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Richard NEVILLE, Earl Of Salisbury

Richard NEVILLE, Earl Of Salisbury[1, 2, 3]

Male Abt 1400 - 1460  (~ 60 years)

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  • Name Richard NEVILLE  [4, 5
    Suffix Earl Of Salisbury 
    Born Abt 1400  Raby-Keverstone, Staindrop, Durham, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [4, 5
    Gender Male 
    AFN 8J5J-NJ 
    TitleOfNobility 1428  [6
    5th Earl of Salisbury 
    MilitaryService 1438  [6
    Knight of The Most Noble Order of the Garter 
    MilitaryService 1460  Wakefield, Yorkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [6
    Battle of Wakefield 
    Cause of Death 3 Dec 1460  Pontefract, Yorkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [6
    Beheaded 
    Earl of Salisbury , Salisbury, Wiltshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 3, 5, 7, 8
    FamilySearch ID MB2S-LPW 
    Occupation   [6
    Sheriff of Devon 
    Reference Number HWS7555 
    _UID F1201E70F8F340A3A07C769B4AB73E4019C8 
    Died 30 Dec 1460  Wakefield, St. John, West Riding, Yorkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [4, 5
    Buried 15 Jan 1461  St Marys Church, Burghfield, West Berkshire Unitary Authority, Berkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [4, 5, 6
    Person ID I7677  Carney Wehofer 2024 Genealogy
    Last Modified 6 Oct 2024 

    Father Ralph NEVILLE, Earl of Westmoreland,   b. Abt 1364, Raby Castle, Durham, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 21 Oct 1425, Raby Castle, Raby-With-Keverstone, Durham, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 61 years) 
    Mother Joan BEAUFORT, Countess of Westmorland,   b. 29 Jan 1375, Beaufort, Maine-et-Loire, France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 13 Nov 1440, Howden, Yorkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 65 years) 
    Family ID F536732212  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Alice MONTAGUE, Countess Of Salisbury,   b. Abt 18 Oct 1405, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 9 Dec 1462, Bisham, Berkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 57 years) 
    Married Bef Feb 1421  Salisbury, Wiltshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 3, 4, 5
    Children 
     1. Joan NEVILLE,   b. Abt 1423, Castle Raby, Durham, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 9 Sep 1462, Arundel Caslte, West Sussex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 39 years)
     2. Cecily De NEVILLE, Countess Of Worcester,   b. Abt 1426, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 28 Jul 1450, Warwick Castle, Warwick, Warwickshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 24 years)
     3. Richard NEVILLE, 1st Earl of Warwick,   b. 22 Nov 1428, Bisham, Berkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 14 Apr 1471, Barnet, Hertfordshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 42 years)
     4. Sir. Thomas NEVILLE, Knight,   b. Abt 1430, <, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England> Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 30 Dec 1460, Battlefield, Wakefield, Yorkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 30 years)
     5. Alice NEVILLE, Baroness Of Ravensworth,   b. Abt 1430, <, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England> Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 22 Nov 1503, Ravensworth, Kirby, North Riding, Yorkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 73 years)
     6. John I NEVILLE, Marquess Of Montagu,   b. Abt 1431, <, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England> Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 13 Apr 1471, , Barnet, Hertford, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 40 years)
     7. George NEVILLE, Archbishop Of Salisbury,   b. Abt 1433, <, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England> Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1476  (Age ~ 43 years)
     8. Catherine NEVILLE, Baroness Of Ashby De La Zouch,   b. Abt 1435, <, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England> Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 25 Mar 1504  (Age ~ 69 years)
     9. Eleanor NEVILLE,   b. Abt 1438, <, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England> Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1504  (Age ~ 66 years)
     10. Ralph NEVILLE,   b. Abt 1440, <, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England> Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
     11. Margaret NEVILLE,   b. Abt 1444, <, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England> Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 20 Nov 1506  (Age ~ 62 years)
     12. Robert NEVILLE,   b. Abt 1446, <, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England> Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Child, <, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England> Find all individuals with events at this location
    Last Modified 29 Aug 2016 
    Family ID F3846  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • Richard de Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury (1400 – 31 December 1460) was an English nobleman and magnate based in northern England who became a key supporter of the House of York during the early years of the Wars of the Roses. He was the father of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, the "Kingmaker".

      He was born in 1400 at Raby Castle in County Durham, the third son (and tenth child) of Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, but his first son by his second wife, Joan Beaufort, who was the youngest of the third or fourth legitimised children, and only daughter, of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (third surviving son of King Edward III), by his mistress, and later, wife, Katherine Swynford.

      The Neville lands were primarily in County Durham and Yorkshire, but both King Richard II and King Henry IV (Joan's cousin and half-brother respectively) found the family useful to counterbalance the strength of the Percys on the Scottish Borders. This led to Ralph's earldom being granted in 1397, and to his appointment as Warden of the West March in 1403. Ralph's marriage to Joan Beaufort, at a time when the distinction between royalty and nobility was becoming more important, can be seen as another reward; as a grand-daughter of King Edward III, she was a member of the royal family.

      Richard married Alice Montacute, daughter and heiress of Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury. The date of Richard and Alice's marriage is not known, but it must have been before February 1421, when as a married couple they appeared at the coronation of Queen Catherine of Valois. At the time of the marriage, the Salisbury inheritance was not guaranteed, as not only was Thomas Montacute still alive, but in 1424 he remarried (to Alice Chaucer, granddaughter of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer). This second marriage was without issue and when the Thomas Montacute died in 1428, Richard Neville and Alice were confirmed as the Earl and Countess of Salisbury. From this point on, Richard Neville will be referred to as Salisbury.

      Salisbury came into possession of greater estates than, as a younger son under primogeniture, he could reasonably have expected. Strangely, his eldest half-brother John Neville apparently agreed to many of the rights to the Neville inheritance being transferred to his step-mother Joan Beaufort, and her son Salisbury inherited these on her death in 1440. He also gained possession of the lands and grants made jointly to Ralph and Joan. Ralph's heir (his grandson Ralph Neville, 2nd Earl of Westmorland) as the representative of the senior line, disputed the loss of his inheritance, and although he agreed to a settlement in 1443, it was on unequal terms – Salisbury kept the great Neville possessions of Middleham and Sheriff Hutton, as well as the more recent grant of Penrith. Only Raby Castle, the family's most ancient possession, returned to the senior branch. The resultant Neville– Neville feud was later to become absorbed into the destructive Percy-Neville feud. Salisbury's marriage gained him his wife's quarter share of the Holland inheritance. Ironically, his Salisbury title came with comparatively little in terms of wealth, though he did gain a more southerly residence at Bisham Manor in Berkshire.

      The defence of the Scottish Border was carried out by two Wardens– that of the East March (based at Berwick-upon-Tweed) and that of the West March at Carlisle. Both offices had been held by the Percy family in the fourteenth century, and their support of King Henry IV seemed to have paid off in 1399, when Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland was appointed Warden of the West March and his son Henry Percy ("Hotspur") as Warden of the East March. But Hotspur rebelled, and his father was held to be complicit in his treason. After Hotspur was killed at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, Ralph Neville was employed by King Henry V to capture the elder Percy. His reward was to succeed the Percys as Warden of both Marches. Under King Henry V, the Percys were restored to their lands, and eventually in 1417, to the East March. The West March, however, was to become an almost hereditary Neville appointment.

      Salisbury became Warden of the West March in 1420. It was one of the most valuable appointments in England, worth £1,500 in peacetime and four times that if war broke out with Scotland. Although, unlike Calais, it did not require a permanent garrison, the incessant raiding and border skirmishes meant that there would always be a ready supply of trained and experienced soldiers at the Warden's command. Salisbury must have been high in Henry V's estimation, as he was also appointed Justice of the Peace in Cumberland, Westmorland, and Durham. In 1431 he accompanied the young King Henry VI to France for his coronation, and on his return was made Warden of the East March.

      In 1436 he resigned both posts, although this may have originally intended as a means of forcing the crown to make good its arrears of payment. When his resignation was accepted, he accompanied his brother-in-law Richard, Duke of York, to France, taking 1,300 men-at-arms and archers with him. He returned the following year, and in November became a member of the King's Council. He did not resume either of the Wardenships, as the Percy-Neville dispute took up most of his time, but when this was resolved in 1443 he resumed the Wardenship of the West March. Although this was at a reduced fee of just under £1,000, the money was secured on specific sources of Crown income, not on the frequently uncollectable tallies. This may reflect his experiences of 1436.

      On 24 August 1453, Thomas Percy, Lord Egremont, assembled a force of men-at-arms and archers perhaps as large as 1,000 strong, intending to waylay Salisbury and his family at Heworth Moor, outside York, as he made for Sheriff Hutton. Salisbury had been attending the wedding of his son Thomas in Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire, and although his escort would have been smaller, it would have been better armed than Egremont's York craftsmen and tradesmen. Salisbury and his retinue fought them back, arriving unscathed at Sheriff Hutton, but the episode marked the beginning of what was virtually a private war. The bride, Maud Stanhope, was the widow of Lord Willoughby of Eresby, his son would become a Yorkist. Another of the Yorkist party, John Neville, was later Lord Montagu. Maud was due to inherit the manors of Wressle and Burwell from her uncle, Lord Cromwell, who had obtained them from the Percys through litigation. Historian John Sadler argues this was the first incident in the Yorkist/Lancastrian affinities lawless squabble leading to civil war.

      Salisbury changed his allegiance to Richard, Duke of York, who made him Lord Chancellor in 1455. This enabled Salisbury to advance the interests of his retainers against the Percies, for example Thomas de la More petitioned against Lord Egremont, whom de la More claimed had threatened to kill him years earlier. When King Henry VI tried to assert his independence and dismiss York as Protector, Salisbury joined him in fighting at the First Battle of St Albans, claiming that he was acting in self-defence. In 1458 he participated in The Love Day, an attempt at reconciliation held in London. After the Battle of Blore Heath, in which he was notably successful, Salisbury escaped to Calais, having been specifically excluded from a royal pardon. He was slain on 30– 31 December 1460, the night after the Battle of Wakefield.

      After the defeat of the Yorkists at the Battle of Wakefield, Salisbury himself escaped the battlefield but was captured during the night. Upon discovery, battle worn and now a traitor to the realm, he was taken to the Lancastrian camp. Although due to his great wealth the Lancastrian nobles might have been prepared to allow Salisbury to ransom himself, he was nevertheless dragged out of Pontefract Castle and beheaded by the local population, to whom he had been a harsh overlord.

      He was buried first at Pontefract, but his sons transferred his body to the family mausoleum at Bisham Priory in Berkshire where they erected a monument to his memory. The effigy from this was brought to St Mary's Church at Burghfield, near Reading, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The effigy of a lady alongside him wears a headdress which is not thought to be of the right date to be his wife, but she may represent one of the earlier Countesses of Salisbury buried at Bisham.

      He married Alice Montacute (1407-1462), daughter and heiress of Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury (1388-1428), by whom he had twelve children:

      Sons
      Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (1428– 1471), "The Kingmaker", who married Lady Anne Beauchamp and had issue.
      Sir Thomas Neville (c. 1429– 1460), who was knighted in 1449 and died at the Battle of Wakefield.
      John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu (c. 1431– 1471), married Isabel Ingaldesthorpe and had issue.
      George Neville (1432– 1476), who became Archbishop of York and Chancellor of England.
      Ralph Neville (b. 1440 approx.), did not survive infancy
      Robert Neville (b. 1446 approx.), did not survive infancy

      Daughters
      Joan Neville (c. 1424– 1462), who married William FitzAlan, 16th Earl of Arundel, and had issue.
      Cecily Neville (c. 1425– 1450), who married Henry Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick (1425– 1446).
      Alice Neville (c. 1430– 1503), who married Henry FitzHugh, 5th Baron FitzHugh.
      Katherine Neville (1442– 1504), who married first William Bonville, 6th Baron Harington, and second William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, and had issue.
      Eleanor Neville (1447 – before 1471), who married Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, and had issue.
      Margaret Neville (c. 1450– 1506), who married John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Neville,_5th_Earl_of_Salisbury

  • Sources 
    1. [S714] Hohelohe, Bethune Research, Kirk Larson, (Sept 23 2003).

    2. [S140] Wives: Six wives of King Henry VIII (Alison Weir), Weir, Alison, ((New York:NY, Grove Weidenfeld, 1991); ISBN 0-8021-1497-0;), 942.05'2'092-dc20., p. 613 (Reliability: 3).

    3. [S145] Barksdale: Family History and Genealogy (Capt. John A. Barksdale), compiled by Captain John A. Barskdale, ((Richmond, Va. : Printed by the William Byrd Press, 1940); ISBN: 0-916497-62-3 (microfiche); LC CALL NO.: Microfiche85/149(C); FORMAT: Book [Microform]), LCCN: 85-71710., p. 29 (Reliability: 3).

    4. [S112] Ancestral File™ v4.19 (FamilySearch®), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((Created by FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service, 50 East North Temple Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84150, April 1, 1999)).

    5. [S90] Larson: Genealogical Research of Kirk Larson, Larson, Kirk, (Personal Research Works including Bethune & Hohenlohe Descendants, 1981-2001, Kirk Larson, Private Library).

    6. [S1160] FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 6 Oct 2024), entry for Richard NEVILLE, person ID MB2S-LPW. (Reliability: 3).

    7. [S753] European Heraldry #1 Coat of Arms by J. M. Elliott, Elliott, J. M., ((http://www.onlinepub.net/arms/arms.html, Online Publishing, May 12, 1999) Attn: Heraldry Dept., 13124 E. Nixon Ave, Spokane, Washington 99216, 509-924-4429, FAX: 509-924-4616).

    8. [S747] European Heraldry #2 Crests by Arnaud Bunel, Arnaud Bunel , (Coats of Arms for European Royalty and Nobility (http://www.heraldique-europeenne.org, Arnaud Bunel, 1998) , Internet).