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english-royal-history-1455-1603 · 7 years

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Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England (1430–1482) On 25th August 1482, a fifty-two year old woman died in poverty at Dampierre Castle, France. Wholly dependent on the charity of her King, Louis XI. Her father's death two years previously, left her destitute. Her will requested the King to sell her meagre possessions in part payment of her debts. The remainder she asked him to settle on her behalf. Yet this woman had once been a Royal bride. A Queen. Mother of a future King of England. A country where she was reviled, deemed a She-wolf, an unnatural woman. Margaret was born on 23rd March 1430, into a title rich, cash poor French noble family. She was no stranger to conflict or privation. Niece of Queen Marie of France. Daughter of the nominative King and Queen of Sicily, Naples and Jerusalem, Duke of Maine and Anjou, Duchess of Lorraine. Her parents were often away fighting for their rights. She was raised by her grandmother Yolande of Aragon, the power behind the Dauphin. These women taught her that women could raise armies and fight. Lessons that would become valuable in later life. Her marriage was negotiated by the Earl of Suffolk, to bring peace between England and France. Following a proxy ceremony in Tours, she journeyed across France, setting sail in early April 1445. She arrived in England on 9th April, a fifteen year old bride for King Henry VI, eight years her senior. Henry eager for a glimpse, disguised himself as a page and delivered her a letter. Not recognising him, she kept him on his knees until she had read it. He was apparently delighted with her. They married at Titchfield Abbey on 22nd April and Margaret was crowned on 30th April at Westminster Abbey. She soon had a strong influence over her husband. She would collude with Suffolk and the rising Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, to persuade him to support their policies. In 1447 she was involved in the plot that removed Henry's uncle, Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, from power. Letters survive, as evidence that she conspired with Charles VII to persuade Henry to release Maine and Anjou to France, in 1448. The English nobility, quickly began to resent her influence. They protested that Suffolk had negotiated an inferior marriage, Margaret was “only a King's niece by marriage”. Henry had known her dower was worthless, yet accepted it. Her father possessed Minorca and Majorca in name only. Unable to fund his daughter's voyage, England had paid the bill. These grievances lead to factions forming. The war in France was going badly and was costly. Henry lacked his father's martial abilities and ambitions. Margaret was blamed for persuading him not to send troops when his Lieutenant in France, the Duke of York requested them. Hostilities had resumed when King Charles began taking back land in 1449. By the end of the year, York had been recalled and sent to Ireland for his failure. As putative heir to the throne following the death of Gloucester, York was bound to resent this. In 1450 this growing dissatisfaction was aired in parliament. Suffolk and Somerset were impeached. Somerset was jailed but the nobles wanted Suffolk's head. Henry refused and banished him but he was murdered on his voyage to France. The Queen's grief added fuel to the rumours that she was Suffolk's lover. Likely a groundless accusation, used as a political weapon during the ensuing Wars of the Roses. The Jack Cade rebellion followed soon after. The rebels were ordinary men who joined with disaffected minor nobles to march on London, where they were refused admittance by the citizens. Despite Henry forgiving them all, the unrest continued until Cade's death in July 1450. York was suspected of being involved. He was recalled from Ireland to answer to parliament in August. He convinced them of his innocence and returned to Royal favour for a short time. York's proximity might have been unsettling for the childless Margaret. Her position was precarious if anything happened to Henry. A medieval Queen's main role was filling the Royal nursery. She wanted a child, and took pilgrimages to Canterbury and Walsingham in the ten years before she conceived. We have no idea what caused the delay. Either could have had a physical problem. They may have chosen to delay consummation until Margaret was physically mature. Margaret might have suffered multiple miscarriages. The Duke and Duchess of York experienced similar problems. By early 1453 Margaret was pregnant. However her pregnancy was overshadowed by the loss of Bordeaux in July. Calais remained the only English territory of the French lands Henry's father and uncles had fought for. This loss seemed to tip the balance for Henry. He collapsed into a catatonic state. Margaret, aided by Somerset initially took the reigns, hiding his illness. The King's doctors expected him to recover quickly. He was still unresponsive when she went into confinement in September. And after his son, Edward of Westminster's birth on 13th October 1453. Margaret was in a difficult position, as the rumours that the child was Somerset's could not be dispelled until Henry recognised the child as his. Following a futile attempt to rouse the King in late January, Margaret made a move to become Regent.She presented a bill to parliament in February 1454. Parliament instead appointed York as Protector of England. Margaret and Edward, joined Henry at Windsor. Somerset was imprisoned in the Tower. York invested the infant Edward as Prince of Wales in June 1454, suggesting things were not difficult between himself and the Queen at this time. In late December 1454, Henry awoke as suddenly as he collapsed. Having recognised his son, he rode to London within days and ended York's protectorate. At somepoint in the following months Margaret became suspicious of York. The King called a Great Council in Leicester during the summer of 1455. York and his supporters were excluded. He raised an army and marched toward's London. Meeting the King at St Albans. Henry refused to hear him. York attacked and was victorious. Somerset, Percy and Clifford were killed. York captured the King. He was the power behind the throne for much of the following three years. The Queen had no scope to oppose him left the Tower, where she had taken refuge. However she continued intriguing with her supporters to regain Royal authority. In 1458 Henry took steps to reconcile all parties. He declared 25th March as a “Love-Day”. A public ceremony where both factions walked hand in hand into St Paul's for a blessing. Margaret walked hand in hand with York. The peace did not last. In October 1458, an attempted assasination of Richard, Earl of Warwick, York's nephew by marriage, took place. Warwick fled Westminster for Calais and began raising troops. His father the Earl of Salisbury and York did likewise in the North and Wales. Margaret took the steps of issuing calls to arms on behalf of the King. In 1459, her army defeated the Yorkists Blore Heath, then routed York, his eldest son Edward, Earl of March, Salisbury, and Warwick at Ludlow. She then issued attainders and seized their lands. The Yorkists raised armies in Calais and Ireland, and defeated the Royal army at Northampton in June 1460. Her husband was back in York's hands and her son would soon be disinherited by parliament in his favour. Margaret did not have long to wait for revenge. She fled to Wales and then Scotland where she raised an army. She was soon marching south. A surprise attack saw York killed at the Battle of Wakefield on 31st December. Salisbury was captured and beheaded. York's second son, Edmund of Rutland, was murdered after the battle, by Lord Clifford. Their heads were set up on Micklegate Bar, York. Margaret's actions after Wakefield, added fuel to the fire. Edward, Earl of March, Richard, Earl of Warwick and his brother John would seek revenge for the deaths of their fathers. Edward took the first victory at Mortimers Cross on 2nd February 1461. Margaret then defeated Warwick at 2nd St Albans on 1th February. She freed the King and marched to London. However her Captain's had failed to control their troops as they marched South. The citizens of London refused her entry, fearful of the harm they would cause. She turned north, allowing Edward, Earl of March to enter London. He was proclaimed King Edward IV on 4th March 1461. Edward then trounced the Lancastrians at Towton on Easter Monday 1462. Edward had the ability to move swiftly, and surprised the retreating army. Henry, Margaret and their son fled to Scotland. From there, she and Edward went to France to petition her nephew Louis XI for aid. After intervention from his mother, he agreed in return for Calais. Margaret had seriously misjudged, not understanding the English attitude to Calais. She returned to England in October 1462 with an army of 500 French soldiers. Her invasion was troubled from the start. She was finally defeated at Hexham in May 1464. She was lucky to survive, having been set upon by robbers in the forest as she fled. Henry was captured 1465, having been found wandering, confused on the Yorkshire moors. Edward kept him in genteel confinement in the Tower. Margaret returned to France, spending her time unsuccessfully petitioning her nephew for aid. Louis ignored her pleas. Seeing an opportunity to make mischief he changed his mind in 1470. Edward IV and Warwick's relationship had irretrievably broken down. Louis brokered peace between Margaret and Warwick. Although she kept him kneeling for over quarter of an hour, she realised Warwick was vital to her plans. She also agreed to her son Edward marrying Warwick's youngest daughter Ann. Warwick set sail first, surprising Edward IV, who fled into exile in Burgundy. Warwick freed King Henry and crowned him again. The Lancastrians enjoyed a brief period in the sun. Their natural suspicions of Warwick, likely influenced their loyalty. By the time Margaret, Edward and Ann landed in England on 18 April 1461, Warwick was dead. The Battle of Barnet had taken place on the previous day. Henry had been recaptured and Edward IV was ready to reclaim his throne. Margaret chose to fight on. Planning to cross the Severn and rendezvous with the Welsh troops of Jasper Tudor. What followed was a game of cat and mouse across the South and West of England. Edward leading his troops on a forced march to block Margaret. He succeeded, sending messengers ahead, ordering city gates and bridges closed to her army. He pinned the Lancastrians down at Tewkesbury on 4th May 1471. Margaret's son was killed in the ensuing battle, aged seventeen and with him, her purpose. Edward's retribution against the Lancastrian army was swift and harsh. The leaders taking sanctuary in the Abbey were dragged out and slain. Some without trial. Margaret returned to London in Edward's train. Not a triumphant Queen but a pitiful prisoner. Driven slowly through the streets and pelted with rubbish by the angry populace. Her husband died that night, in suspicious circumstances. Although it was announced he had “died of a broken heart”. Margaret initially confined to the Tower was released into the custody of her friend, the Duchess of Suffolk. She was ransomed to France as part of the peace deal between Edward and Louis in 1476, for 50,000 crowns.

#margaretofanjou #cousinswar #warsoftheroses

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thecousinswar · 7 years

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Today in history, April 28, 1442: the birth of Edward IV:

"Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was the King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was the first Yorkist King of England. The first half of his rule was marred by the violence associated with the Wars of the Roses, but he overcame the Lancastrian challenge to the throne at Tewkesbury in 1471 to reign in peace until his sudden death. Before becoming king, he was 4th Duke of York, 7th Earl of March, 5th Earl of Cambridge and 9th Earl of Ulster. He was also the 65th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

Edward of York was born at Rouen in France, the second son of Richard, 3rd Duke of York (who had a strong genealogical claim to the throne of England), and Cecily Neville. He was the eldest of the four sons who survived to adulthood. He bore the title Earl of March before his father's death and his accession to the throne.

Edward's father Richard, Duke of York, had been heir to King Henry VI (reigned 1422-1461) until the birth of Henry's son Edward in 1453. Richard carried on a factional struggle with the king's Beaufort relatives. He established a dominant position after his victory at the First Battle of St Albans in 1455, in which his chief rival Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, was killed. However, Henry's Queen, Margaret of Anjou, rebuilt a powerful faction to oppose the Yorkists over the following years. In 1459 Margaret moved against the Duke of York and his principal supporters—his brother-in-law Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, and Salisbury's son Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, who rose in revolt.

The Yorkist leaders fled from England after the collapse of their army in the confrontation at Ludford Bridge. The Duke of York took refuge in Ireland, while Edward went with the Nevilles to Calais where Warwick was governor. In 1460 Edward landed in Kent with Salisbury, Warwick and Salisbury's brother William Neville, Lord Fauconberg, raised an army, and occupied London. Edward, Warwick and Fauconberg left Salisbury besieging the Tower of London and advanced against the king, who was with an army in the Midlands, and defeated and captured him in the Battle of Northampton. York returned to England and was declared the king's heir by parliament (in the Act of Accord), but Queen Margaret raised a fresh army against him, and he was killed at the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460, along with his second surviving son Edmund, Earl of Rutland, and the Earl of Salisbury.

This left Edward, now Duke of York, at the head of the Yorkist faction. He defeated a Lancastrian army at Mortimer's Cross in Herefordshire on 2–3 February 1461. He then united his forces with those of Warwick, whom Margaret's army had defeated at the Second Battle of St Albans (17 February 1461), during which Henry VI had been rescued by his supporters. Edward's father had restricted his ambitions to becoming Henry's heir, but Edward now took the more radical step of proclaiming himself king in March 1461. He then advanced against the Lancastrians, having his life saved on the battlefield by the Welsh Knight Sir David Ap Mathew. He defeated the Lancastrian army in the exceptionally bloody Battle of Towton in Yorkshire on 29 March 1461. Edward had effectively broken the military strength of the Lancastrians, and he returned to London for his coronation. King Edward IV named Sir David Ap Mathew Standard Bearer of England and allowed him to use "Towton" on the Mathew family crest.

Lancastrian resistance continued in the north, but posed no serious threat to the new regime and was finally extinguished by Warwick's brother John Neville in the Battle of Hexham in 1464. Henry VI had escaped into the Pennines, where he spent a year in hiding, but was finally caught and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Queen Margaret fled abroad with the young Prince Edward and many of their leading supporters. Edward IV had deposed Henry VI, but there was little point in killing the ex-king as long as Henry's son remained alive, since this would merely have transferred the Lancastrian claim from a captive king to one who was at liberty.

Even at the age of nineteen, Edward exhibited remarkable military acumen. He also had a notable physique and was described as handsome and affable. His height is estimated at 6 feet 4.5 inches (1.943 m), making him the tallest among all English, Scottish, and British monarchs to date."

#today in history #On This Day in History #birth #edward iv

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flightsimulatorplus · 5 years

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leominster1941 · 6 years

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Battle of Mortimer’s Cross.

After reading several accounts of the battle of Mortimer’s Cross over the years this one stands out. It is far from what might be called academic and probably contains historical errors. Nevertheless, it brings the Battle to life. It concentrates on the people and places not the military strategy or political background. There are probably better sources if that is what you seek. Historians are consistent in recording how little is known about this battle when compared with other Wars of the Roses events. It is more than ‘Historical Fiction’ and give a sense of time and place.

If you prefer a more academic but no less entertaining account of the battle then read the following. It is no less interesting and almost certainly more accurate.

The Civil War of 1459 to 1461 in the the Welsh Marches: Part 2 The Campaign and Battle of Mortimer's Cross – St Blaise's Day, 3 February 1461

by Geoffrey Hodges

http://www.richardiii.net/downloads/Ricardian/essay_civil_war_1459_1461_mortimer.pdf

Background

Upon the death of the Duke of York at Wakefield the previous December, the Yorkists were led by his 18-year-old son Edward, now 4th duke of York.[4] He sought to prevent Lancastrian forces from Wales, led by Owen Tudor and his son Jasper, Earl of Pembroke, from joining up with the main body of Lancastrian forces. The elder Tudor had been second husband to Catherine of Valois, widow of Henry V; their sons, as Henry VI's half-brothers, had been made earls, and the family became a major power in South Wales. His army included Welshmen, drawn especially from the area of the Tudor lands in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, along with French and Breton mercenaries and Irish troops led by James Butler, Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond.[5] Edward, based at Wigmore Castle had gathered his army from the English border counties and from Wales. Among his leading supporters present were Lord Audley, Lord Grey of Wilton, Sir William Herbert of Raglan, Sir Walter Devereux and Humphrey Stafford.[6] After spending Christmas in Gloucester, he began to prepare to return to London. However, Jasper Tudor’s hostile army was approaching and he changed his plan; so as to block Pembroke’s advance and block him from meeting up with the main Lancastrian force which was approaching London, Edward moved north with an army of approximately five thousand men to Mortimer’s Cross. Source; wikipedia

Source;

Malvern Chase: An Episode of the Wars of the Roses and the Battle of Tewkesbury, an Autobiography

Edited By W S SYMONDS

Published by William North and Simpkin Marshall, Tewkesbury and London (1881)

MALVERN CHASE was first published in 1880 and its popularity was such that six editions were printed within ten years. Although William Symonds subtitled it as an `autobiographical' account of the Wars of the Roses, it is in reality a superb historical reconstruction supported by much documentary evidence.

The medieval romance not only satisfied the Victorian liking for all things gothic, whether in architecture, furniture, or painting, but, as a story of masculine derring-do, feminine fidelity, and ghostly portent, it also followed the literary fashion of the time.

The author's descriptions of the Malvern Hills and the Vale of the Severn, at a time when they consisted of forest, heath, and marsh, paint an appealing picture that provokes a yearning for those less crowded times, even if life was much more uncertain. The populist support for the Witchfinder to sniff out those experimenting with herbal remedies has a resonance with a latter-day suspicion of scientific research.

The book has been out of print for many years and this new edition revives for a twenty-first century reader its effective characterisation, breadth of scholarship, and lively narrative.

BATTLE OF MORTIMER’S CROSS.

We found the Welsh village of Presteine occupied by Yorkist troops sent forward from Wigmore, and a messenger was awaiting us from my father telling us to push on and join him there. We saw on our march Pylleth Hill, where the Earl of March gave battle to Owen Glendower, and after a desperate struggle was defeated and made prisoner. The scene of the personal combat between these renowned chieftains was below this hill, on the banks of the river.

I burned with impatience once again to meet my father, but no sooner had we arrived at Wigmore than we found he had moved southwards to join Duke Edward.

Wigmore Castle is built on the site of a stronghold as old as the time of Edward the Elder; and we admired the grandeur of the castle with its massive keep, situated amidst scenes of picturesque beauty. Long before we reached it we could hear the din and clangour of armed men, and outside the castle was a large village occupied by retainers, the dwellings situated upon a sloping rock and intersected by ravines. Hundreds of men-at-arms were in troops around the castle, while others were marching southwards towards Hereford, their steel caps and morions sparkling in the setting sun.

"Who goes there?" shouted a hoarse voice as we rode up to the drawbridge of the castle, and the reply, "Robin of Elsdune," seemed to be a sufficient password.

Robin now dismounted and spoke anxiously to the warder, who informed him that the widowed Duchess of York, and her sons, George and Richard (afterwards the Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester), were within the walls for safety; that an attack by the Welsh army under the Tudors was hourly expected, and yet the assembled forces were leaving to meet Duke Edward, trusting to the strength of the place, and the garrison, to keep it against all corners.

We then rode down the slippery paths to the village, where large wooden sheds afforded shelter for man and horse for the night, and arranged that our troops should be well cared for, and ready to saddle at a moment's notice. This done, Robin invited me to accompany him to an interview with the widowed Duchess of York, to present her with a token and message from her son, the Duke. We crossed a ravine to the eminence on which the castle is situated, and, on Robin again giving the password, we were conducted to the keep, a massive square palace, in which was lodged the widowed Duchess.

The great square was crowded with men-at-arms, with several domestics clad in mourning, and to one of these Robin addressed himself, showing the gold chain which he occasionally wore. In a few minutes the servant re-appeared and summoned us to the presence of the widowed lady.

Knowing that Duke Edward was nearly twenty years of age, I was surprised to see his mother so young and so beautiful. Clad in the deepest mourning, with golden hair and lovely blue eyes, it was hardly possible to believe her to be the mother of that manly sop, and yet the likeness was strong, for Edward had nothing of the "swarthy Mortimers" about him, and resembled his mother, yet without a shade of effeminacy.

The Duchess received Robin with more than courtesy, it was the welcome of a trusted friend, and as he knelt and pressed her hand to his lips, the tears flowed down her cheeks. On his telling her my name, she extended her hand to me to kiss, saying that she had heard from Lord Edward the good service I had rendered.

In the meantime Lord George had seized upon Robin, and was showing him a new bow and a wooden battle-axe, but the Duchess had explanations to receive from the Archer, so she called him on one side, and left me to entertain the boy and his little brother, Lord Richard.

Lord Richard was dark and swarthy like his father, with an inclination to high shoulders; his face was handsome, but his form was then feeble, and I little thought that I should behold him leading the most terrific charges at the battle of Theocsbury, or that he would become a knight renowned for feats of valour and of arms. Even then, as he sat upon my knee, he insisted on showing me "Robin's swing" with the battle-axe, much to the danger of my head, and his brother's also. Lord George had flaxen hair, and a weak expression of countenance.

The Duchess now addressed me, and noticing the ring on my finger, the gift of her eldest son, she said the service must be good that won such a token of his regard, as it was her own gift on his natal day. She also alluded to my interview with Lord Warwick, at his castle at Hanley, and I fancied a shade crossed her countenance as she spoke of him, for, notwithstanding the predilection of her husband and her son Edward, she never altogether trusted this powerful and somewhat unscrupulous Baron.

It was now time for us to take our departure, when the Duchess inquired if we thought she was safe from the raids of the Welshers within the walls of the castle, or if she should take sanctuary in the Abbey. To this Robin replied that "there were Marchmen to meet Welshers, and it would be difficult for all the Welshmen in Wales to penetrate to the stronghold of Wigmore Keep."

We now made our salutations, and took our departure, Lord Richard entreating us to take him with us, and once again practising the "Robin swing" at my devoted knees.

"Is not that a lady a man may die for?" said Robin, as we reached the bottom of the staircase. He now inquired for the Captain of the Archers within the walls, and, showing his golden chain, gave some brief directions which that leader appeared to accept without questioning. "We must now," he said, "make for the Abbey!"

The Abbey of Wigmore is distant nearly a mile northwards of the castle, and here lie buried the remains of the illustrious Mortimers from the times of Ranulph, who, having vanquished Edric Sylvaticus, Earl of Shrewsbury, received from the Conqueror himself the extensive possessions and immense estates which belong to this royal house. When we reached it, masses were being said for the souls of Duke Richard and his son.

Wigmore Abbey.

Wigmore Abbey was an Augustinian abbey with a grange, from 1179 to 1530, situated about a mile (2��km) north of the village of Wigmore, Herefordshire, England: grid reference SO 410713. Only ruins of the abbey now remain. Source; wikipedia

It was from his ancestors, who lie buried within the walls of this Abbey, that Edward of York inherited such decision of character that no sense of personal danger, and no tie of kindred, could ever turn him from the attempted accomplishment of a purpose once determined on, and I pondered, as I stood among the graves of this proud family, who never seemed to shrink from any violence to gain their end, if such was to be the character of the youth who, if success attended upon his arms, might one day be King of England.

My cogitations upon the Mortimers past and present were abruptly broken by the sound of a war trumpet outside the Abbey walls, and I found that some two hundred archers from the castle and village were assembled, and prepared to follow Robin of Elsdune, fully confident in his knowledge of the country, and his sagacity as a leader. In the meantime the Archer had sent a message to Tom of Gulley's End, and our own men-at-arms and horses had arrived at this trysting place. Robin spoke in Welsh to the archers, and I could perceive that he was giving precise directions for their guidance.

In the meantime, the Welsh borderers from the forest of Radnor and Kington had attacked the van ahead of us, and again the shouts and oaths of battle rent the air. In the narrow trackways it was only now and then that our riders could act and charge, but Robin and his archers seemed everywhere, and I could hear his long, keen, bugle blast now in the woods and thickets, and now in some copse, from which his men poured their arrows on the flanks of the Welsh forces. Nor did the Welsh forget their wonted bravery. They rushed upon their unseen foes into the churchyard and up the knoll, but only to meet death from the unerring shafts. With wild and terrible clamour, the whole army had now turned back, and closed in tumultuous throng round the village of Brampton Brian. Again and again we attacked them with our little body of horsemen, but some billmen threw themselves under our horses, and I had soon lost a dozen of our best troopers, while several fought on foot, having had their horses killed under them. I now saw that it was useless continuing this unequal strife, so, shouting to my dismounted men to ride behind their companions, we fought our way foot by foot out of the throng, and made for the village of Leintwardine, which had been appointed for our rendezvous and retreat. Soon afterwards the Archer joined us there, having lost only ten of his men, while the Radnor troops who attacked the van had retired towards Wigmore, Jasper Tudor having had a narrow escape of being taken prisoner. Our point had been gained, the whole Welsh army was now in full retreat to Knighton.

We now left the village, which in the morning we found in peace and tranquillity, and in the evening was crowded with the dead and dying. The moon had arisen as we rode into the village of Wigmore, and lit up the standard of York and Mortimer as it floated high above the keep of the noble castle.

Being well-nigh exhausted, I did not awake until after cock-crowing next morning. Robin had already looked to the horses and their riders, and was conversing with a scout who had arrived from Knighton, full of the rage of Jasper Tudor at the retreat of the whole army, owing to the ambush and attack of a few hundred men. His father, Owen Tudor, was with the horsemen of the rearguard, and had been dismounted, so that it was his charger Robin rode back to Wigmore.

It was now the intention of Jasper Tudor to await fresh forces from Clun, and then march upon Hereford, without attempting to besiege the Castle of Wigmore, hoping to crush Duke Edward before he could receive aid from the Earl of Warwick.

We found the gracious Duchess had already heard of our success the day before, and we received her dignified congratulations. She then gave us communications she had received from her son, Duke Edward, who had intended first marching to Ludlow, but, from the tidings he had received from our advanced outposts, was now determined to march to meet the Welsh army. He had sent word to the troops under my father, Sire John de Guyse, Sire Herbert of Crofts, Sire Howell Powell, and other leaders, to join their forces with his on the line of the trackway between Kington and Leominster; and he left to his trusty follower, Robin of Elsdune, to organise, as he best could, a force at Wigmore, which might hang upon the rear of the Welsh army as they advanced from Knighton and Clun.

Two whole days we now passed within the Castle, during which we collected a considerable number of veteran dependents of the house of Mortimer, who had seen many a bloody field, but whose bows and spears had been laid against their cottage walls, as if their days of adventure were over. But these hours of leisure soon passed away, and a messenger arrived from Duke Edward's camp on Kingsland Field to inform us that he should await there the onset of the Welsh, while a scout from Knighton brought the tidings that Jasper Tudor had this time led his army by Presteine. His army was calculated at over twelve thousand men, but a large proportion were badly armed, and but few armour-bearing knights in the field.

In less than an hour the archers and men-at-arms of Wigmore were assembled in the great courtyard, when the Duchess herself bade us God-speed. Leaving a sufficient garrison for the Castle, we were soon in full march for Avemestry, the village whither my father and the Lord of Crofts had marched the day we arrived at Wigmore. It was nearly dark when we reached this village, and learnt that all the troops collected there had moved to Kingsland, where Duke Edward had set up his standard, surrounded by his whole army, with the exception of our reserves.

Billmen

The bill is a polearm weapon used by infantry in medieval Europe. The bill is similar in size, function and appearance to the halberd, differing mainly in the hooked blade form. Bill-men were English soldiers who were armed with the bill.

The dawn of the morning of Candlemas Day (1461) aroused us from our rough quarters in the village of Avemestry, and before the sun had risen we had marshalled our troops. I then rode for the camp of Duke Edward, to communicate to him our exact position with three hundred good men and true, and the arrival of the Welsh army on the hills of Shobdon. As I rode forward on a sturdy pony, with "Roan Roland" led behind me, the fog cleared from the valley, and the gloom was passing into a morning's twilight, indicating the rising of the sun. Suddenly a wailing voice rose among the hills, and a noise as of people stamping came through the air; my companion said it was the "creening of the Welsh," and, on listening to the mysterious sounds more attentively, I heard distinctly the warlike notes of the Welsh march I had heard on the harp in the great hall of Hergest.

Hergest Court.

Manor house, now farmhouse and sub-divided into two tenements. Reputed to have been built c1430 for Thomas Vaughan; on the site of an earlier house but largely remodelled during the C17 and C18 and further altered during the C20. Part sandstone rubble and part close-studded timber framing with wattle and daub infill, part shingle clad (to south-east side) Welsh slate roof. Source; https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1081747

The sun rose as I rode upon the field of Kingsland, when a magnificent sight met my astonished eyes. At the eastern extremity rose the pavilion of Duke Edward, above which waved the Plantagenet banner, and on the right and left were the tents of the knights and gentlemen who were now gathered together in front, while a flourish of trumpets announced that the Duke and his retinue were now sounding to horse. Duke Edward was arrayed in splendid armour, across which hung a rich golden baldric studded with silver roses. Behind him were two heralds, and pursuivants clad in their peculiar livery.

In front of the pavilions were drawn up in battle array some 6,000 foot and archers, all armed with bows or cross-bows, and pikes, or short double-edged swords, while troops of horsemen galloped across the field. Among the various groups I recognised the flags and devices of many esquires and gentlemen who led their vassals and tenants in this quarrel. Here floated the Swan of De Guyse, and my heart beat when I saw on the far left the red Talbot of De Brute. On the right was the Dolphin of Howell, and the devices of Scudamore, Baskerville, Bromwich, and many others.

Sire John de Guyse rode by the side of the Duke, and his dark complexion and deeply marked features were a strong contrast to the fair face of the distinguished youth, who looked as much a king's son as the other a tried warrior.

The Duke's quick and stern eye, for no one had a sterner eye in battle, glanced towards me as I rode up on the gallop. He gave me a look of recognition and approbation, while he bid me wait until he had discussed some points in question with the knights around him.

The chivalrous spirit of Duke Edward urged him to challenge Jasper Tudor, the Earl of Pembroke, to the ordeal of personal combat, to be waged first with the lance or battle-axe, and afterwards with swords and daggers, until the death of one or other of the combatants. None of the knights to whom he referred encouraged the idea, as, whoever might gain the victory, battle between the forces, now so near to each other, would be certain to ensue. The Duke was not to be persuaded, so it was determined that I should carry his challenge, accompanied by one of the heralds.

The heads of the Welsh columns were now seen advancing on the western side of the great plain; they displayed a few banners, and as there was little doubt that the Earl of Pembroke led the van, the Duke commanded me to lose not a moment, but to ride with the herald bearing a white flag, and to give his solemn challenge to deadly combat. The herald rode in front, displaying the white banner, and I followed, riding slowly across the plain, passing several corps of men-at-arms, until we reached a knight cased in bright steel armour void of ornament, with the exception of a collar of the order of St. David of Wales. His herald displayed the banner of the Earl of Pembroke. The knight's visor was up, and he had a dark sullen look and a swarthy complexion. On his left hand rode an elderly knight with visor up, whose good-humoured expression contrasted forcibly with the stern bearing of Lord Pembroke; his helmet was bruised and dinted, and behind him rode a pursuivant with the banner of the Tudors. The face was that of one who had been extremely handsome in his youth, and indeed it was that face and form which had attracted Catherine of France, the widowed Queen of Henry V.

I had little time for observing more, as the Earl of Pembroke rode forward to receive the message from Duke Edward of York. On the herald's proclaiming the challenge to mortal combat, first by sounding his trumpet, and then in a loud voice, I rode up and threw a mailed glove of the Duke's in front of the charger of Jasper Tudor. His pursuivant was about to raise it from the ground, when the Earl shouted to him to let it lie, and said in response, "Return, Sir Esquire and Sir Herald, to your master, and say that Jasper Tudor declines to meet a beardless boy with sword and lance. Such questions are not to be settled by the death of babes or infants, but by the valour of bearded men. It were better for him to return to the care of his mother until mayhap we drag him thence to answer for being in arms as a traitor to our Lord the King!"

Enraged at this want of courtesy to my noble master, I said something about the fall of knighthood and of honour, when I was told by a knight near at hand to ride back from whence I came and bear a civil tongue lest perhaps I might return with cropped ears and a slit tongue to them that sent me. I turned to hurl an angry defiance in the teeth of the speaker, when I saw, underneath a bassinet or steel cap which had no visor, the heavy features and sinister countenance of Sire Andrew Trollop. Shaking my gloved fist in his face and shouting "Traitor!" I gave the spur to "Roan Roland," not a moment too soon, for at a loud signal of this treacherous knight a shower of arrows followed me, and my days would have been numbered but for the good shirt of mail I wore beneath a leather jerkin. Fortunately my horse was uninjured, and the herald was untouched.

Duke Edward received the reply from the herald, given in somewhat modified terms, in silent contempt, but he was much exasperated at the traitorous and un-knightly attack upon his esquire.

The sun had now risen above a dark bank of clouds, which stretched across the eastern sky, and we witnessed a strange appearance in the heavens, which I have never seen before or since. Some say it was a "delusion" caused by the clouds, others say it was a "miracle," but the sun rose as three separate suns, each as large as the other, and so continued for the space of half-an-hour. The appearance was hailed by the shouts of our assembled army, also by the loud cries of the Welsh forces, who were still marching on to the western plain.

How little had I realised the scenes on a field of battle! I had imagined that we should shoot flights of arrows and advance pikes, and charge with knights and mailed men on war-horses, and cut and slash, and wield our battle-axes, and the battle would be won; but the field of Kingsland was obstinately contested from sunrise to sunset, and every yard of ground was fought for, for hours together.

It was a slow, surging, struggle for life and death, varied by occasional charges of horsemen and knights as the leaders thought fit, and I have ever thought that, had it not been for the clear head and splendid qualities, as a general, of the youth the Earl of Pembroke sneered at as an "infant," the battle would have been lost by us. Although Duke Edward evinced great personal courage whenever there was a sign of the troops giving way, he remained standing for an hour at a time, giving directions through his esquires, and watching the movement of every corps. At the close of that long and eventful day he exposed his life again and again in terrific charges into the very thickest of the Welsh forces. Neither did he ride his war-horse during the earlier part of the day, but galloped to and fro on a stout palfrey to various parts of the battle-field, directing attacks or repelling the onset of the ever-advancing Welsh, who at one time nearly surrounded us; nor was I, or the other esquires, engaged in the mêlée for some hours, not until towards the close of this great struggle, as we were engaged in carrying messages and rallying the weary; neither did I ride "Roan Roland", or he would have expired from sheer exhaustion before the fight was over. He was led, like the Duke's charger, behind the great pavilion, and I rode across the field again and again, on a stout Welsh pony, till he was killed under me, and then I ran or walked until I caught another, there being no lack of steeds without riders.

It all seems to me now as a misty dream, of trumpets sounding, of shouts of men raving and dying, of horses and riders charging and being overthrown, of archers shooting and bows clanging, of pikemen thrusting, and falling in heaps of slain, of a hell let loose upon earth, and of being utterly worn out with weariness at the end.

During the whole of this long day, I never once saw my beloved father; he had been sent by Duke Edward to bring up the left wing half-a-mile to the left of the pavilion, whereas my duties kept me continually engaged on the right. I rode twice into the village of Avemestry, and the last time I had to climb the crest of the hill above to take a message to Robin of Elsdune, to keep our reserves hidden until strict orders from the Duke himself, or, if he was killed, from Sire John de Guyse. Indeed, it was the reserve led on by Robin that won the battle for us at last.

It was well-nigh four o'clock on that Candlemas evening that fresh Welsh troops poured down from the hills of Shobdon along the Kington trackway. The principal struggle was near a small stream, which traverses the Kingsland plain, where hundreds of the forces of both sides had fallen. Here was Sire Hugh Calverley killed, and many a Welsh knight and gentleman on the side of the Lancastrians, and here was taken prisoner Owen Tudor himself. Here lay Baskerville of Erdisley, Roger Kitel of Pendyke, and Howell of Pengethly, among heaps of slain, and here were still fighting De Guyse, Herbert of Crofts, and others, with the numbers of their men-at-arms sadly diminished, and many utterly exhausted with their long and apparently useless efforts.

Duke Edward bade me now gallop to Avemestry and order Robin to advance with his reserves of fresh and unexhausted men, and to attack the Welsh on their left rear, and this time I rode "Roan Roland." Brave as they were, the Welsh could not withstand this final charge. The advancing archers of Wigmore poured flight after flight of arrows upon men who had not an arrow left. Then came the pikemen with their sturdy thrusts, and the charge of the horsemen with sword and battle-axe.

The scene was now terrific! Duke Edward ordered the whole lines of horse and foot to advance for a last and final struggle; and across the stream, over dead and dying, the English forces advanced, amidst the roar of the conflict, and the stentorian shouts of Robin's troops. It was now that Duke Edward charged with his band of knights and gentlemen, and I saw him gallop into the midst of the throng, and fight his way towards the standard of Jasper Tudor, shouting his war-cry of "A York! a York!" man after man falling under his battle-axe, and the weight of his barbed steed.

Many of the Welsh, though in dense throngs, were borne to the earth by the barbed horses, others were hewn down by the mailed riders, while some actually clung round the legs of the horses and stabbed them in their bellies with daggers or knives.

The combat was thus raging, when I saw Duke Edward's horse totter and reel, and shouting "De Brute to the rescue!" in a few moments I was in the midst of the fight around the Welsh standard. Man, to man was now the combat; no cry for quarter, and in a short time a frightful carnage ensued. Of the scenes enacted, and of my own share in them, I remember very little. I only know that, when it was over, I found myself well-nigh exhausted, with my battle-axe broken, and my left hand grasping a mace which turned out to be that of the Earl of Pembroke. I then saw Duke Edward standing close by me, having been dragged from underneath his dying horse. I heard him say, "The day is ours! they fly!" and bidding me kneel there among the heaps of the slain, he laid his sword gently across my shoulders, and said, "Rise up, Sire Hildebrande de Brute, you have saved my life a second time."

But the combat was not yet over. Duke Edward mounted a fresh horse, and again dashed amongst the retreating Welshmen, shouting to me to follow him; but it was not easy to do so, for noble Roland had seen his last field, and there was no horse near. I therefore joined a band of archers and followed with them on the track of the retreating Welsh. Again, they turned at bay at a place called Kinsham dingle, and fought like bull-dogs of the staunchest breed. I was thoroughly exhausted when I came upon a stream of water and having taken off my steel morion and laid aside my battle-axe, I knelt to drink. Before I could rise, I saw Sire Andrew Trollop, who had hidden in the bushes of the dingle, rush forward from behind an oak. I felt that it was all over me, and, commending myself to God, I threw up my hand with the steel bonnet, to protect my head. I remember no more save that my eyes gave forth sparks of fire, as I sank beneath the coward's blow.

Morion

A morion is a type of open helmet originally from the Kingdom of Castile (Spain)[1], used from the middle 16th to early 17th centuries, usually having a flat brim and a crest from front to back. SOURCE; Wikipedia

When sense and memory returned, I found myself lying in a small room, on a couch, on which shone the blessed light of the sun, and directly in front of me, sitting at the foot of the bed, was the pale, wan face of Mary Bolingbroke. On my attempting to rise, she pressed her forefinger to her lips to indicate silence, and entreated me to lie quiet, as my life depended on it. She then gave me a draught of some potion, and I sank into a refreshing sleep with the happy consciousness that I was tended by friends.

In due time I was allowed to sit up awhile, and ask questions, when I learned that I was at Elsdune; that I had been rescued in Kinsham Dingle by Robin and Tom of Gulley's End, and that, although apparently dying, the former insisted upon having me borne upon a litter to his own home, and, although himself wounded, had never left the litter side until he had seen me safe under the care of Mary and his sister Deborah.

Kinsham

On either 2nd or 3 February 1461 the Battle of Mortimer's Cross was fought downstream from Kinsham. In the aftermath of the battle Lancastrian soldiers retreated up the river Lugg and were trapped where the river gorge narrows at Kinsham. Local folklore states the river ran red with the blood of the soldiers when they were killed

My first inquiry was for tidings of my father, who, through all that fierce day on the field of Kingsland, I had never once seen, as he was engaged on the extreme left, and I was continually on the right and in the centre, as esquire to Duke Edward. I had no sooner asked the question than I saw from the expression of Mary's face and the little sob she could not control, that my father was dead.

For some time I relapsed into unconsciousness, and remember little save a pressure at my heart and a choking in my throat, for my father had ever been to me as a loving elder brother and beloved friend.

Then succeeded a kind of dream, and I was back with him in memory fishing together in the old moat at home, or rambling over hill and glen among the Malverns, or listening to his wise words under the shade of the elms, or by his side in the panelled chamber among the scrips and parchments, and I longed once more to hear his kindly voice, and to say to him, "Bless me, oh my father!" when there came across my mind the numbing, certain feeling that I should never hear that voice again, and I remembered the Shadow of the Ragged Stone as I beheld it with Rosamond, hanging over our home.

The relation of personal sorrow, and a tedious illness, have but little interest to others, so I shall merely say that, after a long struggle between life and death, I recovered sufficiently to sit at the window, when I knew by the cawing of the rooks, and the song of the storm-cock and the blackbirds, that spring was about to renew the buds and flowers, and that the long nights of winter were passing away.

Sire Robin of Elsdune--for he, too, had been knighted on the battle-field--still wore his right arm in a sling, was my constant companion, at least as much as Mary Bolingbroke would allow him, and never tired in showing the many kindnesses the sick and weary-hearted can best appreciate.

My first inquiry, now I had again rallied, was for Rosamond; what brought her to Hergest; where was she during the battle; what had become of her, and where was Master Vaughan, whose pennon I had seen flying at the great struggle round the standard of the Tudors?

Mary Bolingbroke then reminded me that Master Vaughan had married the only sister of Mistress Berew, which I had forgotten, if indeed I ever knew it, for old Master Berew being a Lollard and Master Vaughan a strict Catholic, they had not met for years.

Lollard

Lollard, Lollardi or Loller was the popular derogatory nickname given to those without an academic background, educated (if at all) only in English, who were reputed to follow the teachings of John Wycliffe in particular, and were certainly considerably energized by the translation of the Bible into the English language. By the mid-15th century, "lollard" had come to mean a heretic in general.

The Master of Hergest was a widower and childless, and from time to time inquired after his niece's welfare and the way in which she was brought up. Hearing of the rallying of the Yorkists at Gloucester, he expected raids and plunderings would take place between the contending forces in that neighbourhood, and so judged that Berew would be no safe place for a young and motherless girl. He therefore undertook the journey, and persuaded Master Berew to allow Rosamond to pass some time at Hergest, which, situated as it is in the wilds of Radnorshire, he little expected would be so near the scene of battle.

During the battle of Mortimer's Cross, Rosamond was in safety in Clun Castle, and her uncle had escaped after the defeat, but whither no one knew, for neither he nor Rosamond had returned as yet to Hergest, which had been well searched by riders from Wigmore as the stronghold of a bitter Lancastrian. Indeed, it was through Robin's influence that it was not committed to the flames.

Neither had Master Vaughan's prospects improved. The great battle of Towton had been fought, and Duke Edward had ridden royally into Westminster, followed by an immense train of people shouting "Long live King Edward!"

The hopes of the Lancastrians seemed shattered for ever; Henry of Lancaster was a fugitive somewhere in the wilds of Yorkshire, and Margaret of Anjou and her son Prince Edward were wanderers with large sums offered for their apprehension.

After a time I was enabled to stroll about among the woods of Elsdune and Lynhales, and to admire the grand scenery of the valley of the Wye, the mountains of Brecon and Hay, and the hills of Kenderchurch, Tibberton, and Foxley, as they rose in the noble panorama in front of Robin's home. On the right rose the vans of Brecon capped with snow, and below the dark headland of the Black Mountains were the castle and village of Hay. Near to Hay is Clifford Castle, once the home of "Ye fair Rosamond." Then nearer to us and in the vale rose the great Keep of Erdisley, the home of the Baskervilles, and bordering on the Cummy moors, the haunt of wild cattle and big boars. Just opposite we see the Keep of Almeley, and in the distant vale the ever-winding Wye. Neither was I uninterested in his fish stores, and devices for keeping the trout and grayling in waters ponded for piscatoria. Tame stags would eat from Deborah's hands, and near were woods where Mary Bolingbroke could wander without fear or hindrance, the forests of Kingswood and Lynhales.

Eisdune, the old grange where Robin was born, is an unpretending dwelling, but right comfortable withal, and furnished with many modern luxuries, which the master had introduced through his long associations with the Mortimers. If the modest hall was small, it was hung around with valuable trophies of the Archer's skill, and the bed furniture of the dormitories was of the best. Nowhere were there such pillows of goose-down and such mattresses of bog myrtle or bed straw as those of Mistress Deborah. Nowhere were there such salted junk and deer's flesh, or such confections and preserves of honey.

But the days passed by, and I was most anxious to return to Birtsmereton, knowing how my widowed mother was affected by my father's death, and how she had been prevented by dire sickness from attending upon me her only child. But health and strength will not return as we wish it, and my head had been so badly injured that all at Elsdune insisted on my remaining a little longer.

Again I was most anxious to learn something of what had happened to Rosamond, and if possible to find out where she had taken refuge with Master Vaughan, and persuade them both to return home with me to Worcestershire, which was now far safer than the borders of Radnorshire, where hundreds of fugitive soldiery were prowling like hunted wolves in the forests.

As soon, therefore, as I could mount a horse, I determined to ride over to Hergest and try if I could not learn, by the aid of some silver pieces, somewhat about the location of Master Vaughan and his niece. Mary Bolingbroke insisted upon accompanying me, as also did our friend Robin. Indeed, this was necessary, in order that the Welsh domestics might be interrogated in their own language.

On our arrival at the great Grange we found all deserted with the exception of one old gardener, Evan Evans, or as he called himself, "Ivvan Ivvans," who was plodding among the herbs in the garden. Wonderful to say, he could speak English, so while Robin and Mary went to some of the tenants' houses hard by to make inquiries respecting the master, I remained with "Ivvan," resting on the steps of the sun-dial and enjoying the spring sunshine in the front of the quadrangle.

While talking to him about the fair visitor who had some time since ridden away with his master, I closely scanned the windows of the apartments which opened into the quadrangle, but nowhere did I recognise the crenelle belonging to the chamber where I had passed that terrible night with the dog "Vulcan" lying dead under the arm-chair.

I then changed the subject from "Hergest apples" and "Mortimer pippins" to the subject of dogs, and inquired if "Ivvans" ever accompanied his master to the chase, and if they still possessed the breed of the celebrated Hergest boar-hounds.

The word boar-hound was enough! The old man grounded his prong, and, shaking his head, said, "Better not talk, sir, about the Hergest tykes, or you may see one of them suner nor you loikes." I then told him that a well-known bull-dog of the neighbourhood which had followed me had died in one of the bed chambers under very peculiar circumstances. Here the old man gave a low whistle, and raising himself up said, "It would have been odd if he hadn't." Then he looked about him tremulously as if he had said too much.

I encouraged him to go on, when, peering into the gorse thickets which came up close to the quadrangle as if he expected some apparition among them, he pointed to a narrow crenelle half hidden by ivy, and said, "Is it there ye slept?" I replied that was about the position as far as I could tell; when he muttered, "Then it's not much sleep ye had, for that's the Black Dog's room, and the room in which his master died." I tried with all my powers of elocution, backed by a piece of silver, to extract more of the history from the old gardener, but he only peered nervously into the glades around, and then, resuming his prong and digging, said, in a low tone, "The less said the suner mended."

Robin and Mary Bolingbroke now returned from their investigation among the franklins and tenantry, but they had learned little save that Master Vaughan, accompanied by his niece, had been seen taking the road from Clun Castle to Abbey Cwm Hir, which had already been the sanctuary of many of the unfortunate refugees among the defeated Lancastrians; so we had to return without learning more of her in whom my happiness was now more than ever concentrated.

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hotel Knights Inn By The Falls Domicilio: 6276 Main St, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 6A4, Canada Telephone: +1 905-358-8136 Services: Free Wi-Fi, Free parking, Outdoor pool, Air-conditioned

hotel Kings Inn Motor Lodge Domicilio: 5525 Ferry St, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 1S3, Canada Telephone: +1 905-356-1233 Services: Free Wi-Fi, Free parking, Air-conditioned, Kid-friendly

Olympia Motel Domicilio: 5099 St Ctr, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3P1, Canada Telephone: +1 905-356-2614 Services: Kid-friendly

Oasis Motel Domicilio: 5107 Centre St, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3P1, Canada Telephone: +1 416-907-0994 Services:

hotel Rainbow Bed And Breakfast Domicilio: 4436 John St, Niagara Falls, ON L2E 3P5, Canada Telephone: +1 905-356-2165 Services: Free Wi-Fi, Free breakfast, Free parking, Air-conditioned

hotel Vacation Holidays in Niagara Falls Ontario Canada Domicilio: 4284 Ellis St, Niagara Falls, ON L2E 1H1, Canada Telephone: +1 905-358-0336 Services:

hotel Sunset Inn Domicilio: 5803 Stanley Ave, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3X8, Canada Telephone: +1 905-354-7513 Services: Free parking, Outdoor pool, Pet-friendly, Kitchens in some rooms

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hotel Empress Inn and Suites Domicilio: 5951 Clark Ave, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3W3, Canada Telephone: +1 905-356-3700 Services: Free Wi-Fi, Free parking, Indoor pool, Air-conditioned, Business center

full list map of hotels around niagara falls in ontario

hotel Blackstone Inn Domicilio: 5643 Ellen Ave, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3P5, Canada Telephone: +1 905-357-3681 Services: Free parking

hotel CJS INN Domicilio: 5334 Kitchener St, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 1B5, Canada Telephone: +1 289-296-3953 Services: Laundry service, Kid-friendly

hotel The Universal Inn and Suites Domicilio: 6000 Stanley Ave, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3Y1, Canada Telephone: +1 905-358-6243 Services: Free parking, Kid-friendly

hotel Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino Domicilio: 310 4th St, Niagara Falls, NY 14303, USA Telephone: +1 877-873-6322 Services: Free parking, Laundry service, Restaurant, Hot tub, Spa, Fitness center

hotel Marco Polo Inn Domicilio: 5553 Ferry St, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 1S3, Canada Telephone: +1 905-356-6959 Services: Free parking, Business center, Kitchen in all rooms

hotel Holiday Inn Niagara Falls Domicilio: 114 Buffalo Ave, Niagara Falls, NY 14303, USA Telephone: +1 716-285-2521 Services: Free parking, Indoor pool, Laundry service, Business center

White Rose Motel Domicilio: 5772 Stanley Ave, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3X7, Canada Telephone: +1 905-374-3922 Services:

hotel Bedham Hall Bed & Breakfast Domicilio: 4835 River Rd, Niagara Falls, ON L2E 3G4, Canada Telephone: +1 905-374-8515 Services:

hotel Passport Inn Domicilio: 523 3rd St, Niagara Falls, NY 14301, USA Telephone: +1 716-285-2295 Services: Free parking, Air-conditioned

hotel The Terrapin Inn Domicilio: 795 Rainbow Blvd, Niagara Falls, NY 14303, USA Telephone: +1 716-284-9778 Services: Free parking, Kid-friendly, Restaurant, Fitness center

hotel Courtyard by Marriott Niagara Falls, USA Domicilio: 900 Buffalo Ave, Niagara Falls, NY 14303, USA Telephone: +1 716-284-2222 Services: Air-conditioned, Laundry service, Kid-friendly, Restaurant

hotel Best Western Domicilio: 5551 Murray St, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 2J4, Canada Telephone: +1 888-244-0005 Services: Free Wi-Fi, Paid parking, Indoor and outdoor pool, Air-conditioned, Laundry service

hotel Home Continental Inn Domicilio: 35-5756 Ferry St, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 1S7, Canada Telephone: +1 905-358-5900 Services:

hotel Fairway Inn Domicilio: 5958 Fallsview Blvd, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3V5, Canada Telephone: +1 905-357-3005 Services: Free Wi-Fi, Free parking, Outdoor pool, Air-conditioned

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4xsignal-blog · 7 years

Text

Sthree Sakthi LOTTERY NO. SS-64th DRAW held on 18/07/2017

1st Prize- Rs :6,000,000

ST 539972 (KOLLAM)

Consolation Prize- Rs. 10,000

SN 539972 SO 539972 SP 539972 SR 539972

SS 539972 SU 539972 SV 539972 SW 539972

SX 539972 SY 539972 SZ 539972

2nd Prize- Rs :100,000

SN 413502 (KOLLAM)

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SV 277285 (THIRUVANANTHAPURAM)

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8th Prize- Rs. 100

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travel-america · 6 years

Link

hotels near niagara falls ny

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hotel Holiday Inn Niagara Falls Domicilio: 114 Buffalo Ave, Niagara Falls, NY 14303, USA Telephone: +1 716-285-2521 Services: Free parking, Indoor and outdoor pool, Laundry service, Business center

hotel Days Inn Niagara At The Falls Domicilio: 443 Main St, Niagara Falls, NY 14301, USA Telephone: +1 716-284-8801 Services: Free parking, Indoor and outdoor pool, Air-conditioned, Laundry service

hotel Courtyard by Marriott Niagara Falls, USA Domicilio: 900 Buffalo Ave, Niagara Falls, NY 14303, USA Telephone: +1 716-284-2222 Services: Air-conditioned, Laundry service, Kid-friendly, Restaurant

hotel Days Inn Niagara At The Falls Domicilio: 443 Main St, Niagara Falls, NY 14301, USA Telephone: +1 716-284-8801 Services: Free parking, Indoor and outdoor pool, Air-conditioned, Laundry service

Quality Hotel & Suites At The Falls Domicilio: 240 1st St, Niagara Falls, NY 14303, USA Telephone: +1 716-282-1212 Services: Free parking, Outdoor pool, Air-conditioned, Laundry service, Pet-friendly

hotel Sheraton Niagara Falls Domicilio: 300 3rd St, Niagara Falls, NY 14303, USA Telephone: +1 716-285-3361 Services: Free Wi-Fi, Free parking, Indoor pool, Air-conditioned, Laundry service

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hotel The Giacomo Domicilio: 222 1st St, Niagara Falls, NY 14303, USA Telephone: +1 716-299-0200 Services: Free parking, Laundry service, Business center, Kid-friendly

hotel Red Coach Inn Domicilio: 2 Buffalo Ave, Niagara Falls, NY 14303, USA Telephone: +1 716-282-1459 Services: Free parking, Room service, Kid-friendly, Restaurant

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english-royal-history-1455-1603 · 7 years

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The death of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset

Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset (22 June 1477 – 10 October 1530) was an English peer, courtier, soldier and landowner.

Early life Grey was the third son and eventual heir of Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (c. 1456–1501), at that time England’s only marquess, and his wife, Cecily Bonville, the daughter and heiress of William Bonville, 6th Baron Harington of Aldingham. His mother was suo jure 7th Baroness Harington of Aldingham and 2nd Baroness Bonville, and the richest heiress in England. The first marquess was the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth Woodville, so a stepson of King Edward IV and a half-brother of Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward V.

According to some reports, the young Grey attended Magdalen College School, Oxford, and he is uncertainly said to have been taught (either at the school or else privately tutored) by the future Cardinal Wolsey.

Grey’s father was opposed to King Richard III, and after the older Thomas joined Buckingham’s failed rebellion of 1483, father and son fled to Brittany, joining Henry Tudor. Five months after Richard lost the crown to Henry at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22 August 1485, the new king married the first Dorset’s half-sister Elizabeth of York, but Henry VII was also suspicious of Dorset, who was imprisoned during Lambert Simnel’s rebellion of 1487. In 1492, Dorset was required to give guarantees of loyalty to the crown and to make the young Thomas Grey a ward of the king.

Courtier Amongst the Queen of England’s closest relations, Grey and his younger brothers Leonard and Edward were welcome at court and became courtiers and later soldiers. In 1494, Grey was made a knight of the Bath and in 1501 a knight of the Garter. Also in 1501, his father died and the younger Thomas inherited his titles and some of his estates. However, much of the first marquess’s land went to his widow and not to his son, who did not come into his full inheritance until the death of his mother in 1529, shortly before his own death.

Later in 1501, he was ‘chief answerer’ at the marriage of Arthur, Prince of Wales and Catherine of Aragon and was presented with a diamond and ruby Tudor rose at a court tournament. But in 1508 he was sent to the Tower of London, and later a gaol in Calais, under suspicion of conspiracy against Henry VII. Although he was saved from execution in 1509 by the accession of King Henry VIII, Grey was attainted and lost his titles. However, later in 1509 he was pardoned and returned to court, and was summoned to parliament as Baron Ferrers of Groby. In 1511, he was summoned as Marquess of Dorset.

From 1509, Dorset was again an active courtier and took part with great distinction in many court tournaments, on one occasion in March 1524 nearly killing the king.

In 1511, Dorset sold land near Althorp, Northamptonshire, to John Spencer. The sale included the villages of Little Brington and Great Brington, as well their parish church of St Mary the Virgin.

In 1514, with Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, Dorset escorted Henry VII’s daughter Princess Mary to France for her wedding to King Louis XII.

Dorset owned land in sixteen English counties and was a justice of the peace for several of them. In 1516, during a rivalry in Leicestershire with George, Baron Hastings, and Sir Richard Sacheverell, Dorset unlawfully increased his retinue at court and was brought before the Star Chamber and the Court of King’s Bench. He was bound over for good behaviour. As part of this rivalry, he greatly enlarged his ancestral home at Bradgate, Leicestershire.

In 1520, at the Field of Cloth of Gold, Dorset carried the sword of state. In 1521, he met the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at Gravelines on the coast of France and escorted him on a visit to England. He helped with the entertainment of the court by maintaining a company of actors.

In 1521, Dorset sat in judgment on the Duke of Buckingham, despite being related to him by marriage. After his father’s death, Dorset’s mother had married a brother of the Duke. Henry VIII rewarded Dorset with three of Buckingham’s manors.

From 17 June 1523 until his death in 1530, Dorset was Justice in Eyre south of Trent. As such, he presided at the triennial Court of justice-seat, which dealt with matters of forest law.

In 1524, Dorset’s Leicestershire feud with Lord Hastings turned into a fight between hundreds of men, and Cardinal Wolsey took action. Both rivals had to put up a bond for good behaviour of one thousand pounds, and Dorset was sent to Wales as Lord Master of Princess Mary’s Council.

In 1528, Dorset became constable of Warwick Castle, and in 1529 of Kenilworth Castle.

In 1529, recalling his role as 'chief answerer’ at the marriage of Arthur, Prince of Wales, Dorset was a critical witness in favour of Henry VIII’s divorce of Catherine of Aragon. He strongly supported the King’s contention that Arthur and Catherine’s marriage had been consummated.

In 1530, in the final months of his life, he assisted the King in the condemnation of Cardinal Wolsey.

Soldier In 1512, Dorset led an unsuccessful English military expedition to France to reconquer Aquitaine, which England had lost during the Hundred Years’ War. Unhappily, Ferdinand of Aragon gave none of the support he had promised. While Ferdinand delayed and tried to persuade Dorset to help him to attack Navarre instead of Aquitaine, the English army’s food, beer, and pay ran out, many took to wine and became ill, and the army mutinied. Back in England, Dorset had to face a trial.

In 1513, he fought at the siege of Tournai and the Battle of Guinegate (also known as the Battle of the Spurs), and fought again in 1523 in the Scottish borders. These all gave him chances to make amends for the debacle of Aquitaine. To help Dorset in dealing with the Scots, he was appointed Lord Warden of the Marches, restored to the Privy Council, and became a gentleman of the chamber.

Family Grey was the son and heir of Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (c. 1456–1501), and his wife, Cecily Bonville, daughter and heiress of William Bonville, 6th Baron Harington of Aldingham and of Lady Katherine Neville (1442–1503) and granddaughter of Alice Neville, 5th Countess of Salisbury (1407–1462). Cecily Bonville’s maternal uncles included Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (called 'Warwick the Kingmaker’), John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu and George Neville, Archbishop of York and Chancellor of England, while her aunts had married Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick, William FitzAlan, 16th Earl of Arundel, Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, and John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford. Cecily Bonville succeeded her father as Baroness Harington in 1460, and two months later succeeded her great-grandfather William Bonville as Baron Bonville. After the death of her first husband, Cecily Bonville married her late husband’s first cousin Henry Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, the younger son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and of Catherine Woodville, Dorset’s aunt.

The younger Thomas Grey’s paternal grandparents were Queen Elizabeth Woodville (c. 1437–1492) and her first husband Sir John Grey of Groby (c. 1432-1461), son and heir of Elizabeth Ferrers, Lady Ferrers of Groby, so his father the first marquess was a stepson of King Edward IV and a half-brother of King Edward V. His grandfather Sir John Grey was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans (1461), fighting on the Lancastrian side. His grandmother Elizabeth Woodville was the eldest daughter of Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers, and Jacquetta of Luxembourg, widow of John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford. Following his grandmother’s marriage to Edward IV, members of her family gained advantages and made prosperous marriages. Elizabeth’s brother John Woodville, at the age of twenty, married Catherine Neville, dowager Duchess of Norfolk, then in her late sixties.

Through Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Dorset was descended from Eleanor of England (1215–1275), the daughter of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, and from several other European royal families.

Marriages and descendants Thomas Grey was contracted in 1483 to marry Anne St Leger (1476–1526), the daughter of Anne of York, Duchess of Exeter and her second husband Sir Thomas St Leger. Remarkably, Anne St Leger had been declared the heiress to the Exeter estates, but the marriage did not take place.

In the event, the young Thomas Grey’s first marriage was to Eleanor St John, a daughter of Oliver St John of Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire and of his wife Elizabeth Scrope, daughter of Henry le Scrope, 4th Lord Scrope of Bolton (1418–1459). Grey’s father-in-law Oliver St John (also known as Oliver of Ewell) was the son of Margaret Beauchamp (c. 1411-1482), the great-great-granddaughter of Roger Beauchamp, 1st Lord Beauchamp of Bletso, Keeper of Devizes Castle, and heiress to the Beauchamp estates. After the death of her first husband, another Oliver St John (died 1437), she married John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset (1404–1444), producing Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond. Eleanor St John was therefore the first cousin of Henry VII.

In 1509, Thomas Grey (now known as Lord Ferrers of Groby) married secondly Margaret Wotton (1487–1541), daughter of Sir Robert Wotton (c.1463–1524) of Boughton Malherbe, Kent, and the widow of William Medley. She had two notable brothers, Sir Edward Wotton (1489–1551), Treasurer of Calais, and Nicholas Wotton (c. 1497–1567), a diplomat who in 1539 arranged the marriage between Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves. With Margaret, the younger Thomas Grey had four sons and four daughters, including Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk (1517–1554). Their daughter Elizabeth married Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden and was the grandmother of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk. His second wife survived him and died in or after 1535.

His younger brother Leonard Grey, 1st Viscount Grane (c. 1479 - 1541) served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1536 to 1540.

Dorset’s son Henry succeeded him as Marquess of Dorset, married Lady Frances Brandon, a granddaughter of King Henry VII, and in 1551 (on the death of his brother-in-law Charles Brandon, 3rd Duke of Suffolk) become Duke of Suffolk, by way of a new creation. Dorset’s granddaughter Lady Jane Grey was the designated successor of King Edward VI by his will, and for nine days in July 1553 briefly sat on the throne of England. In 1554, together with Dorset’s other surviving sons, Lord John Grey and Lord Thomas Grey, Suffolk took part in Wyatt’s rebellion against Mary I’s marriage to Philip of Spain and in support of Lady Jane Grey. When this rebellion failed, all three were arrested, and Suffolk and his brother Thomas were executed, as were Lady Jane herself and her husband Lord Guilford Dudley. Lord John Grey survived, and in July 1603 his youngest son, Henry Grey, was restored to the House of Lords by King James I as Baron Grey of Groby.

Death Dorset died on 10 October 1530, and was buried in the collegiate church at Astley in Warwickshire. When he died he held estates in London and in sixteen counties, amounting to over one hundred manors, and was one of the richest men in England. His grave was opened in the early seventeenth century and measurement of his skeleton suggested a height of 5 feet 8 inches.

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