The New Murrey and Blue blog

An interesting article about Ewelme and its church, where Alice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk, has an exceptional tomb.

Ewelme was part of the inheritance of Matilda Burghersh. As mentioned in the earlier M&B article, Matilda’s marriage was quite literally sold to John of Gaunt by her relative and guardian, Lady Mohun. This was only possible because Matilda was a substantial heiress who inherited a chunk (but by no means the whole) of the Burghersh patrimony.

Gaunt used the marriage for the benefit of his client, and, from 1396, his nephew by marriage, Thomas Chaucer. Chaucer (abt. 1367-1434) was, of course, the son of the famous poet, Geoffrey, and his wife, Philippa Roet, who was in turn sister of Katherine Roet-Swynford, Gaunt’s long-term mistress and eventually his third wife.

Some people have suspected that Thomas was in fact Gaunt’s son. This is extremely unlikely. As Judy Perry has cogently argued, no mention of an intimate relationship with Philippa was mentioned in the dispensation granted to allow Gaunt to marry her sister. Such an omission would have made the entire dispensation invalid had there indeed been such a relationship. That Gaunt would go to such extreme lengths to make a valid marriage with Katherine, only to ignore a glaring example of affinity seems inconceivable.

While this arranged marriage to an heiress at Gaunt’s expense looks like straightforward nepotism, it must be acknowledged that Thomas Chaucer was a man of very considerable talent as well as a faithful supporter of the Lancastrian family. As far back as 1386 he can be found taking part in Gaunt’s expedition to Castile. This adventure was no picnic, and there were many casualties, albeit mostly from disease rather than battle.

Full details of Chaucer’s career can be found in an excellent article in The History of Parliament. For the purpose of this post, it is sufficient to say that he was a distinguished man in his own right and certainly no mere cipher.

Thomas and Matilda used Ewelme as their principal home. They had one surviving child, Alice, (abt 1404-1475) who became their heiress. Alice married:

(1.) Sir John Phelip (c. 1380 – 2 October 1415). A marriage that, due to her age, was certainly never consummated.

(2.) Thomas Montagu, 4th Earl of Salisbury (1388–1428). They had no surviving children and Montagu’s heir was his daughter, also Alice, born to his first wife.

(3.) William de la Pole (1396–1450). He was Earl of Suffolk when they married, later Marquess, and eventually Duke of Suffolk. He and Alice had one surviving son, John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, who was to marry the sister of Edward IV and Richard III, Elizabeth of York.

William and Alice had other homes, including Wingfield Castle in Suffolk, but they remained attached to Ewelme. Their manor house is long gone, replaced by an 18th-century building. However, the church remains and contains Alice’s spectacular tomb. William was buried in Hull, but it is not that remarkable for a widow to choose to be buried away from her husband. There are several other examples in this era. In this case, it is likely that Alice felt a strong attachment to a family home she had known all her life.

What is remarkable is that William and Alice founded almshouses and a school in Ewelme, both of which survive and still perform their original functions. The school is said to be the oldest maintained school (that is to say, publicly-funded, not private,) in England. I certainly cannot think of another candidate even approaching its seniority. These two foundations are a splendid memorial to the de la Pole family. What’s more, Hull Charterhouse, another de la Pole foundation, also still survives.