The transfer of the Neville Inheritance into the estates of Richard Duke of Gloucester was not a foregone conclusion. Following the death of Richard Neville 16th Earl of Warwick in the Battle of Barnet, his estates were subject to various claims which resulted in years of legal wrangling, Acts of Parliament, and perceptions of a willingness by senior magnates to wage war over the lordship and other lands.
Richard Duke of Gloucester granted Neville Estates by Act of Parliament
In simple terms, Neville properties were granted to Richard duke of Gloucester by right of his wife, Anne Neville, via Acts of Parliament of 1474 and 1475. Similarly, some parts of the estates were determined to be held by George Duke of Clarence by right of his wife, Isabel Neville.
A Politicised Inheritance
In reality, the ‘inheritance’ was a political solution to a complex scenario which had implications for the Royal Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester, along with the Prince-Bishop of Durham, and the Dowager Countess of Warwick. Securing the ‘inheritance’ saw arguments, seizures of land, control and – in some accounts – abduction of Countesses, along with contemporary suggestions of preparations for warfare over the matter.
Anne Beauchamp Countess of Warwick and the Neville Inheritance
The late Earl of Warwick’s wife, Anne (Beauchamp) Countess of Warwick was very much alive. This presents two obstacles to inheritance.
Firstly, some estates such as those of the Barony of Barnard Castle had been inherited by the Countess herself, from her infant niece, the only child of her brother the Duke of Warwick. They were part of the Beauchamp inheritance, not the Neville inheritance. These estates and titles were hers by right and the titles and estates were only held by her husband ‘by right’ of his marriage to her. Typically, the death of a husband who held lands by right of his spouse resulted in those estates being retained by the wife, as they were hers in the first place.
Dower rights
Secondly, in normal circumstances a widowed lady would be entitled to retain a Dower proportion of estates held by her husband for the remainder of her lifetime. So, even the lands that had been held by the Earl of Warwick through his own inheritances, or grants from the Crown, would ordinarily be subject to the widowed Dowager Countess retaining a third share for her lifetime. This aspect of the Neville – Beauchamp inheritance was not settled in the normal way. Indeed, Countess Anne’s claims to her lands, Dower or otherwise, were still being heard during the reign of King Henry VII, far from the matter being resolved and accepted upon the death of her husband.
An uninheritable inheritance?
As noted above, some parts of the estates managed by the Earl of Warwick had entered Neville hands via the marriage of Richard Neville to Anne Beauchamp. It had been her inheritance, not her husbands. Therefore under normal circumstances, the Beauchamp estates would not be available for anybody to inherit until the Countesses own death. Put simply, you cannot execute the will of a living person. For large parts of the Neville – Beauchamp estates, there was quite simply no grounds for inheritance whatsoever in 1471.
Anne Neville’s ‘right’ to the Neville inheritance
At the time of the death of the Earl of Warwick his daughter Anne Neville was married to Edward of Westminster, son and heir to King Henry VI. Anne did later marry the Duke of Gloucester but at the moment of her father’s demise in battle she was married into the Lancastrian Royal Family. As such any immediate ‘inheritance’ would not, in 1471, have brought about Richard Duke of Gloucester having any rights to anything that she inherited from her father.
Rights of George Duke of Bedford to Neville Titles
Furthermore, in the 15th century inheritance of titles and associated estates was, in general, done through the male line. This practice of male based inheritance meant that for titles and spheres of influence such as those of the powerful Earl of Warwick, they would almost always be inherited by the next male in line, notwithstanding the Dower estates and rights. In the case of the Earl of Warwick, he had no sons. His male heir would therefore be his younger brother, John Neville the Marquess of Montagu. However, John Neville also died fighing in the Battle of Barnet. In turn, John’s son, George Duke of Bedford, would, under normal circumstances, have right of inheritance to both his father and uncles titles. Not, however, those held by Richard Neville by right of his wife.
Neville Inheritance under ‘normal’ circumstances
Only in the case of there being no clear male heir to an estate or title would lands be inherited in entirity by a daughter of the deceased. In short, Anne Neville [or her sister, Isabel] would not ordinarily be expected to inherit the Neville estates in their entirity in 1471. The Dowager Countess of Warwick, Anne Beauchamp, lived until 1492. She outlived both of her daughters and both of their husbands. Therefore under normal rules of inheritance there was no legitimacy to most claims of inheritance in the 1470’s.
Power and Politics: Inheriting from a Traitor
This was the estate of Richard Neville Earl of Warwick. One of the most senior and wealthiest men in England. And, he had just died fighting against the Yorkists in the Battle of Barnet. A matter further complicated by the defeat of the Lancastrian army at Tewkesbury shortly after his own death on the battlefield. It left the Yorkist regime with a number of wealthy and influential ‘traitors’ whose estates and titles could be redistributed. It opened up a range of possible political solutions to the King, ranging from attainders for the fallen Earl and his brother, to simple redistribution of lands without posthumous condemnation through Parliament. Or, the dower and estates could be honoured in the traditional manner as neither the Countess of Warwick nor her nephew, George Duke of Bedford, had taken up arms against the Yorkist Crown.
How did Richard duke of Gloucester ‘acquire’ large parts of the Neville Inheritance?
As shown above, the lands and titles previously held by the Earl of Warwick were not simply inherited under any form of ordinary practice for common or noble families of the mid to late 15th century. Ultimately, the acquisition came from two Acts of Parliament, of 1474 and 1475. These Acts of Parliament did work along the lines of an inheritance by right of the female heir. In doing so, the Crown had treated the Countess of Warwick, still alive, as though she were deceased. And had further ignored the normal line of male based inheritance at the expense of George Duke of Bedford. The case of George Duke of Bedford then saw his title being revoked, in 1478, due to his lack of income: which was a result of expected inheritances being passed to others.
Desires of the Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester
The matter of the Neville/ Beauchamp inheritance had, in real terms, become one based upon the claims and desires of the King’s brothers, the Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester. George Duke of Clarence had claimed the Neville lands by inheritance after the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury. This was done by right of his wife, Isabel Neville, daughter of the deceased Earl of Warwick. The Duke of Gloucester, in the meantime, stated his wish to marry Anne Neville, now a widow. This was complicated as it required Papal Dispensation on two (possibly more) grounds [see this detailed look at the permissions required, and at works by Professor Michael Hicks for a slightly different and contradictory view].
An ‘inheritance’ worth fighting for?
There is some contemporary evidence that suggests that the brothers, George Duke of Clarence and Richard Duke of Gloucester, were preparing to fight for control of lands previously held by Richard Neville (either in his own right, or by right of his wife).
seyd for serteyn that þe Duke of Claraunce makyth hym bygge in that he kan, schewyng as he wolde but dele wyth the Duke of Glowcester. Butt the Kyng ententyth in eschyewyng all jnconvenyentys to be as bygge as they bothe, and to be a styffelere atwyen them. And som men thynke þat vndre thys ther sholde be som other thynge entendyd and som treason conspyred, so what shall falle can I nott seye. item, it is seyde þat yisterdaye ij passagerys off Dovre were takyn.
Letter to John Paston III dated 6 November 1473
“Paston letters and papers of the fifteenth century, Part I.” In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/Paston. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections.
Whilst the above hints at the Duke of Clarence being the instigator of any preparations for conflict, it was also noted elsewhere that the Duke of Gloucester was ‘constantly preparing for war’ with his brother:
On the other hand, that the Duke of Lancaster [translation error, it is Gloucester] who by force had taken to wife the daughter of the late Earl of Warwick, who had been married to the Prince of Wales, was constantly preparing for war with the Duke of Clarence. The latter, because his brother, King Edward, had promised him Warwick’s country, did not want the former to have it, by reason of his marriage with the earl’s second daughter.
Sault, the 7th February, 1474.‘Milan: 1474’, in Calendar of State Papers and Manuscripts in the Archives and Collections of Milan 1385-1618, ed. Allen B Hinds (London, 1912), British History Online
Dilemma for King Edward IV
The younger brothers of King Edward IV created a political dilemma for the Crown. Both had grounds to expect rewarding for their part in restoring Edward to the throne. The Duke of Clarence had married Isabel Neville prior to the readeption and had a clear link to Neville estates as a result. This would reward him and offer an element of continuity for the estates.
However, the Duke of Gloucester had remained at his brothers side throughout the turmoil of 1469-71. Richard had bonds with the northern estates, having spent part of his childhood at Middleham Castle. Through his marriage to Anne Neville he also had a ‘by right of’ claim.
With both of the Kings brothers seemingly willing to force the issue, Edward IV was faced with not only needing to reward them for their respective roles in his restoration but also to keep the peace between them. The solution, as the King began to concentrate on his plans for a campaign in France, was to split the Neville/Beauchamp lands between his siblings. Roughly speaking this saw the northern Neville lands go to Richard, and the Beauchamp lands to George. This was justified on the basis of the Dukes marriages to Neville heiresses, despite the issues noted above that complicated any such ‘right’ to inherit at that time.
Further…
There are claims that in his pursuit of the Neville inheritance that Richard Duke of Gloucester abducted the Countess of Warwick and effectively forced her to grant him her northern lands. A similar scenario was also the case with regards the Countess of Oxford [whose husband was alive but in exile]. This matter will be explored in a separate article.
Neville Inheritance: Context
The Estates of the Earl of Warwick had been acquired through inheritances that were disputed. On his part, there had been a Neville – Neville feud over the inheritance of estates held by his grandfather. On the part of the Beauchamp estates these had been disputed in 1449 and were subject to a series of agreements as to future inheritance. These rights, set out in legal agreements and by the Crown, were also overlooked to a large extent in the 1470’s.
See: Three Unusual Features of Richard Neville’s Succession to the Earldoms of Warwick in 1449-50
Links
Hicks, M. What might have been: George Neville, Duke of Bedford 1465-83 — his identity and significance [pdf file]