skirmish Skirmishers are light infantry or light cavalry soldiers deployed as a vanguard, flank guard or rearguard to Screening (tactical), screen a tactical position or a larger body of friendly troops from enemy advances. They may be deployed in a sk ...

with the men of

Beverley Beverley is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Hull city centre. At the 2021 census the built-up area of the town had a population of 30,930, and the smaller civil parish had ...

, he was subsequently

imprisoned Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

York Castle York Castle is a fortified complex in the city of York, England. It consists of a sequence of castles, prisons, court, law courts and other buildings, which were built over the last nine centuries on the north-west side of the River Foss.Coop ...

- the direct result, it has been suggested of the Archbishop manipulating the jury and

County Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is commonly ...

, whilst getting his own tenants released instead. It is possible that the king's clear support for the Archbishop, notwithstanding their position as one of the region's greatest magnatial families, was influential in their decision to later feud with the Percies rather than take it to the king for

arbitration Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...

. Conflict in the north was not only over local rivalries; English relations with Scotland periodically descended into warfare throughout the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, and the mid-fifteenth century was no exception. However, Egremont seems not to have been part of the campaign of October 1448, when his father the earl and his brother Lord Poyning's led an army of 6,000 men across the border only to be routed at the

Battle of Sark The Battle of Sark, or the Battle of Lochmaben Stone,, pp. 18-19, 27 was fought between Scotland and England on 23 October 1448 or 1449. It was a decisive Scottish victory, the first since the Battle of Otterburn in 1388, and the last pitched ba ...

; Poynings himself was captured, to be eventually

ransom Ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release. It also refers to the sum of money paid by the other party to secure a captive's freedom. When ransom means "payment", the word ...

ed by the Scots.

Lands and estates

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. The name refers to the town's position by the confluence of the River Cocker into the River Derwent. At the 2021 census, the built u ...

, in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, held by Thomas Percy, was a traditional Percy

Honour Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself ...

, as was that of Egremont; it is likely to have been due to his father's influence at court, as the earl of Northumberland was currently a Royal Councillor, and his connections with the king's chief minister Cardinal Beaufort that on 20 November 1449 he was made Lord Egremont 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 ...

, drawing £10 ''per annum'' from the county revenues. This figure reflects the fact that Egremont was never to be a wealthy man; it has been calculated that the Percy Cumberland estates suffered a decline of 25% between 1416 and 1470. Equally diminishing to Egremont's income was the fact that the barony itself had been divided threeways through inheritances, and at least one-third of it- that of the Fitzwalter family- had been granted to the earl of Salisbury under a 40-year

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

at the time of Thomas Percy's grant.; for the FitzWalter's third of the barony, p. 127

Percy-Neville feud

It is not certain exactly when the bad blood between the two families begun; A. J. Pollard has pointed out that they were cooperating together over

parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

in 1449, and as late as 1453; the former

husting A husting originally referred to a native Germanic governing assembly, the thing. By metonymy, the term may now refer to any event (such as debates or speeches) during an election campaign where one or more of the candidates are present. Devel ...

was attended by Sir Thomas Percy shortly before his

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Egremont, Thomas Percy, 1st Baron 1422 births 1460 deaths English military personnel killed in action People of the Wars of the Roses Thomas Percy, 01st Baron Egremont Barons in the Peerage of England Younger sons of earls

Early years

Lands and estates

Percy-Neville feud

See also

Footnotes

References