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![the church at Fotheringhay](images/castlesandabbeys/img3a-lg.jpg)
There is No Place Like Home(s)
Here are some of the Castles and Abbeys associated with Richard III, beginning with his birth at Fotheringhay Castle and baptism at St. Mary's and All Saints Church. Some of these magnificent structures he called home, including Middleham and other places he had often visited.
Fotheringhay Castle
Richard III Plantagenet - was born at Fotheringhay, Northamptonshire, on 2 October 1452 and, it is said though not proven, lived there until 1459 when he moved to Ludlow while his father, Richard, Duke of York, made it his headquarters. In October, young Richard was captured together with his mother, brother George and sister Margaret, when the Lancastrians stormed the castle and town.
Shropshire. Headquarters of Richard Duke of York in 1459. The Duke moved his family there for several months until the Lancastrians attacked the town and castle, and several family members, including young Richard, were taken prisoner. The Yorkist leaders escaped. When Edward IV, the Duke of York's eldest son, was crowned king in 1461, Ludlow Castle became property of the crown. Edward sent his son, Edward, Prince of Wales, there in 1473 as head of the Council of the Welsh Marches where he lived until he was to be removed to the white tower in preparation for his coronation as Edward V in 1483, which never came to pass.
The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury, or more commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey, is set in the county of Gloucestershire. It is the second largest parish church in England and was a former Benedictine monastery in the 10th century. Buried here are members of the de Spencer, de Clare, and Beauchamp families (Read List Here), and Richard III's brother, George, Duke of Clarence, his wife, Isabelle Neville, older daughter of "the kingmaker," were buried in an underground vault behind the high altar. After the Battle of Tewksbury, many from the Lancastrian side took immediate sanctuary in Tewkesbury Abbey. King Edward IV, who had come to prayer in the abbey immediately after the battle, gave permission for Prince Edward, slain in battle, (son of Margaret of Anjou and Henry VI) to be buried within the Abbey.
Somerset and other leaders were dragged out of the Abbey and ordered by the Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Norfolk, Constable of England, to be put to death after trial. Among these were Hugh Courtenay, younger brother of the Earl of Devon, and Sir John Langstrother, the prior of the military order of St. John. Tewksbury Abbey had to be re-consecrated one month following the battle due to the enormous bloodshed within its grounds after Yorkist soldiers forced their way into the Abbey where the Lancastrians sought refuge and stormed through the sacred buildings, looting and vandalising as they could. Lancastrian soldiers in sanctuary were savagely slaughtered, their blood desecrating the sacred ground. A wooden door today remains in the Sacristy covered entirely with plates of armour stripped from Lancastrian casualties and prisoners. The armour is clearly viewable with perforations from gunshot or arrow. Somerset and his younger brother, John Beaufort, the latter who had fallen in the battle, were also buried at the Abbey. The House of Beaufort became, thus, extinct in the male line. Later, Edward the IV placed his Sunne in Splendour designation atop the vaulted ceiling (one portion is shown at left).
Kenilworth
This castle was once the home to John of Gaunt, son of Edward III, and became Crown property in the 15th century. Both Edward IV and Richard III spent on repairs to the ailing structure. Richard III stayed at Kenilworth in 1483 while some reconstructing was underway. Many American families descend from this line.
![Kenilworth](images/castlesandabbeys/img18-large.jpg)
![Barnard Castle](images/castlesandabbeys/img19-large.jpg)
Barnard Castle(upper right)
Barnard Castle became part of Richard III's inheritance through his wife, Anne Neville. The Castle first passed down through the Balliol family, including Scottish king, John Balliol, before belonging to Richard Neville, the "kingmaker" and Earl of Warwick. Richard III always took pride in the upkeep of his properties and after his death, Barnard Castle began it's decent to ruin for some time to come. The Church of St. Mary's was enlarged and made a Chantry by Richard in the 15th century. He also had collegiate plans for the Church.
Both Edward IV and Richard III had owned Tickenhall Palace, an inheritance from the Mortimer family, which later fell into Tudor hands and ruin. In 1483, Richard had the Bewdley stone Bridge rebuilt. Because of the loyalty to Richard, Duke of Gloucester, at the battle of Tewksbury in 1471, Edward presented the town with a charter and it's own Coat of Arms.
Still a magnificent structure,Cardiff Castle was an inheritance of Richard III through his wife, Anne Neville. The castle was once home to Richard's grandfather, Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, who built the "octagon tower and hall block." During the 1404 rebellion of Owain Glyndwr, the stone church of St. John the Baptist was destroyed and then "reconstructed in the second half of the same century creating the fine perpendicular nave and tower which are such prominent features of the city today." When Richard III became king, he made Sir James Tyrell Constable of Cardiff Castle. Tyrell is one suspected of killing the two princes as Richard's behest. Though it is said Tyrell had confessed prior to his execution, there is no proof or record of such a confession.
Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, founded a chantry chapel in Warwickshire in 1423, making the necessary provisions for two priests whose given mission was serving daily Mass for the souls of the Beauchamp family and Richard Beauchamp after his death in 1439. St Mary Magdalene Chapel, Warwickshire
John Rous was chantry priest in 1445. Rous produced a history of the Earls of Warwick, known also as the Rous Roll. This work included "drawings of Richard III, his Queen Anne Neville, their son Prince Edward, and glowing references to Richard and his reign." Unfortunately, with Henry VII now on the throne, "Rous revised his Roll, removing the pictures of Richard and his family and the glowing description. He replaced it with the first defamatory description of Richard, and the legend of the evil Richard III was born." It is a known fact that Rous did this because one copy existant before 1485 remains as proof. Thus, it appears to have been John Rous, Chantry priest of St. Mary Magdalene, who cast the initial dark shadow over Richard III, and from there the young king's name, in death, endured relentless malignment. It was in this chapel that Piers Gaveston, a favorite of Edward II, sought shelter and was captured prior to his execution. Today, a Masonic Lodge cares for the chapel which is now used as a Masonic Temple.
Bishop's Lynn (King's Lynn)
After 1537 the village became known as "King's Lynn." It was here that both Edward IV and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, stayed in June of 1470 while on journey from Walsingham to Fotheringhay. Previously, on 2 October 1469 (Richard's 18th birthday) as Edward was making his way south to face Warwick, word came that Warwick's brother, John, Marquess of Montagu, who up until this time had remained loyal to the king, defected the army in the North. Edward, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and a few other loyal supporters, fled from Bishop's Lynn on a ship for Flanders, Burgundy.
The beautiful west and north windows of the Great Malvern Priory, with all it's Saints and Archbishops depicted in stained glass, were a gift of Richard, Duke of Gloucester and Lord of Malvern Chase, and his wife, Anne Neville and the north window a gift of King Richard III and his Queen, Anne Neville. The windows are no longer original, having weathered over time and replaced with new sections.
Minster Lovell Hall
was built ca. 1440 by William Lovell, grandfather of Sir Francis Lovell, and presently belongs to Eton College. Sir Francis Lovell was a dear friend of Richard III and was a member of the king's council. As king, Richard visited (old) Minster Lovell Hall as a guest of Sir Francis, 1st Viscount Lovell. After Richard's death at Bosworth, Francis' Lovell's estates, including the main residence of Minster Lovell Hall, were declared forfeited by Henry VII and, thereafter, granted to the new king's uncle, Jasper Tudor.
Sheriff Hutton
An original motte and bailey castle, the remains of which can be seen to the south of the churchyard, was built here in the Forest of Galtres by Bertram de Bulmer, Sheriff of York, during the reign of King Stephen (c. 1135-1154). It became the possession of the Neville family and remained so until the death of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick ("the kingmaker") in 1471, (at the Battle of Barnet) at which time his lands were passed on to Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Richard frequented the castle during his tenure as Lord of the North, and in 1484, he established a royal household for the young Edward, Earl of Warwick, son of George, Duke of Clarence, and John, Earl of Lincoln, along with George's daughters and the daughters of Edward, including Elizabeth of York. In July of that year, Richard established the Council of the North, it's chief headquarters at Sheriff Hutton and Sandal Castle. The Council of the North lasted for a century and a half. As with many of Richard's inherent properties did after his death, Sheriff Hutton would eventually fell into ruin though portions of it still stand today.
Devastated by the loss of their eleven-year old son, it was thought that Richard and Anne had entombed Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales, at St. Helen and The Holy Cross Church at Sheriff Hutton, however, the Tomb of Edward of Middleham has been found to be empty. Some historians believe that the Prince of Wales was not buried there at all, and that the time-weathered tomb actually belonged to the Neville family whose Coat of Arms were upon it. To this day it is unknown how Edward died on 9 April 1484. He was ten years old. Sadly, within one year's time, the immediate family of King Richard III Plantagenet would be dead. Anne followed her son to the grave, followed by Richard who was killed at the Battle of Bosworth on August 22, 1485.
A plaque outside the Church of St. Mary and St. Alkelda in Middleham (ca. 1280) reads:"Near this pillar, on the spot indicated by tradition, were found, during the work of restoration, the remains of St. Alkelda, patron saint of this church, Anno Domini 1878. F. Barker, rector; T. E. Swale and S. Croft, churchwardens." It may well be that young Edward of Middleham, the only heir of Richard III recently deceased, is buried at St. Mary and St. Alkelda Church for according to a notice in the Croyland Chronicle, "this only son of his? was seized with an illness of but short duration, and died at Middleham Castle, in the year of our Lord, 1484, being the first of the reign of the said King Richard. On hearing the news of this, at Nottingham, where they were then residing, you might have seen his father and mother in a state almost bordering on madness, by reason of their sudden grief." The King and Queen headed to Middleham from Nottingham, with no reports of them heading to Sheriff Hutton as believed. Richard "established a College of Secular Canons here in 1478 and, as a Royal peculiar outside normal ecclesiastical jurisdiction, it miraculously survived the Reformation. A Dean and Canons, amongst them the author, Charles Kingsley, were appointed right up until 1845 when a special Act of Parliament had to be passed to abolish the college. ...King Richard and his family have a memorial window in the South Aisle and his pennant is flown from the tower on significant dates..." (Brittania.com)
Penrith Castle
was started by Ralph Neville in the 14th Century to defend against Scottish raids, the castle passed down to Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick and when he died at the Battle of Barnet, Penrith became property of the crown; namely, Edward IV, who extended it down to his brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who made it into a luxurious royal residence. Richard, also titled Sheriff of Cumberland, stayed at the castle in 1471 and again in 1485. In the early 15th century Richard gave Penrith, and the town, to Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland who bolstered up the defences and began refacing the castle buildings with stone. Part of Neville's duties as Warden of the West March was to keep the border with Scotland safe. Also in Cumbria, north, dwelled the Barons Dacre, good friends of Richard III who remained loyal to the crown, including at the Battle of Bosworth.
Crowland's Trinity Bridge is an ancient, "three-way stone arch bridge that stands at the heart of Crowland, Lincolnshire, England." Originally, the bridge "spanned the confluence of the River Welland and a tributary," however, the rivers have since been re-directed and the bridge stands today on a busy Crowland street. The bridge is said to date back to the 14th century and once a portion of it lead the way to Croyland Abbey, the very bridge Richard III would have taken en route to the abbey. The amazing thing about the bridge, for me, aside from it's ancient splendor, is the fact that I saw this bridge...in a vision...complete with stone structure...as it related to Richard III. I had never heard of Crowland before the vision appeared, together with the initial "C." I had to ask folks who live in England if there was such a bridge, and, so, here it is along with the story!