The New Murrey and Blue blog

There is some confusion about the parentage of Sir Ralph Assheton. At least, various internet sources give him alternative mothers.

His father was Sir John Assheton of Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire. The family’s main residence was Ashton Hall, although this building was sadly destroyed in the 1890s to make way for a coal yard. The medieval parish church still exists, however, and if you can gain access it has some 15th-century glass put in by the family.

Sir John’s first wife was either Isabel Kirkby or Jane Savile. Sources differ and at this stage, I have not been able to make a firm determination. Their eldest son was Thomas, sometimes called ‘the Alchemist’ as he was licensed by Henry VI to try to turn base metal into gold.

Sir John’s second wife was Mary (or Margaret, you choose) Byron (most sources agree) the daughter of Sir John Byron of Clayton Hall. Anyone who in 2023 travels by tram from Manchester to Ashton will pass this hall along the way, not far from the Etihad Stadium. Of course, there were no trams back then, but the ride between the two locations would not have been arduous. In case anyone is wondering, this Byron family was the same one that later moved to Nottinghamshire and produced the poet, Lord Byron.

Mary was very much her husband’s junior, as can be seen by the gap in birthdates between the aforementioned Alchemist (about 1389) and Ralph (about 1425.) Ralph will not have had any conscious memory of his father, as the latter died in 1426.

Ralph eventually found his way into the household of Henry VI, being described as a ‘page of honour’. His father and grandfather had been good servants of the House of Lancaster and his nephew (another Sir John) was knighted by Henry VI before the Battle of Northampton.

As a younger son, Ralph needed an heiress, and at some point, before 1450 he prudently married Margery Barton, who inherited Middleton, this founding the family cadet branch, Assheton of Middleton.

Nevertheless, local legend links Ralph to Ashton. He is said to have inflicted harsh penalties on the local tenants for the crime of allowing certain weeds to grow on their land. It is in this connection that he is remembered as the ‘Black Knight of Ashton.’ Whether the legend has any substance behind it is impossible to say. It is possible that Ralph acted as the family ‘enforcer’, but it is equally possible it’s just a legend.

At various times under Edward IV he was Sheriff of Yorkshire, Knight Marshal and Lieutenant of the Tower. Clearly, he had become a trusted officer of King Edward, and if he was indeed pestering tenants about weeds back in Ashton it must have been in his spare time.

At the siege of Berwick, in 1482, under Richard, Duke of Gloucester, he was promoted to the rank of Knight Banneret. (Not to be confused with being a Baronet, a title not introduced until the 17th Century.)

If Holinshead is to be believed, he was one of the knights who rode in procession to Richard III’s coronation. Later he was made Vice-Constable and had the pleasure of sentencing Buckingham to death while acting in that role.

Ralph survived the Battle of Bosworth. The date of his death is not clear, but 5 April 1486 is claimed. Legend has it he was murdered.

A useful article about him and his family. His grandson led the Middleton Archers at Flodden, and a commemorative window survives in Middleton Church. A later descendant, also Ralph, was a Civil War General and MP. He has a brass in Middleton Church showing him in armour.

Another relevant article is here.