Richard III and the Murder in the Tower (32 page)

33. Hancock, P. A. ‘On the Trail of King Richard III.’
Ricardian Register
, 29 (1) (2004), 8-10.

34. For example, Kendall, P. M.
Richard III
. W.W. Norton: New York, 1955, notes that: ‘He [Stillington] alone had witnessed, or transmitted, the King’s oath to the lady of his desire. Only then had she been willing to surrender to her sovereign, who, however, had sworn troth but to have his use of her.’

35. De Commines, P.
Memoires. The Reign of Loius XI, 1461-1483
. Ed. M. Jones. Harmondsworth, 1972.

36. See Hammond, P. W. ‘Stillington and the pre-contract.’
The Ricardian
, 54 (1976), 31.

37. See Campbell, J.
Lives of the Lord Chancellors
. Murray: London, 1868 (especially pp 333-335).

38. Sometime later she seems to have joined her sister, the Duchess of Norfolk, perhaps at her sister’s Dower House at Kenninghall in Norfolk, see Ashdown-Hill, J. ‘The go-between.’
The Ricardian
, XV (2005), 119-121. The relationship between the sisters seems to have been close, see Ashdown-Hill. J. ‘The endowments of Lady Eleanor Talbot and Elizabeth Talbot, Duchess of Norfolk, at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.’
The Ricardian
, 14 (2004), 82-94.

39. It may be possible that when Thomas More referred to the last of King Edward’s mistresses in the following manner, ‘the thirde the holiest harlot in his realme, as one whom no man could get out of the church lightly to any place, but it wer to his bed,’ he is referring to Eleanor. If such were so, it may imply a much longer and more involved relationship than a single meeting. If it was Eleanor who was the pious one, it may have induced Edward to tread a little more carefully than usual, not wishing to offend the Church.

40. In a recent article, Sweeney (1996),
op. cit
., p. 19, reports that Eleanor did indeed have a son and he was the great-grandfather of William Cecil’s (Lord Burghley) own secretary, Richard Wigmore. Burghley of course served Elizabeth I almost the whole of his adult life. Elizabeth I herself was the granddaughter of Elizabeth of York, the niece of Richard III. Smith, M. ‘Reflections on Lady Eleanor.’
The Ricardian
, 142 (1998), 336-339, is sure that Eleanor died childless and cites the barreness of her immediate relations as support. We must await more definitive evidence for such a child before we speculate upon the implications of such a birth. Ashdown-Hill (2009),
op. cit
., p. 108, states unequivocally that ‘Although Buck suggested that Edward and Eleanor may have had a son, there is absolutely no evidence to support this contention.’

41. To quote from Ashdown-Hill (2006), p. 124, ‘His [Catesby’s] connection with Lady Eleanor is certainly intriguing.’

42. I am now unable to conceive of Jacquetta except in terms of the pushing mother in the puppet play in the film
The Sound of Music
. Such a role has also been attributed to many mothers who would push their daughter in front of the king or the immediate heir to the throne even in modern times.

43. Perhaps Eleanor had a reason for wanting simply to retain the manor of Great Dorsett. The manor most probably also contained the settlement of Temple Herdewyke which, it has been speculated, was a Templar chapel associated with some of the Templar mysteries. See: Phillips, G.
The Templars and the Ark of the Covenant
. Bear & Company: Rochester, VT, 2004. The latter author has also stated that Sir Walter Ralegh later bought Temple Heredewyke through his wife and engaged there in a search for Templar treasure. Could this have been associated with the reason that Eleanor did not press her claim further? Here, we are on the very attractive but especially dangerous edge of speculation. After a considerable search in resources such as Dugdale, and after having contact with the Warwickshire County Record Office (A. Williams personal communication, 7/4/08) I can find no reference that Bess (Throckmorton) Ralegh ever puchased this property. See also: Beer, A (2003)
My Just Desire: The life of Bess Ralegh, wife to Sir Walter
. Random House: New York. Also Rowse, A. L (1962)
Sir Walter Ralegh: His Family and Private Life
. Harper Brothers: New York

1.  In the same way that our knowledge of Eleanor Butler has been elucidated by John Ashdown-Hill, so we must turn to Roskell and Williams for our understanding of William. However, in this chapter I also rely extensively on the work of Simon Payling (2006), which is referenced below, and the recent text by Dickson (2007) which I acquired during the latter part of the writing of this chapter.

2.  See Dickson, J. M.
William Catesby: ‘Gras de Hower Gyd’
(p. 4). Richard III Foundation: Las Vegas, NV, 2007.

3.  See for example Hancock, P. A. ‘Solem a tergio reliquit: The troublesome Battle of Bosworth.’
Ricardian Register
, 27 (2) (2002), 4-10. And see Jones, M. K.
Bosworth 1485
. Tempus: Stroud, Glos, 2002. Hutton, W.
The Battle of Bosworth Field
. Nichols, Son, & Bentley: London, 1813, and also Foss, P.
The Field of Redemore: The Battle of Bosworth, 1485
. Kairos Press: Newton Lindford, 1998.

4.  Nicholas, N. H.
Testamenta Vetusta
(p. 381). Nichols & Son: London, 1826.

5.  Stephen, L. & Lee, S. (eds).
The Dictionary of National Biography
(pp 1193-1194). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1917.

6.  This fact is also shown by his own wording of his last will and testament (see Williams, D. T. ‘The hastily drawn up will of William Catesby, Esquire, 25th August, 1485.’
Transactions of the Leicestershire Archeological and Historical Society
, 51 (1975), 43-51).

7.  The epithet ‘Cat,’ of course comes from Colyngbourne’s rhyme, see Sutton, A. F. ‘Colyngbourne’s Rhyme.’
The Ricardian
, 67 (1979), 145-146. And see also Kendall, P.M.
Richard III
(p. 301). W.W. Norton: New York, 1955.

8.  A brief survey of this part of Warwickshire shows that the Catesbys at Ladbroke would have been the direct neighbours of the Butlers at Great Dorsett. Similarly, if Bishop’s Itchington is an extended version of Bishopston, then the family of Sir William’s first wife would also have been neighbors of both families.

9.  There is also the possibility that some of the family property in Coventry was viewed as the primary family home.

10. See Morris, M. ‘Catesby Brasses at Ashby St Ledgers.’
The Ricardian
, 39 (1972), 28-32, and more recently Bertram, J. (ed.).
The Catesby family and their brasses at Ashby St Ledgers
. Monumental Brass Society, Headley Brothers: Ashford, Kent, 2006.

11. More, T.
The history of King Richard III
. 1513 Also see
www.uorgeon.edu/~rbear/r3.html
. The precise quote is ‘Catesby, which was a man well learned in the laws of this land.’

12. Many of my observations here come from the detailed and scholarly article by Payling, S. ‘Never “‘desire to be grete about princes, for it is dangeros”: the rise and fall of the fifteenth-century Catesbys’ (pp 1-17). In Bertram, J. (ed.).
The Catesby family and their brasses at Ashby St Ledgers
. Monumental Brass Society, Headley Brothers: Ashford, Kent, 2006.

13. Of course, it is always a reasonable possibility that Phillipa Bishopston, Sir William’s first wife, died in childbirth. If so, her daughter of that birth, Elizabeth, survived that possible trauma and went on to lead a full life (see Bertram
op. cit
., p. 66).

14. See Payling (2006),
op. cit.
, p. 5.

15. PRO, Ministers’ and Receivers’ Accounts SC6/949/16;
Lincoln Diocese Documents
. Ed. A. Clark Early English Text Society, 149, 1914, p. 81. PRO, Early Chancery Proceedings, C1/53/247.

16. Hancock, P. A. ‘No Richard rhyme nor reason: Resisting the seduction of confirmation bias.’
The Medelai Gazette
, 14 (3) (2007), 16-22.

17. PRO Issue Rolls, E403/786, m. 1; Lambeth Palace Library, Register of Stafford and Kemp, f. 312v.

18. The letter is at The National Archives, under entry PRO SC1/51/147. The letter itself is reproduced in the separate Appendix IV: The Letter of Sir William Catesby of 15 September 1452. Sir William was true to his word and we find even just a year before his death he was still including his wife in the business of the disbursement of the presentation of the chaplaincy of the church of Chesilburgh (Cheselbourne, Dorset?). I take the the evidence for this from Maxwell-Lyte, H.C.
The registers of Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells 1466-1491 and Richard Fox, Bishop of Bath and Wells 1492-1494
. Somerset Record Society, 52 (1937), 1-235. I believe that the citation ‘on the presentation of John Barre and William Catesby, knights’ (pp 76-77), to be a misrepresentation of Joan Barre and William Catesby, husband and wife.

19. See Leonard, W.
The Oxford of Inspector Morse
(pp 186-187). BFS Entertainment: Canada, 2004.

20. See Payling,
op. cit.
(p. 8). This is also evident in the observation of Ashdown-Hill (2009),
op. cit
. (p. 140), who notes that Sir William witnessed the 4 June 1468 deed of gift of Eleanor to her sister.

21. Ashdown-Hill, J. ‘Edward IV’s uncrowned queen. The Lady Eleanor Talbot. Lady Butler.’
The Ricardian
, 11, (139) (1997), 166-190.

22. Much of our knowledge of William Catesby’s life and career is founded on the important and detailed work of Roskell (see Roskell, J.S. ‘William Catesby, Counsellor to Richard III.’
Bulletin of the John Rylands Library
, 44 (1959), 145-174). As will be evident to readers of this latter work, I have relied extensively upon it as a source for this present text.

23. The translation reads: ‘Once one of the trenchers of King Henry VI.’ See Bertram (ed.) (2006), p. xvii.

24. The written plaque on the left side reads: ‘Here lies lady Joan, second wife of William Catesby, knight, formerly wife of Richard de la Bere, and daughter of Thomas Barre, knight, and his wife Alice, sister of John Lord Talbot, who was created Earl of Shrewsbury. She died 2 August 1471; on whose soul may God have mercy Amen.’ It is my suggestion that the attribution ‘Richard’ is incorrect and is a mis-interpretation of Kynard, or possibly Reynard, which may denote the manner of address for her first husband. The brass of her son, Richard de la Bere, can be seen in Hereford Cathedral, and see Figure 9. 25. Thorne, S. E. (ed.).
Readings and Moots at the Inns of Court in the Fifteenth Century
(p. lvii). Selden Society, Bernard Quaritch: London, 1954.

26. Ives, E. W.
The Common Lawyers of Pre-Reformation England
. Cambridge, 1983. and see Payling (2006),
op. cit.
(p. 10).

27. See Roskell (1959),
op. cit.
(p. 146).

28. Roskell (1959),
op. cit.
(p. 153).

29. Interestingly, it seems that it was Ralph, Lord Sudeley who in 1442 had built the famous Sudeley castle which still stands today within the confines of the Cotswold town of Winchcombe, and was then forced, in 1469, to sell it to Edward IV, shortly after the death of his daughter-in-law, Eleanor Butler (née Talbot).

30. There remains, of course, the intriguing rumour that Eleanor actually had a child. Whether this child was her husband’s or Edward IV’s is a further step of speculation and perhaps, in our present state of knowledge, a step too far (and see Hancock, P. A. ‘No Richard rhyme nor reason: Resisting the seduction of confirmation bias.’
The Medelai Gazette
, 14 (3) (2007), 16-22).

31. See Bertram (2006),
op. cit
.

32. A spatial assessment of Catesby’s acquisition shows that he was engaged in the systematic increase of a coherent consolidation of properties and holdings centered around Ashby St Ledgers and his Northamptonshire and Warwickshire holdings. Effectively, he was in the process of building a small ‘kingdom within a kingdom.’ In this he may have followed the strategy of William, Lord Hastings, whose personal holdings clearly got in the way of Catesby’s ambition (see figures 36, 37 and 38 respectively).

33. See Roskell (1959),
op. cit
., p. 147.

34. The Council meeting of Friday 13 June 1483 in the Tower is perhaps noted as one of the best-recorded events of Edward V’s reign (
Historia croylandensis
, p. 566,
Great Chronicle
, p. 231; Fabyan,
Chronicles
, p. 688;
Chronicles of London
, p. 190; More,
Richard III
, pp 48-9: Polydore Virgil,
Anglica Historica
, pp 689-90; note 81 in Mancini, D.
The Usurpation of Richard III
. (Trans. and ed. with an introduction by C. A. J. Armstrong. Wolfeboro Falls: Alan Sutton, 1989).

35. More quoted in Payling (2006), p. 11.

36. Hancock, P. A. ‘The Polarising Plantagenet.’
Ricardian Register
, 26 (4) (2001), 4-7.

37. Hancock (2001),
op. cit
.

38. I am here unwilling to embrace Leach’s theory that Catesby warned Richard of a deadly poison sprinkled on the ‘mess of strawberries’ but am happy to concur in respect of Catesby’s vital role in events of that day, and see Leach, C. A. ‘A mess of strawberries.’
The Ricardian
, 29 (1970), 21-22.

39. Roskell,
op. cit
., p. 147.

40. One of the most persuasive records comes from the contemporary building accounts of Kirby Muxloe castle which shows that when the news of Hastings’ execution reached Leicestershire, the most skilled artisans basically downed tools in the eventually justified, expectation that the commission would be cancelled. Internal evidence of these records suggests that the news reached the construction site some time on Monday 16th or perhaps very early on Tuesday 17 June 1483. Also see Hancock, P. A. ‘Kirby Muxloe Castle: The Embodiment of the Disembodiment of William, Lord Hastings.’
Ricardian Register
, 36 (1/2) (2006), 4-13.