siege of Berwick

The Battle of Largs

Oct 2, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, sources

Alexander II, Alexander III, Alexander of Dundonald, Battle of Largs, Chronicle of Melrose, Clan McDonald, Dal Riata, dowries, Duke of Rothesay, England, Eric II, Gaelic kingdoms, Haakon IV, Hakonar saga Hakonarsona, Hebrides, Henry III, High Steward, House of Dunkeld, Iceland, Ireland, James III, Kirkwall, Lords of the Isles, Malcolm III, McWilliams, North Sea, Norway, Orkneys, Richard III, Scotland, Scottish campaign 1482, Shetlands, siege of Berwick, Sigrid the Haughty, Stewarts

During the first quarter of the second millennium, Scotland did not have a clear northern or western border. There was the North Sea to the east and England to the south, where the exact line varied on occasion, but the status of the west coast was far more nebulous. There was a Gaelic kingdom of…
Sir Ralph Assheton. (The ‘Black Knight of Ashton’) Vice-Constable of England.

Jul 9, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, law, religion, sources

Ashton Hall, Battle of Bosworth, Black Knight, Clayton Hall, Coronation, Edward IV, English Civil War, Etihad Stadium, Flodden, funeral brass, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VI, Isabel Kirby, Jane Saville, Knight Marshal, knights banneret, Lieutenant of the Tower, Lord Byron, Margery Barton, Mary Byron, Middleton, Middleton Archers, Middleton Church, mothers, MPs, Ralph Holinshed, Richard III, Sheriff of Yorkshire, siege of Berwick, Sir Ralph Assheton, trams, Vice-Constable

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…
Sir Thomas Pilkington

Mar 2, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, heraldry, religion

Alexander de Pilkington, arms, attainder, Bishops of Durham, Bosworth, Bury, Bury castle, Edward IV, Henry VII, Lancashire towns, Lord Mayors of London, Oldham, pardons, Pilkington glass, pub signs, Richard III, Scotland, siege of Berwick, Sir Thomas Pilkington, Stand Old Hall, Stanleys, Stoke Field, The man and Scythe, Thomas Stanley

Sir Thomas Pilkington, of Pilkington, Bury and various other places, led his tenants and retainers to Bosworth to fight for Richard III. Whether they got there in time is not 100% clear but Sir Thomas was attainted and lost his Lancashire lands. You’ll never guess which family received them. Yes, those caring, sharing Stanleys, in…
KEY TO THE CASTLE: LUMLEY CASTLE AND ITS OWNERS

Jan 7, 2019

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy

Bamburgh Castle, Edward IV, Epiphany Rising, executions, George Lumley, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VII, hotels, John Earl of Somerset, John Lumley, Lumley Castle, Margaret “Tudor”, Pilgrimage of Grace, Richard III, Scottish campaign 1482, siege of Berwick, sieges, Sir Ralph Lumley, Thomas Lumley, Wars of the Roses

Recently it hit the news that the key to Lumley Castle’s ancient banqueting hall had been returned after it was stolen during an event 40 years ago. Lumley Castle is currently a hotel (so another one to add to the list of interesting castles you can stay in!) and the family who lived there had…
More Royal marital irregularity

Aug 14, 2016

genealogy, law

anniversaries, Avignon popes, Blackfriars, David Duke of Rothesay, david II, dispensations, Edward III, Edward IV, Elizabeth Mure, Euphemia Ross, executions, Falkland Palace, Guardian of Scotland, Henry V, Henry VII, House of Stewart, James I, James II, James IV, Jean Stewart, Joan “Beaufort”, Joan of the Tower, Legitimacy, Margaret “Tudor”, Margaret Drummond, mediaeval canon law, Murdoch Duke of Albany, Neville’s Cross, Paisley Abbey, Perth, Queen Mother, Robert Duke of Albany, Robert II, Robert III, royal marriages, Scotland, siege of Berwick, Sir John Lyon, torture, Tower of London, Treaty of Berwick, Walter Earl of Atholl

Edward IV was not the only British late mediaeval king to play fast and loose with canon law. The other case dates from a century and a quarter before 8 June 1461 and had consequences for that king’s heirs; in particular his grandson: Today in 1337, a first son, John, was born to Sir Robert…
England versus Scotland, mediaeval style (did Richard encounter any of this sort of thing?)….

Aug 3, 2016

battles, buildings

Edinburgh, jousting, Richard III, Scotland, siege of Berwick

Throughout history, relations between England and Scotland have been somewhat rocky, and this was evident in the ‘noble’ sport of jousting. They had countless very strict rules, and chivalry was supposedly uppermost in every knightly mind, but it all went by the board when the armour was on and the lists awaited. And in pavilions…
Richard of Gloucester as Lord of the North and the siege of Berwick 1482

Sep 5, 2015

battles

Anne Neville, Arthur “Tudor”, Bamburgh, Berwick, borders, Brough, Brougham, Carlisle, Cecilia, Cecily Duchess of York, Coldingham, Council of the North, Croyland, Cumberland, Duke of Albany, Duke of Angus, Earl of Northumberland, Edward IV, George Duke of Clarence, George Neville, Hadrian’s Wall, Henry VII, James III, James IV, Joan “Beaufort”, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Lord of the North, Middleham, Paston Letters, Penrith Castle, Ralph Neville, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, Roxburgh, Scotland, Scottish Marches, Sheriff Hutton, siege of Berwick, Sixtus IV, Thomas Lord Stanley

Originally posted on Giaconda's Blog: Having recently visited some of Richard’s holdings in the north of England such as Penrith Castle which he was given after the death of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick in 1471, I wanted to write a short piece about his role as Lord Warden of the West Marches and Sheriff…