William Neville, 1st Earl Of Kent
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William Neville, Earl of Kent KG (c. 14059 January 1463) and ''
jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title '' suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could beco ...
'' 6th Baron Fauconberg, was an English nobleman and soldier. He fought during the latter part of the
Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
, and during the English dynastic
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 ...
.


Early life

Born circa 1405, he was the third son of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, and his second wife, Joan Beaufort. His mother was the legitimised daughter of
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399), was an English royal prince, military leader and statesman. He was the fourth son (third surviving) of King Edward III of England, and the father of King Henry IV. Because ...
, and
Katherine Swynford Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster (born Katherine de Roet, – 10 May 1403) was the third wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the fourth (but third surviving) son of King Edward III. Daughter of a knight from County of Hainaut, Ha ...
. John of Gaunt was the third surviving son of King
Edward III of England 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 ...
and
Philippa of Hainault Philippa of Hainault (sometimes spelled Hainaut; Middle French: ''Philippe de Hainaut''; 24 June 1310 (or 1315) – 15 August 1369) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the wife and political adviser of King Edward III. She acted a ...
. William was therefore a great-grandson of Edward III. However, the terms of the legitimisation of the Beaufort family specifically excluded them and their descendants from succession to the throne. William was one of a number of the Neville sons to make a good match, marrying the Fauconberg heiress, Joan de Fauconberg, 6th Baroness Fauconberg ''
suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...
'', daughter of Thomas de Fauconberg, 5th Baron Fauconberg by his second wife, Joan Brounflete (died 1409), and taking the title Lord Fauconberg; just as his nephew, Richard Neville, married the Warwick heiress and became Earl of Warwick. William's marriage took place at some point before 1422. His wife was four years older than he and was described as an idiot from birth. The Fauconberg estates were in
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...
, a centre of power for other members of the Neville family.


Loyalty to the Crown

He seemingly had a conventional military career during the earlier part of Henry VI's reign. Knighted in May 1426, he was serving on the Scottish Borders in 1435. In 1436, he was serving with his brother-in-law Richard, Duke of York, in France—his first contact with a man who was later to receive his allegiance. By 1439, he was a field commander in France, with Lords Talbot and Scales. At the siege of
Harfleur Harfleur () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region of northern France. It was the principal seaport in north-western Fr ...
in 1440, he was made a
Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...
for his part in the campaigns of 1438–39, in particular the capture and garrisoning of
Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the ÃŽle-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...
. The town where Henry V had died was a crucial marches town for English
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
. They had re-supplied the town, also retaking Montargis and Gerberoy. Fauconberg fought with the relief at Meaux when Richemont seized the stronghold by storm on 12 August 1439. The English lords forced a confrontation, but the French fled, leaving twenty barges laden with supplies. As one of the three field commanders, Neville had been put on the royal council since 30 April, on Warwick's death, before a new
regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
could emerge. In October, Fauconberg helped recapture Harfleur, expelling the French garrison; only
Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...
remained intransigent. The field commander's pre-eminence was supplanted in March 1442 by the appointment of William, Lord Bourgchier, as governor-general of Normandy. On 7 March 1443, after his return to England, he took custody of
Roxburgh Castle Roxburgh Castle is a ruined royal castle that overlooks the junction of the rivers Tweed and Teviot, in the Borders region of Scotland. The town and castle developed into the royal burgh of Roxburgh, which the Scots destroyed along with ...
in Scotland. He was granted £1,000 per annum (around £1,000,000 at 2005 prices) during peacetime, twice this if at war with Scotland, and until 1448, satisfactory payment was made. However, in 1449, he returned to France as part of a diplomatic mission, and in May 1449 he spent the night that the French chose to capture Pont de l'Arche in Normandy. One hundred and twenty men were taken in all. Neville was reluctant to surrender to a lowly archer, who almost killed him. While in captivity in France, he spent two years of his own income supporting the upkeep of the castle. In spite of a grant from Parliament in 1449, by 1451 he was owed £4,109. He was forced to settle for less. The loss of such an experienced captain was a blow to English administration. The English had already lost the Bretons for taking their salt fleet, and then in July 1449, Somerset refused Fauconberg's return in a deal for Fougeres. In 1453, he was ransomed (for 8,000 French ecus) and freed from captivity. He still had the custody of Roxburgh Castle, but was impoverished by maintaining this and by his captivity in France. By now, he was owed £1,000 by the government. He settled this by accepting a grant of 1,000 marks from the customs at
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
. Not only was this only worth about two-thirds of the original amount, there was no guarantee that he would ever get the money. Griffths says, "What is so remarkable about his tale is that the Lancastrian crown could command isloyalty".


Alliance with York

Until this point, he can be seen as a loyal supporter of the
House of Lancaster The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in 1267 ...
. However, at some time during the next two years, his allegiance began to shift. He was a member of the council of Richard, Duke of York, during Henry VI's second period of madness. Although he was with the Lancastrian nobility at the First Battle of St Albans (1455), he was appointed by York to be joint Constable of
Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...
after the battle. His alignment with York, who was his brother-in-law, was natural, as his brother, the Earl of Salisbury and his nephew the Earl of Warwick (the "Kingmaker") were Richard's principal allies. In 1457, he joined Warwick (appointed Captain of Calais) as his deputy. Warwick used Calais as a base for what was essentially piracy, and Fauconberg seems to have been happy to assist. He was in England in 1458, and in May he was briefly imprisoned in London—but he was bailed by Warwick and returned to Calais.


Awards and appointments

The rewards of victory followed. He was made a member of the King's Council and appointed Lieutenant of the North. On 1 November, he was created
Earl of Kent The peerage title Earl of Kent has been created eight times in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In fiction, the Earl of Kent is also known as a prominent supporting character in William Shakespeare's tragedy K ...
and appointed Steward of the Royal Household. In July 1462, he was appointed Lord High Admiral, and in August that year he was granted 46 manors in the
West Country The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and ...
. Edward IV relied on him for both land and naval warfare. Following the victory at Towton, he took part in the gradual establishment of royal control in
Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
, heading a garrison of 120 men at
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
in the summer of 1461, and taking part in the siege of
Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, inland from the North Sea ...
in November 1462. Between these dates, he was back in Calais, raiding the Breton coast in August 1462, then burning Le Conquet near Brest, and raiding the Île de Ré,. He died on 9 January 1463, and was buried at Gisborough Priory in the heart of his Fauconberg lands. As he had no surviving legitimate sons, the earldom became extinct. He was survived by his wife, who died in 1490 at the age of 84 (thus living through the reigns of all the English kings of the fifteenth century). He had three daughters and one son from his marriage, and one acknowledged illegitimate son, Thomas Neville. Known as the Bastard of Fauconberg, he was to align himself with Warwick and lead a revolt later in Edward IV's reign. William Neville is an underrated figure in the rise to power of the Yorkist regime. More successful as a military leader than the more famous Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, his reputation is summed up in Goodman's words: "No other veteran of the Anglo-French Wars won such distinction in 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 ...
".


Ancestry


References


Bibliography

*Barker, J. ''Conquest: The English Kingdom of France 1417–1450'', Little, Brown, 2009. *Hicks, J. ''Warwick the Kingmaker'' *Ross, Charles ''Edward IV'' *Goodman, J. ''Wars of the Roses'' *Kendall, M. J. ''Warwick the Kingmaker'' *Griffiths, R. J. ''Henry VI'' *Gillingham, J. ''Wars of the Roses'' *Wolffe, B. ''Henry VI'' *Storey, R. L. ''End of the House of Lancaster'' *Johnson ''Richard Duke of York''


External links


Lord Fauconberg's coat of arms


There are several Neville genealogy sites - this is one of the easiest to navigate {{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, William Neville, Earl of 1400s births 1463 deaths 15th-century English people 15th-century English Navy personnel People of the Hundred Years' War People of the Wars of the Roses Lord high admirals of England Earls of Kent Knights of the Garter Younger sons of earls
William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
Year of birth uncertain Burials at Gisborough Priory Earls in the Peerage of England