THOMAS DE BROTHERTON (1300‑1338) Duke of Norfolk
Thomas De Brotherton was the seventeenth child
of King Edward 1st., but the first child by Edward's second wife, Margaret of
France. Edward was white haired and sixty years old when he married Margaret.
She herself was only seventeen.
Thomas' mother was the daughter of Philip the
Hardy, and sister of Philip IV (The
Fair) of France. His father's first wife Eleanor of Castile had died some eight
years earlier in 1291. In the
same year Thomas' paternal grandmother, Eleanor of Provence had also died.
(Wife of Henry III ) At the time of Thomas' birth in 1300, his mother was 18
years old, his father 65, and he had
two older brothers still living, and three elder sisters. His mother had
one younger son, Edmond of Woodstock, Earl of Kent (executed in 1330),and a younger daughter, Eleanor. (who died in
1311). His elder brothers and sisters
were, in order of birth‑
John Bottetourt,(died 1324); Eleanor, who had
died in 1298, and had married firstly Alphonso King of Aragon, and who had died
in 1291, and secondly Henry, count of Bar, and who died in 1302; Joan, who
died much earlier in 1265; John
who had died
in 1272; Henry, who had died in 1274; another sister who died young;
Joan of Acre, who died when he was
seven, in 1307, and who had two marriages and eight children, some of great importance, and who will be mentioned later; Alphonso, had died
1284, ?Earl of Chester; Margaret,
died 1313, who married John
Duke of Brabant; Berengaria, had died 1279; Mary, a
nun, who died much later,
in 1332; Alice, who had died in 1291, the same year as her mother; Elizabeth, died 1316 when Thomas
was 16, and who had married
firstly John Count of Holland, died 1299, and secondly Humphrey De Bohun, Earl
of Essex, died 1321; next
was Edward of Caernarvon (born there in 1284), and who was to become
Edward II in 1307 ‑more of him later; two further children were born
before Thomas, both died young, and were Beatrice; and Blanche.
His
younger brother was as stated, Edmond; and his younger sister, Eleanor. Thomas was named after Thomas De Corbridge, Archbishop
of York, who christened him.
In the year of Thomas' birth, his father and
his brother Edward went to fight in
Scotland against William Wallace, and stayed on their way
north at the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds,
leaving on May 18th. Edward his brother was accompanied throughout by Piers
Gaveston (with whom he fell in love), and who married his niece Margaret, third child of Joan of Acre. Edward was created Prince
of Wales by his father on their
return, 7th. Feb. 1301.
There is a letter*3 in the close rolls, dated
10th. June 1300, that was sent from
Brotherton in Yorkshire, by Edward I, to Richard De Bingham and Robert
Jorz, regarding 1500
footmen to be brought to Carlisle
from Nottingham.
The existence of this letter is evidence that
the Royal entourage was at that time
camped at Brotherton, and so Thomas was thus named "De Brotherton",
Thomas being born there.
In 1303 and 1304 they were again fighting in
Scotland, and in 1305 they fell out,
either over Gaveston or ostensibly over the Bishop of Coventry's deer, and
Edward was deprived of all income by
his father. This must have surely placed Thomas into a place of higher favour, even allowing for the fact
that he was at that time the
second in line to the throne. Thomas however was so much younger than his brother who became
King when his father died on their way to the battle against the Scottish
lords.
Edward
on his accession created Gaveston Duke of Cornwall, most
inappropriately. Whereas the title of Duke of Norfolk reverted to the crown on
the death of Roger Bigot, and was granted to Thomas on 16th.December 1312,
when he was 12 years old.
A year later he obtained a grant for an annual
fair at Framlingham on Monday,
Tuesday,
and Wednesday at Whitsun.
When
Edward had gone to France in 1308 to be
married, he had appointed
Gaveston as Regent, which was exceedingly offensive. Gaveston had been
married to his sister the year before,
again a shock and an insult to the lords
in view of Edwards improper
relationship with him.
At his
own wedding Edward was most
indiscrete, and appeared
more in love with Gaveston than with his
own wife. Edward
later persisted with this relationship to
the point of
causing civil war, but Gaveston was eventually
executed at Warwick by the Earls.
In the
same year Edward III was born, on
13th November, and this was to
be followed on 16th.December by the grant of a title and lands to Thomas. In
the following year the strength gained
by Robert the Bruce in various forays
led into 1314 and the
Battle of Bannockburn, when Sir Philip Mowbray gave up Stirling castle, and then the
English cavalry under Edward were
heavily defeated.
In 1316,
the Earl of
Pembroke was sent by Edward II
to Avignon on a mission to the pope. On the way back he was captured by a
French knight, who claimed that Edward owed him money for military service.
Edward paid a ransom of 2,500 pounds. Pembroke founded the "middle
party", and one
of his supporters was the young Thomas of Brotherton, who was by then
Earl of Norfolk.
After
Gaveston's death Edward gave favours to others, and Hugh Despenser became gradually increasing in favour. Hugh
Despenser the younger was married by influence of the king to
Eleanor De Clare, daughter of the Duke of Gloucester, and thus acquired the Lordship of Glamorgan. He acquired various
other lands, mainly from the King, but
it was his dealings with the lands of Sir William De Braose, which finally aroused the enmity of the marcher lords. Sir
William De Braose, Lord of Gower was the last male in a great family that had
fallen into poverty. He hoped to find a purchaser for his lands among the
marcher lords, but died in the middle of his negotiations.
His son
in law, Sir John Mowbray, in accordance with the accepted 'Customs of the
March', at once seized his lands of Gower and Swansea in right of his wife.
Despenser, seeing a good opportunity
for further acquisition,
suggested to the king that under English law, Mowbray should have had a Royal licence to take possession of the Braose
lands. The King agreed, to the horror
of the Marcher Lords.
Civil
war threatened, and in 1321 judgement
was given in Parliament against the Despensers. Hugh the elder submitted, and,
banished, departed from Harwich, seen off there by the King! The younger
Despenser became a pirate in
company with some sailors of the
Cinque Ports.
It should
be remembered at this
point that Mary
Roos, Thomas De Brotherton's second wife had been married formerly to none other than Sir
William Braose until his death, and
Edward De Brotherton his son, was later married to Beatrix, the daughter
of Roger Mortimer, Earl of March. Again, Thomas was the Earl Marshal from 1315,
and it can hardly be that he was a disinterested party in all of this.
An event
in 1321 involved Thomas. On 13th.October, Queen
Isabella was travelling on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. She requested a nights
lodging at Leeds Castle (Maidstone,
Kent), one of the Royal Castles.
Lady Badlesmere, whose husband was
absent, but unpopular at court, and governor of the castle, refused her entry.
The Queen ordered her men to force entry, and six of them were
killed. Thomas of Brotherton was amongst those
summoned to the seige,
along with his brother, the Earl
of Kent. The castle fell after a weeks
seige, and on their way to assist Lady
Baddlesmere had been the two Mortimers.
Now the king had an excuse to attack the Lords, and proceeded to do so
with the strong army thus summoned, and
Thomas must surely have been involved
in all this. The Mortimers
surrendered without a fight. Mowbray, with others, fled north to join Lancaster.
The Mortimers were sent to the
tower.
In 1322,
Lancaster*5 was defeated (17th.March). He was beheaded on the 22nd.March at
Pontefract, having been sentenced to
death in the Great Hall there
at Pontefract as a traitor. Again, Thomas De Brotherton must have been amongst those present.
Mowbray
was later hanged at York. A hundred
years later a Mowbray was to become
Duke of Norfolk, and this through his mother, Grand‑daughter (I think) of Thomas De Brotherton, and
descended through Margaret, his daughter by Alice Hales.
Thomas
married Alice Lacey, daughter of the Earl of Lincoln, and his household expenses for one year from Michaelmas 1313 (year of Bannockburn), was 8000 pounds, and about 1/3
that of the king. The Despensers were restored, and given vast lands and titles in Wales. Thomas was
obliged by his brother to give a life
grant of the title and honour of
Chepstow and of the Welsh lands that had belonged to the Bigod Earls
of Norfolk. Other
lands came from the Mowbrays and Mortimers.
Regarding
the local connection:
It seems to me that it may well have been this action that caused
Thomas to subsequently spend his time
in Norfolk and also to cement a friendship with the families of the Mortimers,
and very likely I feel to have led to the introduction to his
second wife, the widow of William De Braose, daughter of William, Lord
Roos, presumed by me
to be at Roos Hall, Beccles (Now an Elizabethan
rebuild).
There is
a letter kept at the public record office in Norwich, written from Thomas De
Brotherton to his tailors in Yarmouth.*4
Also
note that Thomas' grand‑daughter Joan was born at Bungay very close by.
(another ex‑Castle of the Bigods)
Furthermore, as Thomas was only 22 years of age it must be that sometime
in this period he met and married his first wife, Alice,
daughter of Sir Roger Hales of Harwich, but whose family I suggest founded Hales Hall at Hales*6, which is very near to
the towns of Beccles and Bungay, and
also to the Hamlet of Brotherton at Hopton, which is thought by
Coppinger*4a to have derived its name from Broder, a freeman in
the time of Domesday (1087). There must be the possibility however, under these circumstances, of
some connection with the name of Thomas De Brotherton, who may quite possibly
have given his name to it.
In
the book of pleas, kept in the
Guildhall of Norwich, one spelling of Thomas' name was "Thomas of
Broderton", which could again be an indication that there was indeed a connection with Broder. Again, it
is certainly true that Great Yarmouth and Norwich were amongst the most
important towns in the land in the 14th.century.
A bust
of Edward I, the arms of Thomas De Brotherton, and of Edward III, and
of his sons were displayed on the ceiling of the great church of
St.Nicholas in Great Yarmouth after the battle of Sluys. Also the shield of
Edward III is prominently displayed in the very centre of the rood screen in
the village Church of St.John at Lound. The
neighbouring village of Ashby is
represented only by
its church. There, the entire village has been swept away in
the enclosures of 18th.century. It is pure surmision that there could similarly
have been a larger presence in the 14th.century at
"Broderton". Hugh Despenser became Edward's favourite instead
of Gaveston, and was universally
hated. Queen Isabella went on a mission
to France, and there secured support to effectively declare war on Despenser who is thought to have had a similar relationship with her
husband as had Gaveston, albeit more discrete.
Lound
Run by P Rumbelow.
Lound
Church.
Mortimer
had escaped from the Tower, and when
Isabella returned with a force
from France, she came to Norfolk and stayed first at Thomas' castle at Walton
on the Naze.*7
Thomas
De Brotherton was part of the army of Isabella's that marched on London,
together with Mortimer and Henry of Leicester. Edward had occupied the tower, but faced by this army and a hostile city, retreated to Wales with
the two Despensers, Arundel, Surrey, and Robert Baldock.
The Earl
of Winchester surrendered in Bristol, and was condemned to a traitor's death by
Thomas, Mortimer, and Kent. Edward became a hunted fugitive. On 16th.November
1326 he was found or betrayed at the Abbey of Neath, along with Despenser and
Baldock. Arundel was captured in Shropshire. Despenser was condemned, and
executed in a most unpleasant way.- The sentence of treason
always included castration.
The King
was imprisoned at Kenilworth, and deposed by Parliament. He was forced to abdicate
on condition that then
his son would be crowned in his place, which he was on 1st.Feb.1327,
whilst Edward II remained in custody at
Kenilworth. Later he was spirited from place to place in secret, and was
eventually murdered in a dungeon at Berkeley castle (in July). Queen Isabella's
support naturally declined as did that
for her lover, Mortimer. Edward III was
very young at this time. His mother's lover, Mortimer was arrested
a few years later and executed, in 1330.
Isabella
was banished from court and allowed to live out her days at Castle Rising in
Norfolk.
In 1331
Thomas De Brotherton obtained a
confirmation in tail general of all the castles, manors and lands
previously of Roger Bigot, then valued at 6,000 marks, (4,000 pounds) per
annum, and was also made the King's server. He resided at Framlingham castle,
and dying in 1338 was interred at the Abbey church of Bury St.Edmunds. Thomas'
son Edward became Earl of Norfolk at Thomas' death, but died in the same year,
having first married Beatrix, daughter of Roger Mortimer, Earl of March. The
inheritance then went to his sisters as co‑heirs, but for her lifetime
the manor and castle of Framlingham was granted by the King to Mary, their
stepmother as the grant of Edward II, was to Thomas and his wife.
Alice,
Thomas' daughter died in Mary's lifetime and the inheritance then passed to the
lady Joan Montacute, who was Alices'
daughter. Born at Bungay castle in
1348, she died in 1375,having been married to William De Ufford, Earl of
Suffolk, who survived her,and who and held Framlingham for life. That castle with titles seems to have
then been granted to Margaret, daughter of Alice and Thomas who survived until 1400,
and was created countess of
Norfolk by Richard II on 24th.Sept
1397.
This then led to the title being passed down the Mowbray line. It was the
Countess who therefore caused the arms of De Brotherton to be carried
subsequently by the Mowbrays and
Howards to this day (incorporated in their later more complex coats of arms).
It is a
mystery for the present, as to whether Thomas' line might have been continued
to the present day, at least on the female side. In olden times the family name
sometimes continued by a switch to the mother's surname. A Pedigree of the
Howard family in a booklet published as a guide to Castle Howard, suggests that
this possibility exists, since it gives a complete succession on the female
side, his daughter, previously unknown to me, being Elizabeth Plantaganet, who,
after marrying John, Lord Mowbray, is the direct antecedent of Thomas De
Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. Reversion of any male in this line, such as a second
son, to the name De Brotherton, could give continuance of the line.
The
Three Lions Rampant upon a shield seen outside of the south porch of
St.Nicholas Church today are the Arms of Thomas De Brotherton.
*3 In
the Public Record Office at Chancery Lane, London.
*4 This
letter at the P.R.O. in Norwich
*4a
Coppinger was professor of Law at Victoria University Manchester, and published
the "Manors of Suffolk" in 1906.
*5
Cousin to Thomas and Edward, born 1278.
There is considerable detail concerning
the household of Thomas of Lancaster in "Chapters in Medieval Administrative History"
by Tout. (1920, vol.II, p.184)
*6 There
was a deed of Hales Hall, as belonging to Roger De Hales, mentioned in Armstrong's History of Norfolk,
but the date of the deed is not recorded.
*7 The
castle at Walton has long since disappeared into the sea.
J. C.
Mantell the composer and organist
John
(Johann) Christian Mantell was an immigrant friend of Handel’s who came to
Yarmouth as organist at St. Nicholas’. He held concerts at the Town Hall and at
the Ship Inn. Yarmouth was looking for an organist, having installed the new
and very fine church organ. It is thought that Mantell may have been
recommended for the post by Handel. Mantell came from Erfurt in Germany, where
he had the surname Schiedermantel. Clearly a “mouthful” in this country, he
adopted a shortened version. In 1734, Mantell was to be found at South
Benfleet. Coming to Yarmouth around 1748, he stayed until his death in 1761. As
organist, Mantell was paid £80 a year, but out of this he had to employ another
at St. Georges. Later the salary decreased to £40 a year and even to £20, so
Mantell then occupied both posts himself. Mantell was a fine composer and as a
friend and colleague of Handel, he sponsored the latter’s opera “Faramondo” in
1737. In turn, Handel sponsored Mantell’s printed music.*3 Mantell then developed an illness in which his arm
was affected. He went to Aachen to take the waters, and within 6 weeks was able
to resume his musical activities. Mantell died in Yarmouth in 1761, and was
buried in St. Nicholas’ Church, near to the organ. Executor of his will, which
is registered with the prerogative court at Canterbury, was Eaton the
bookseller. Mantell had also been especially friendly with Mayor Ellys, but in
his will he left all his possessions to his brother.*4
*3 Mantell’s
music is now in the British Library.
*4 this
research by Robert Hallman.