Richard Neville KG (1428 - 1471)

Born 22 Nov 1428 in England

Ancestors

Husband of Anne (Beauchamp) Neville — married after 9 Mar 1436 in England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 14 Apr 1471 at age 42 in Barnet, Hertfordshire, England

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Biography

Birth and Parents

Richard, often known as "Warwick the Kingmaker" because of his key role in the Wars of the Roses, was the son and heir of Richard Neville and Alice Montagu. He was born on 22 November 1428.^[1][2][3][4] His birthplace is not known.

Marriage and Children

Richard was married to Anne Beauchamp, daughter of Richard Beachamp, Earl of Warwick, and his second wife Isabel le Despenser, soon after 9 March 1436, when Henry VI agreed to pay £700 of the £3000 that Richard's father agreed to pay Anne's father for the marriage.^[1][2][5] The agreement between their parents also covered the marriage of Richard's sister Cecily to Anne Beauchamp's brother Henry.^[2] Richard and Anne had the following children:

• Isabel, who was born on 5 September 1451 and who married George, son of Richard, Duke of York^[2][3][4]
• Anne, who married Edward Prince of Wales and Richard, Duke of York (the future Richard III)^[3][4]

Richard also had two known illegitimate children:

• Margaret, who married Richard Huddleston^[3][4]
• Alice, who married Christopher Conyers^[3][4]

Up to the Wars of the Roses

Richard was knighted by 6 August 1445, when he is referred to as a knight in a record of the appointment of him, his father and his brother Thomas as Joint Master Foresters of Blackburn and Bowland, Lancashire and Joint Steward of Pontefract.^[1]

In 1448/9 Richard (hereafter for clarity referred to as "Warwick") and his wife inherited the very substantial estates of the earldom of Warwick.^[1] He was confirmed as Earl of Warwick, apparently in right of his wife, on 23 July 1449.^[6] On 2 March 1449/50 he may have been made Earl of Warwick in his own right, with his wife as Countess in her right.^[1][7]

From 1450 to 1470 Warwick was hereditary Sheriff of Worcestershire.^[1][8] On 6 December 1450 he was confirmed as hereditary Chamberlain of the Exchequer by right of his wife.^[1][9]

In 1452 Warwick supported Henry VI against Richard, Duke of York, incurring substantial costs, for which he was awarded £300.^[1][10] The next year Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset appropriated custody of some Welsh lands from Warwick's under-age brother George, and this is what probably led to Warwick siding with the Duke of York against the Duke of Somerset in the crisis of that summer which led to York becoming Lord Protector in 1454.^[2] By 6 December 1453 Warwick was a Privy Councillor. In April 1454 he was one of those appointed to invest Henry VI's son Edward as Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester.^[1][11]

Early Years of the Wars of the Roses; Calais

After the Duke of Somerset returned to power, Warwick and his father joined the Duke of York in opposition, and raised troops in northern England. In the ensuing First Battle of St Albans (22 May 1455) Warwick played a major part in securing a Yorkist victory. After this he took his father's place as a mainstay of the Duke of York.^[2] He was rewarded with the Stewardship of Monmouth.^[1]

On 4 August 1455 Warwick was nominated to be Captain of Calais, though it was not till the summer of 1456 that he was able to take up the position. Meanwhile, on 9 February 1456, Warwick entered Parliament with armed men to protect the Duke of York. After Henry VI recovered from Illness in the spring of 1456, Warwick's loyalty seems to have been regarded as questionable by Margaret of Anjou, the king's wife, and he was made to swear an oath of loyalty in the autumn of 1456, and was excluded from the Privy Council.^[2]

Perhaps due to Margaret of Anjou's suspicions, Warwick was initially not given sufficient funds to pay the English forces at Calais. The French launched a seaborne raid on Kent in the summer of 1457 which threatened his supply lines, and, after this, Henry VI's regime agreed to pay his costs and charged him to keep the seas. Warwick took a liberal interpretation of his powers, attacking a Spanish fleet in 1458 and then - in spite of there being a truce - a fleet of the Hanseatic League.^[1][2]

Warwick established contacts with Charles VII of France and Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy. He seems to have acted on behalf of both Henry VI's government and of Richard, Duke of York, no doubt in an attempt to safeguard his own position in uncertain times. In November 1458 he was summoned before the Privy Council to explain himself. Despite this he continued in what was tantamount to piracy, possibly in efforts to have funds to pay the Calais forces: in 1459 he attacked a Spanish-Genoese fleet.^[2]

Resumption of Civil War

In the summer of 1459 the Wars of the Roses re-erupted, with Warwick, his father and the Duke of York gathering troops in England. Following the defection of some of the forces Warwick had brought from Calais, they abandoned their army at Ludlow Bridge, Shropshire, during the night of 12 October. Warwick, his father, and the Duke of York's son (the future Edward IV) fled to Calais. There Warwick successfully resisted Lancastrian attempts to oust him. He and the other Yorkist leaders were attainted in November 1459.^[1][2]

The setback was short-lived. The Duke of York had escaped to Dublin and in March 1460 Warwick had a conference there with him. In late June 1460 Warwick and his father invaded England. On 10 July 1460 Warwick and the future Edward IV defeated the Lancastrians in the Battle of Northampton and captured Henry VI.^[1][2]

On 8 August 1460 Warwick was appointed Governor of the Channel Isles. In October 1460 the attainder against him was formally reversed. Other appointments followed, along with the award of custody of important properties in Wales during the minority of their heirs.^[1][2]

On 30 December 1460 the Duke of York and Warwick's father were catastrophically defeated in the Battle of Wakefield: the Duke died in the battle or was executed immediately after; Warwick's father was executed the next day.^[1][2]

Henry VI was still in Warwick's control, and appointed him Great Chamberlain of England for life in January 1460/1.^[1][2] On 8 February 1460/1 Warwick was made a Knight of the Garter.^[12] But the Lancastrians were moving south, and Warwick was defeated in the Second Battle of St Albans on 17 February. He escaped and joined up with the future Edward IV, and they entered London on 27 February. On 3 March Warwick was one of the peers who proclaimed Edward king.^[1][2]

During operations to tackle Lancastrian resistance, Warwick was slightly wounded on 28 March 1461 in the Battle of Ferrybridge. The next day he commanded the Yorkist centre in the Battle of Towton, which turned into a Lancastrian rout. He remained for some months in northern England, securing the Yorkist position.^[1][2]

Reign of Edward IV

A series of important appointments and re-appointments followed, with Warwick becoming perhaps the most influential peer of the realm. He also led important diplomatic missions.^[1][2]

In 1462, with the death of his mother, he inherited the earldom of Salisbury. By now he was the richest English nobleman: his annual income is thought to have been over £10000, a colossal sum for the time.^[1][2]

In 1464 Edward IV secretly married Elizabeth Woodville, even though Warwick had been engaged in discussions about a possible marriage to a sister-in-law of Louis XI of France. Warwick appeared to accommodate himself to this, and indeed became godfather to Edward IV's and Elizabeth Woodville's first child, Elizabeth of York, in 1466. But the signs of a rift were starting to become evident. There were disagreements about foreign policy: Warwick favoured alliance with France, while the king pursued one with Burgundy. In May 1467 Warwick went on a major diplomatic mission to France, and on his return discovered that not only was the alliance with Burgundy completed but also his brother George had been removed from his post of Chancellor of England. Warwick was also being increasingly sidelined as a result of favours being given to connections of Elizabeth Woodville.^[1][2]

Warwick maintained contact with Louis XI, and there were rumours that he was switching allegiance to the Lancastrians. He declined to respond to a summons to answer charges about this. Edward IV made an attempt to patch things up, granting a valuable wardship to Warwick, who returned to court in 1468. He kept up the appearance of supporting Edward IV, whom he represented at a meeting with the Duke of Burgundy and the Holy Roman Emperor. Given command of a fleet, he raided the coast of France. Then he went to Calais with his brother George, his daughter Isabel and Edward IV's brother, the restive George, Duke of Clarence. There Clarence married Isabel on 11 July. The next day Warwick and Clarence issued a call for reform of Edward IV's government. They returned to England, to join rebels in the north of the country. Warwick's brother George captured the king.^[1][2]

Attempts to reach a compromise between Warwick and Edward IV failed. Warwick and Clarence, fairly clearly implicated in unrest in Lincolnshire, were declared traitors on 31 March 1470 and fled to France. There Louis XI effected a rapprochement between Warwick and Henry VI's wife Margaret of Anjou. On 13 September 1470 Warwick landed in Devon, proclaimed Henry VI king, and accompanied him to London. On 26 November he and Clarence were made Joint Lieutenants of England, and he was given other positions, including Admiral of England.^[1][2]

Death and Burial

Edward IV had fled to Flanders. On 14 March 1471 he landed in Yorkshire, where he quickly gathered support. Clarence switched allegiance back to Edward. On 14 April 1471 Warwick was defeated and killed in the Battle of Barnet. His corpse was put on public display for three days in London, before being interred at Bisham Abbey, Berkshire, where his father had been buried.^[1][2]

Research Notes

Titles

Richard was 16th Earl of Warwick (first creation of the title) by right of his wife. He is sometimes referred to as 1st Earl of Warwick (second creation), as on 2 March 1449/50 he was given the title of Earl of Warwick in his own right for life, with remainder to the heirs of his wife after they had both died.^[1]

He was also Earl of Salisbury: 11th Earl overall; 6th Earl of the 2nd creation; arguably 2nd Earl of a third creation - his mother was Countess of Salisbury in her own right, making his father Earl by right of his wife, but his father may also have been granted the title in his own right.^[13]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24} G E Cokayne. Complete Peerage, revised edition, Vol. XII, Part 2, St Catherine Press, 1916, pp. 385-393, viewable on Familysearch
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by A J Pollard for 'Neville, Richard, sixteenth earl of Warwick and sixth earl of Salisbury [called the Kingmaker]', print and online 20904, revised online 2008
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), Vol. III, pp. 164-166, MONTAGU 11, Google Books
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol. IV, pp. 126-129, MONTAGU 12
5. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Henry VI, A.D. 1429-1436, HMSO, 1907, p. 516, Internet Archive
6. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Henry VI. A.D. 1446-1452, HMSO, 1909, pp. 235-236, Hathi Trust
7. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Henry VI. A.D. 1446-1452, p. 324, Hathi Trust
8. ↑ List of Sheriffs for England and Wales, Public Record Office Lists and Indices, No. IX, 1898 (Kraus Reprint Corporation 1963), p. 158, Internet Archive
9. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Henry VI. A.D. 1446-1452, p. 409, Hathi Trust
10. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Henry VI. A.D. 1446-1452, pp. 523-524, Hathi Trust
11. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Henry VI, A.D. 1452-1461, HMSO, 1910, pp. 171-172, HathiTrust
12. ↑ W A Shaw. The Knights of England, Vol. I, Sherratt and Hughes, 1906, p. 13, Internet Archive
13. ↑ G E Cokayne. Complete Peerage, revised edition, Vol. XI, St Catherine Press, 1949, pp. 395-398, viewable on Familysearch

See Also:

• Burley, P, Elliot, M & Watson, H. The Battles of St Albans, Pen and Sword, 2007
• Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Vol. 40, pp. 283-296, entry for 'NEVILLE, RICHARD, Earl of Salisbury (1428–1471)', Wikisource
• Cawley, Charles. Richard Neville (1428-killed in battle Barnet 14 Apr 1471), entry in “Medieval Lands” database (accessed 17 December 2022)
• Report on Manuscripts in Various Collections. (Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts) London: H.M.S.O. (1901), vol 1-2, pp. 47-48, (chapter 2, "Burford Corporation").
• Wikipedia: Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

This profile was developed for the Magna Carta Project by Michael Cayley on 17 December 2022 and was reviewed the same day by Thiessen-117.

Richard Neville KG appears in Magna Carta Ancestry in a Richardson-documented trail from Gateway Ancestor Robert Drake to Magna Carta Surety Baron Roger le Bigod (vol. II, pages 90-92 DRAKE). This trail has not yet been developed and can be seen it in the Magna Carta Trails section of the Gateway's profile.

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".