Well, while Norwich is indeed a wonderful old city to visit, especially for those who enjoy all things medieval, I really have to quibble about some of the statements in this link: https://www.visitnorwich.co.uk/article/20-fun-facts-about-norwich/ , specifically entry number 6, which touches on Richard III.
To start with—I mean…the Bishop of Bath & WALES???? Who he?
And as for Lady Eleanor Talbot (married name Butler) being a Norwich noblewoman. She was buried there. That’s all. See the plaque above. And the reason for that is because toward the end of her life she lived at Kenninghall, in the dower house called East Hall*, which belonged to her younger sister, Elizabeth, Duchess of Norfolk. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Talbot,_Duchess_of_Norfolk and https://corpus-christi-college.shorthandstories.com/eleanor-and-elizabeth-talbot/ Kenninghall is eighteen miles from Norwich, but it is in Norfolk. So “a Norwich noblewoman” she was not.
It isn’t known exactly when or where Eleanor was born, but John Ashdown-Hill believed the likelihood is at Blakemere (see the beautiful image above) near Whitchurch in Shropshire. All that remains now is the natural lake/mere/moat. Blakemere was the Talbots’ fortified manor house where Eleanor’s mother, the Countess of Shrewsbury (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Beauchamp,_Countess_of_Shrewsbury) had her household in the long absences of her warrior husband, Eleanor’s father John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Talbot,_1st_Earl_of_Shrewsbury) He’d been born at Blackmere and it was his favourite residence.* His main lands were in the Welsh Marches, on the opposite side of the realm from East Anglia!
So Eleanor was no more Norwich born and bred than Richard III was Leicester born and bred!
To read the full story of Lady Eleanor I recommend the excellent book below. I also recommend https://sparkypus.com/2024/09/28/lady-eleanor-butler-boteler-nee-talbot-the-secret-wife-of-edward-iv-catalyst-for-the-fall-of-the-house-of-york/. But if you want a potted biography, go here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Eleanor_Talbot. Poor Eleanor. Her dealings with Edward IV were to bring about the eventual fall of the House of York and rise of the awful House of Tudor. I have to wonder how she’d have felt about it. I mean, Edward IV did dump her, so was she a woman scorner? On the other hand, she never said a word against him so did she love him too much to want to harm him? We’ll never know. In my opinion he was a louse. I’ve never been able to find much to like about him.
*See Eleanor: The Secret Queen by John Ashdown-Hill, The History Press paperback edition 2010. Page 144 for Eleanor’s death at East Hall, and pags 18-19 for her likely birth at Blakemere. See p.41 for a description of Blakemere.
by viscountessw
Leave a Reply