William de Botreaux, 3rd Baron Botreaux
Encyclopedia
William de Botreaux, 3rd Baron Botreaux(1389-1462) was a prominent baron in Somerset and the south-west of England. He inherited from his father the barony by writ of Botreaux as well as substantial family landholdings which included a moiety
of the feudal barony
of North Cadbury
, Somerset, in the parish church of which capital manor
he was buried, as he requested in his will.
(1367-1395) by his wife Elizabeth St. Lo, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John St. Lo (Latinised to St. Laudo) of Newton St Loe, Wiltshire (now in Somerset), by his second wife Margaret Clyvedon, daughter and heiress of John Clyvedon. Elizabeth was sole heiress of her mother and survived her husband, her death having occurred on 4th September between 1409 and 1458.
(1413-1422) in France during the Battle of Agincourt
(1415).
(1461-1483), as forester of the royal forest
s of Exmoor
and of Neroche
, Somerset, as is recorded in the following charter in French surviving in the British Library summarised in Harleian Charter 43 E 47:
The Barons Botreaux held a manor at Molland Bottreaux
(sic), on the southern foothills of Exmoor. The forest of Neroche is situated in the Blackdown Hills
, Somerset, to which was formerly appended Castle Neroche
in the parish of Curland, near Staple Fitzpaine
.
(d.1391) had founded a chantry
in North Cadbury Church, possibly ex voto for the safe return of her grandson from the Agincourt
campaign of 1415. Her son, the 2nd baron, had died aged only 27 in 1395 thus her grandson was particularly important to her. She had also planned in 1420, but never executed it, the foundation of a college of priests at North Cadbury. The surviving record of her intention states: "to establish therein a perpetual college of seven chaplains, one to preside and to be called the Rector of the College of St Michael the Archangel". She it was, probably with the approval of her grandson, who rebuilt the church in 1423 into the grand and imposing perpendicular gothic structure which survives today, in which she was buried. The chancel
is unusually tall as it was designed to house stalls for the priests of the college.
in 1461 according to Rogers, 1877, p.389. He was buried in North Cadbury
parish church, in the chantry founded there "by his ancestors" as he had provided for in his will written 38 years before in 1424. He died seized of 50 manors, mostly in the west-country. His Inquest post mortem as a tenant-in-chief
of the king dated 1462 refers to him as "William Botreaux, miles", i.e. "knight".
around his neck and a pointed helmet with a wreath or orle around it. The features of the face are very worn away. His feet rest on a lion. The effigy of his wife, presumed to be Elizabeth Beaumont wears a horned (or mitred) head-dress adorned with pearls, with necklace and cross, long gown with mantle over, fastened with cord and tassells. Her head lies on a double cushion, the uppermost of a lozenge shape. Only the hands and feet of supporting angels remain attached to her shoulders. At her feet are two dogs, addorsed, one with bells. The chest tomb shows on the long side (facing north) panels of angels holding escutcheons, the former heraldic painting on which is now totally effaced. At the east end (the feet end) is a group of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ, with a knight kneeling in prayer towards her at her right-hand, and a lady (with horned head-dress) similarly kneeling at her left. The two kneeling figures represent the baron and his wife. The figures occupy 3 individual panels under gothic cusps. The text formerly painted on sculpted stone speech-scrolls attached to the kneeling figures is now totally effaced but would have been prayers to the Virgin Mary. On the west end of the chest tomb are painted three escutcheons on which painted quartered
armorials are still visible albeit much worn away, but these may be later restorations. Certainly rampant griffins are visible, but not in the 1st and 4th quarters as might be expected for the arms of the husband, but in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. The arms shown in the 1st & 4th quarters appear to show 3 leaves with stalks and 3 escallops. There is a canopy above the heads of the effigies. Rogers (1890) reports that the appointments of the knight's armour were gilded and that the gown of the lady was red, the bodice blue and the mantle black. All such colouring has now disappeared.
Moiety
Moiety may refer to:* Moiety , a part or functional group of a molecule* Moiety , either of two groups into which a society is divided* An Australian Aboriginal kinship group* Native Hawaiian realm ruled by a Mo'i or Ali'i...
of the feudal barony
English feudal barony
In England, a feudal barony or barony by tenure was a form of Feudal land tenure, namely per baroniam under which the land-holder owed the service of being one of the king's barons. It must be distinguished from a barony, also feudal, but which existed within a county palatine, such as the Barony...
of North Cadbury
North Cadbury
North Cadbury is a village west of Wincanton in the River Cam in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. It shares its parish with nearby Yarlington and includes the village of Galhampton, which got its name from the settlement of the rent-paying peasants, and the hamlet of...
, Somerset, in the parish church of which capital manor
Manor
-Land tenure:*Manor, an estate in land of the mediaeval era in England*Manorialism, a system of land tenure and organization of the rural economy and society in parts of medieval Europe based on the manor*Manor house, the principal house of a manor...
he was buried, as he requested in his will.
Origins
He was born on 20 February 1389 at Walton, Kilmersdon, Somerset, the son of William de Botreaux, 2nd Baron BotreauxWilliam de Botreaux, 2nd Baron Botreaux
William de Botreaux was a baron prominent in South-West England.-Origins:He was the son of William de Botreaux, 1st Baron Botreaux and inherited his father's lands aged 24.-Career:...
(1367-1395) by his wife Elizabeth St. Lo, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John St. Lo (Latinised to St. Laudo) of Newton St Loe, Wiltshire (now in Somerset), by his second wife Margaret Clyvedon, daughter and heiress of John Clyvedon. Elizabeth was sole heiress of her mother and survived her husband, her death having occurred on 4th September between 1409 and 1458.
Career
He was summoned to parliament on several occasions, the first time being on 1 December 1412, aged 23, and lastly on 23 May 1461, aged 72. He attended King Henry VHenry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
(1413-1422) in France during the Battle of Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
(1415).
Appointed Forester of Exmoor
In 1435 he was appointed by Richard, Duke of York(d.1460), father of the future King Edward IVEdward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
(1461-1483), as forester of the royal forest
Royal forest
A royal forest is an area of land with different meanings in England, Wales and Scotland; the term forest does not mean forest as it is understood today, as an area of densely wooded land...
s of Exmoor
Exmoor
Exmoor is an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England, named after the main river that flows out of the district, the River Exe. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and ...
and of Neroche
Castle Neroche
Castle Neroche is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle on the site of an earlier hill fort in the parish of Curland, near Staple Fitzpaine, Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.-Location:...
, Somerset, as is recorded in the following charter in French surviving in the British Library summarised in Harleian Charter 43 E 47:
"Indenture made 1st January 13 Henry VI (i.e. 1435) between Richard Duke of York, Earl of March and of Ulster, Lord of Wigmore and of Clare of the one part and William Lord Botreaux ("Sire de Botreaux") of the other; witnessing that the duke has given to Lord Botreaux for life the custody of the forests of Exmoor and Neroche ("Racche"), Somerset, to perform by himself or his sufficient deputies for whom he shall answer. The Lord Botreaux shall take yearly all the revenues, services and other perquisites anciently belonging to the said offices and shall pay yearly to the duke and his heirs at Michaelmas £40 sterling; if the whole or part of that sum be one month in arrear he covenants to pay the duke 100 shillings sterling in addition to the said £40; payment shall be made to the duke's receiver of lands for the county of Somerset or to such other person who may have the duke's sufficient authority. The Lord Botreaux further covenants well and diligently to perform the said offices and in particular to indemnify the duke and his heirs against all demands by the king in respect of destruction or waste due to his default. Sealing clause. 1 Jan 1435. No endorsement. Seal: on a strip cut a third of the way accross the document, riband below cut off: round, 1 1/4 inches, pink. Couched shield of arms, a griffin segreant. On a helmet crest, on a cap of maintenanceCap of MaintenanceA Cap of Maintenance is a ceremonial cap of crimson velvet lined with ermine, which is worn or carried by certain persons as a sign of nobility or special honour. It is worn with the high part to the fore, the tapering tail behind...
, a griffin. A butress on either side of shield and crest (as supporters) background with sprigs of foliage. Legend: S(IGILLUM) WILLIAM BOTREAUX ("seal of William Botreaux")
The Barons Botreaux held a manor at Molland Bottreaux
Molland
Molland is a civil parish and small village located on the southern slopes of Exmoor in North Devon, England.The former manor of Molland, largely co-terminous with the parish boundary, continues in existence as a large private estate under the ownership of Mrs Clare McLaren-Throckmorton, of...
(sic), on the southern foothills of Exmoor. The forest of Neroche is situated in the Blackdown Hills
Blackdown Hills
The Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1991....
, Somerset, to which was formerly appended Castle Neroche
Castle Neroche
Castle Neroche is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle on the site of an earlier hill fort in the parish of Curland, near Staple Fitzpaine, Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.-Location:...
in the parish of Curland, near Staple Fitzpaine
Staple Fitzpaine
Staple Fitzpaine is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 151 and is within the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
.
Rebuilds North Cadbury Church
His grandmother Elizabeth Daubeny(d.1433), wife of William de Botreaux, 1st Baron BotreauxWilliam de Botreaux, 1st Baron Botreaux
William de Botreaux was a prominent English West-Country baron during the reigns of King Edward III and King Richard II.-Origins:...
(d.1391) had founded a chantry
Chantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...
in North Cadbury Church, possibly ex voto for the safe return of her grandson from the Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
campaign of 1415. Her son, the 2nd baron, had died aged only 27 in 1395 thus her grandson was particularly important to her. She had also planned in 1420, but never executed it, the foundation of a college of priests at North Cadbury. The surviving record of her intention states: "to establish therein a perpetual college of seven chaplains, one to preside and to be called the Rector of the College of St Michael the Archangel". She it was, probably with the approval of her grandson, who rebuilt the church in 1423 into the grand and imposing perpendicular gothic structure which survives today, in which she was buried. The chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
is unusually tall as it was designed to house stalls for the priests of the college.
Marriage
He married twice:- firstly before 1411 to Elizabeth Beaumont, daughter of John Beaumont, 4th Baron BeaumontJohn Beaumont, 4th Baron BeaumontJohn Beaumont, 4th Baron Beaumont KG served in the Hundred Years' War against the partisans of Pope Clement VII.Beaumont was born in 1361 at the Duchy of Brabant to Henry Beaumont, 3rd Baron Beaumont and Margaret de Vere...
K.G. (1361-1396) by Katherine Everingham(1367-1428), daughter of Thomas Everingham of LaxtonLaxtonLaxton may refer to:*Laxton, East Riding of Yorkshire*Laxton, Northamptonshire*Laxton, NottinghamshirePersons with the surname Laxton:*Laxton...
, Nottinghamshire. - secondly before 1458 to Margaret de Ros(d.1488), daughter of Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de RosThomas de Ros, 9th Baron de RosThomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros of Helmsley was an English nobleman.-Lineage:He was the second son of William de Ros, 7th Baron de Ros and Margaret Fitzalan...
(d.1430) by Eleanor Beauchamp(d.1467), daughter of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of WarwickRichard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of WarwickRichard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, Count of Aumale, KG was an English medieval nobleman and military commander.-Early Life:...
(d.1439). His second wife survived him and married secondly between May 1462 and 1464 Thomas Burgh, 1st Baron Burgh of GainsburghThomas Burgh, 1st Baron BurghThomas Burgh, 1st Baron Burgh or Borough , 1st Baron Borough of Gainsborough, also de jure 5th Baron Strabolgi and 7th Baron Cobham of Sterborough, was an English peer. He was knighted on Flodden Field in 1513 where he was one of the King's Spears . He was a Member of Parliament in 1529 and Lord...
K.G. (d.1496). She was buried next to her second husband at GainsboroughGainsborough-Places:* Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England** Gainsborough Trinity F.C.** Gainsborough Riverside Festival** Gainsborough * Gainsborough, Saskatchewan, Canada* Gainsborough, New South Wales, Australia* Gainsborough, Ipswich, England...
.
Progeny
By his first wife Elizabeth Beaumont he had the following children:- William, who died an infant before 1434 and was buried at North Cadbury and after transferred to the Minorite Church at Bridgwater.
- Reginald, died young 1420, the date incised on his tomb stone in AllerAllerThe Aller is a river, long, in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony in Germany. It is a right-hand, and hence eastern, tributary of the River Weser and is also its largest tributary. Its last form the Lower Aller federal waterway...
Church, Somerset. Aller was one of the family's many manors. The tombstone is now affixed upright to the north wall of the chancel but was formerly set into the floor. It is well-preserved for its age and displays within an heraldic escutcheon the griffin rampant of Botreaux impaledImpalement (heraldry)In heraldry, impalement is the combination of two coats of arms side-by-side in one shield or escutcheon to denote union, most often that of a husband and wife, but also for ecclesiastical use...
with the lion rampant semee-de-lys of Beaumont, the arms of Reginald's parents. On a ledger line around the border of the slab is inscribed the following text in gothic script:
hic jacet Roginaldus filius William dom de Botreaux qui obiit xxx die julii anno dom mccccxx ("here lies Reginald son of William Lord Botreaux who died the 30th day of July 1420")
- Anne, married in 1426 Sir John Stafford. She did not survive her father and died without issue.
- Margaret, his sole heiress, suo jure 4th Baroness Botreaux(d.1478), married Robert Hungerford, 2nd Baron HungerfordRobert Hungerford, 2nd Baron HungerfordRobert Hungerford, 2nd Baron Hungerford , the second but eldest surviving son of Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford, served in the Hundred Years' War, and was summoned to parliament as Baron Hungerford from 5 September 1450 to 26 May 1455. He died 14 May 1459, and in accordance with his will...
(d.1459). She was buried with her husband in Salisbury CathedralSalisbury CathedralSalisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture....
Death
He died without surviving male issue on 16 May 1462, according to GEC Complete Peerage, or was slain at the Second Battle of St AlbansSecond Battle of St Albans
The Second Battle of St Albans was a battle of the English Wars of the Roses fought on 17 February, 1461, at St Albans. The army of the Yorkist faction under the Earl of Warwick attempted to bar the road to London north of the town. The rival Lancastrian army used a wide outflanking manoeuvre to...
in 1461 according to Rogers, 1877, p.389. He was buried in North Cadbury
North Cadbury
North Cadbury is a village west of Wincanton in the River Cam in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. It shares its parish with nearby Yarlington and includes the village of Galhampton, which got its name from the settlement of the rent-paying peasants, and the hamlet of...
parish church, in the chantry founded there "by his ancestors" as he had provided for in his will written 38 years before in 1424. He died seized of 50 manors, mostly in the west-country. His Inquest post mortem as a tenant-in-chief
Tenant-in-chief
In medieval and early modern European society the term tenant-in-chief, sometimes vassal-in-chief, denoted the nobles who held their lands as tenants directly from king or territorial prince to whom they did homage, as opposed to holding them from another nobleman or senior member of the clergy....
of the king dated 1462 refers to him as "William Botreaux, miles", i.e. "knight".
Tomb at North Cadbury
The chest tomb with stone sculpted effigies of the 3rd Baron Botreaux and his 1st wife Elizabeth Beaumont was reported by Rogers (1890) to have been at one time situated in the usual place for a "Founder's Tomb", with the long side against the north side of the chancel wall with the feet end against the eastern wall, but it was subsequently moved to the west end of the church, against the south wall of the tower, where it remains today. Rogers suggests it may originally have stood in the vicinity of the Botreaux chantry, in a side aisle, possibly where the organ is now situated, at the eastern end of the north aisle, a place of honour often used for founder's chapels. The attribution of the effigies to the 3rd baron and his 1st wife is not certain as no inscription remains. However the style of the plate armour and the lady's head-dress suggest a mid-15th.c. date and the crest on the helm on which the knight rests his head is certainly that of Botreaux seen on the seal of the 1435 Exmoor charter, and shows an animal's body akin to a deer standing on a cap of maintenance with the front part of the animal in the form of a griffin, with the features of the face now lost, but with parts of the wings visible. He wears full plate armour and the SS livery collarLivery collar
A livery collar or chain of office is a collar or heavy chain, usually of gold, worn as insignia of office or a mark of fealty or other association in Europe from the Middle Ages onwards....
around his neck and a pointed helmet with a wreath or orle around it. The features of the face are very worn away. His feet rest on a lion. The effigy of his wife, presumed to be Elizabeth Beaumont wears a horned (or mitred) head-dress adorned with pearls, with necklace and cross, long gown with mantle over, fastened with cord and tassells. Her head lies on a double cushion, the uppermost of a lozenge shape. Only the hands and feet of supporting angels remain attached to her shoulders. At her feet are two dogs, addorsed, one with bells. The chest tomb shows on the long side (facing north) panels of angels holding escutcheons, the former heraldic painting on which is now totally effaced. At the east end (the feet end) is a group of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ, with a knight kneeling in prayer towards her at her right-hand, and a lady (with horned head-dress) similarly kneeling at her left. The two kneeling figures represent the baron and his wife. The figures occupy 3 individual panels under gothic cusps. The text formerly painted on sculpted stone speech-scrolls attached to the kneeling figures is now totally effaced but would have been prayers to the Virgin Mary. On the west end of the chest tomb are painted three escutcheons on which painted quartered
Quartering (heraldry)
Quartering in heraldry is a method of joining several different coats of arms together in one shield by dividing the shield into equal parts and placing different coats of arms in each division....
armorials are still visible albeit much worn away, but these may be later restorations. Certainly rampant griffins are visible, but not in the 1st and 4th quarters as might be expected for the arms of the husband, but in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. The arms shown in the 1st & 4th quarters appear to show 3 leaves with stalks and 3 escallops. There is a canopy above the heads of the effigies. Rogers (1890) reports that the appointments of the knight's armour were gilded and that the gown of the lady was red, the bodice blue and the mantle black. All such colouring has now disappeared.
Sources
- GEC Complete PeerageThe Complete PeerageThe Complete Peerage The Complete Peerage The Complete Peerage (full title: The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant; first edition by George Edward Cokayne, Clarenceux King of Arms; 2nd edition revised by the Hon...
, vol 2, pp.241-242 - Rogers, W.H. Hamilton, The Antient Sepulchral Effigies and Monumental and Memorial Sculpture of Devon, Exeter, 1877, p.388-9
- Rogers, W.H. Hamilton, The Strife of the Roses and Days of the Tudors in the West, Exeter, 1890, pp.147-8