The New Murrey and Blue blog

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri @ sparkypus.com

Gleaston Castle today.  Entrance to south west tower.  Photo Chloe Grainger @castlestudiestrust.org

Some of you reading this may be familiar with other posts I have written concerning what I call the Coldridge theory.   For those of you who are not familiar with the theory here is a brief résumé.  A number of clues in Coldridge church, Devon have led to a theory that Edward V was sent to Coldridge by Richard III to live incognito as John Evans where he was in time given the position of Parker.   An important  point here is that Coldridge was owned by Thomas Grey, Marquess of Dorset – Edward’s half brother. Another lead is that Richard sent one of his loyal followers, Robert Markynfield  from Yorkshire to Coldridge on 3rd March  1484  which was two days after Edward’s mother, Elizabeth Woodville/Wydeville,  left sanctuary at Westminster after making her peace with Richard III:  Robert Markyngfeld/the keping of the park of Holrig in Devonshire during the kinges pleasure…(1).   It was at this point that Elizabeth wrote to Thomas, who was then in France with Henry Tudor, telling him to return home …. all was well and that King Richard would treat him well.  It was around this time Coldridge, which had been at that time removed from Thomas but would be returned to him when Henry Tudor took the throne,  was granted by Richard to one of the most powerful men in Cornwall Sir Henry Bodrugan (2).  Following Richard’s death at Bosworth 1485 and around the time news of the so called Simnel Rebellion (early 1487) was breaking, Henry Tudor would send one of his loyal followers,  Sir Richard Edgecombe,  to Cornwall to arrest Bodrugan and his son John Beaumont,  after accusations were made that they had  ‘withdrawn themselves into private places in the counties of Devon and Cornwall and stir up sedition’ (3).  Bodrugan made his escape and then rocked up in Dublin where he was a participant in the coronation of the youth who was crowned as King Edward (14th May 1487).   Only later in Lincoln’s Attainder, November 1487,  would the Tudor regime produce a younger boy of about 10 years old who they named –  possibly after a cake? –   Lambert Simnel – who was clearly a fake.  However some historians even today seem unable to grasp this despite historian A F Pollard clearly stating that ‘No serious historian has doubted that Lambert Simnel was an imposter’.   Bodrugan had been  joined in Dublin by the Yorkist leaders Lovell and Lincoln and following the coronation the latter two left Ireland and arrived – with an army obvs –  in Lancashire accompanied by the newly crowned king Edward.  Their journey took them to East Stoke, Lincolnshire where the matter was concluded at the battle known as Stoke Field fought on the 16th June 1487.

The choir Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.  Here the Yorkist rebels including  Sir Henry Bodrugan and his son John Beaumont attended the coronation of the ‘Dublin King’.  Photo with thanks to Diliff @ Flikr.

Following the rebels defeat at Stoke and the deaths of the leaders, the young king Edward, so recently crowned in Dublin, was discovered:    ‘And there was taken the lade that his rebelles called King Edwarde, whoos name was in dede *John*, by a vaylent and a gentil esquire of the kings howse called Robert Bellingham’ (4).   Well I never!  Jean Molinet further reported that King Edward was taken and made prisoner in the town of Newark but after that what become of King Edward/John (Evans) has been carefully blotted out from history (5).   However If the Coldridge theory is correct Edward/John Evans, possibly wounded,  was returned there to live out the remainder of his life incognito.  This Coldridge theory is littered with links and numerous coincidences similar to  a jigsaw puzzle with new pieces being discovered and slotted into place regularly and I have now come across yet another possible link which could add weight to the theory that Thomas Grey Marquess of Dorset, half brother to the young Edward V/John Evans, was an important and vital cog in the wheel of this mystery allowing his properties to be utilised in firstly providing a sanctuary, Coldridge,  for his young half brother and then a rendezvous point, Gleaston Castle,  for the rebels in 1487.

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